Back in the Saddle Again

Yes I made it safely back from Campania. Here's a brief lay down of what we saw, with a little interpretation. For the most part, this post and the next will probably be mostly photos. There is of course descriptions and stories from everywhere we stopped on the Campania trip, but the pictures cover most of the necessary storytelling bases. This post will be day 1 and day 2. 

Day 1- 

We left Rome at 8:30 on Saturday November 15th.

Arrived in Terracina around 10:30, spent three hours there. This is another Italian hillside town. The modern town is at the base of the hill, but the ancient town was at the top, since it was the most defensible point in the area. Thus, we bused up to the top of the hill and saw what was left of a temple and portico underneath the temple:

It rained long enough for me to get this photo and get my jacket out

Underneath the temple

Skeleton says "Today me, tomorrow you" and on that cheery note, how do you feel about Catholicism?

Another church

Bananas! I was kind of surprised to find these here. Guess I don't have a future as a biologist

We came down the hill, saw the skeleton, church and bananas and then hopped back on the bus and headed to Sperlonga.This was the site of the Emperor Tiberius' villa (the guy immediately after Augustus) and he had a cool dining floating dining room built into a grotto. I suppose that with all the wealth of the Roman empire backing you, architectural feats didn't become an issue. There was also some pretty spectacular sculptures found inside the cave, all having to do with the Odyssey. 

Looking into the grotto

The dining area would be on that platform. The pipes are for the giant fish who live in the water and would hide in the shade when the Italian sun got to hot in the summer. There's still huge fish in the water

Looking out of the grotto

Odysseus blinding Polyphemus the cyclops

We then got back on the bus and headed to Minturno. There was an amphitheater there and some other ruins, but due to the lateness of the hour all of my photos are dark and blurry. We stayed at Villa Vergiliana, which is run by the Director of my program's family. Cool place, but more on that later. 

Day 2-

We spent the day hanging out around the Northern edge of the Bay of Naples. We left the Villa at 8:30, and went to Bacoli and Miseno, two cities centered around the ancient Roman port in the area. 

First stop, a cistern. I'm underground in this photo, with the ceiling being ground level. The ancient aqueduct flowed into here and the Romans used it for water storage. This entire place was filled with water, and a hydraulics system that could pump the water from the floor to the ceiling. 

This photo is ironic for all the wrong reasons

1st of many photos of Vesuvius

I think this guy looks like Joffrey. Thoughts?

That's the first two days. Tomorrow (or Friday, depending on how Thanksgiving festivities pan out) I'll post the photos for the next three days of the Campania trip. Be well! Happy Thanksgiving to all those reading in the USA!