Emerald Princess Rome to Barcelona September 26 -October 3 2015 in photos and video

[Bimmer09]

The Costa neo Riviera backs into her berth

 

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It looked like we'd be going on that high road with the arches to get up out of the port to the road to Vesuvius so there was a chance of some aerial shots of the port and the ship. I packed my little Canon point and shoot pocket camera to take pics from the bus window-never ideal because of glare and reflections but probably the best I could do to remember the scene. That could wait until we were on the bus.

 

 

We left our breakfast dishes for our Room Steward Jose to clear (it's not Room Service's job) and made our way, suitably sun screened, up to Explorers at 7.40 for our 8 a.m tour. They were using 5 buses today and we were on bus 5 which wasn't full (hooray!!)

 

We all trooped down to deck 4 once called and again met the photographers in costume (I'll show all these pics before we hit Barcelona-they are on a thumb drive back in Chicago at the minute)

 

Nice warm morning and we are soon sitting comfortably on the bus...

 

Norris

[Bimmer09]

Yes, please let Annie know the bus is leaving for Herculaneum.

 

Five buses and we get to leave first in # 5. Our guide is the knowledgeable and witty, good English speaker with a strong Italian accent Roseanna-a mass of thick wild hair. Guillermo is our quiet trusty and careful driver.

 

As I said there will be out-the-window photos until I tell you otherwise.

First we have to get out of the port

 

 

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Passing the steel ingots waiting to be shipped out (or in?)

 



 

And all the new cars lined up

 

 

We have a lot of climbing to do

 

 



 

[Bimmer09]

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Now we are up onto higher ground

 

 

[Bimmer09]

I've been to Messina/Taormina before when I was in Malta with a friend. Messina has Mt Etna, and IMO, is a much nicer section of Sicily.

 

I hope I get to dock in Taormina someday then-it would be good to see Mt Etna up close and take a break from Palermo.

 

Thanks for the response.

 

Norris

[dott]

Really looking forward to your impressions of Herculaneum, haven't seen much coverage of that tour at all :D

Thanks for the great travelogue.

[Colo Cruiser]

Norris, I missed where the above port is?

[Bimmer09]

Norris, I missed where the above port is?

 

Keith it's Salerno, which was our substitute for La Goulette on the original itinerary.

 

Norris

[Colo Cruiser]

Keith it's Salerno, which was our substitute for La Goulette on the original itinerary.

 

Norris

 

 

Thanks.

[Bimmer09]

Really looking forward to your impressions of Herculaneum, haven't seen much coverage of that tour at all :D

Thanks for the great travelogue.

 

Dott- nice to see you here and thanks for the compliments on the read so far.

 

I'll cover Herculaneum cobblestone by cobblestone (LOL). I'll hopefully get to that this afternoon but I have 4 hours of driving to do today. I have already done two of them-I am going back to my dealership as they are putting 4 new tires on my car in preparation for our Fall Foliage tour on Wednesday. We have the glorious state of Michigan to explore and some culinary treats in store, apart from the roadside apples. So I'm expecting a call from the dealer soon. They loaned me an X5 to get back and forth in. (this is a backstory that nobody needs to know but Backstory is my middle name. As is Guinness. My parents didn't know when to stop when it came to the Christening.)

 

I'll at least get us to the gates of Herculaneum soon and then hopefully do the tour in one long sitting. It's like stepping back in time but I guess that is to be expected. Lots of photos to come.

 

I see that you are not a frequent poster so it means even more to me that you would take the time to comment-so my thanks.

 

Norris

[hockeyguru32]

Dott- nice to see you here and thanks for the compliments on the read so far.

 

I'll cover Herculaneum cobblestone by cobblestone (LOL). I'll hopefully get to that this afternoon but I have 4 hours of driving to do today. I have already done two of them-I am going back to my dealership as they are putting 4 new tires on my car in preparation for our Fall Foliage tour on Wednesday. We have the glorious state of Michigan to explore and some culinary treats in store, apart from the roadside apples. So I'm expecting a call from the dealer soon. They loaned me an X5 to get back and forth in. (this is a backstory that nobody needs to know but Backstory is my middle name. As is Guinness. My parents didn't know when to stop when it came to the Christening.)

 

I'll at least get us to the gates of Herculaneum soon and then hopefully do the tour in one long sitting. It's like stepping back in time but I guess that is to be expected. Lots of photos to come.

 

I see that you are not a frequent poster so it means even more to me that you would take the time to comment-so my thanks.

 

Norris

 

Norris Backstory Guinness nice name has a great ring to it

[Bimmer09]

It's not everyday that I see a road sign saying Napoli....this is exciting!!

 

 

Looking North along the Amalfi Coast reminding us that we have to revisit Positano some day....

 

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The Bay of Naples over there

 

Vesuvius appears out the window

 

 

Signs for ERCOLANO began to appear...

[Bimmer09]

Road signs for Ercolano (Herculaneum)- so close I can almost taste it! Can you?

 

Wait a second- Rosanna is speaking through the PA....

"We have time to visit a Cameo factory for 30 minutes. It is part of the tour.

There will be toilets"

 

Well of course we have time-what's an extra half hour at a bunch of old ruins?!

 

I was running low on Cameos at home-that much I knew.

 

Cameos are beautiful creations-miniature works of art without doubt. I just feel shanghaied stopping at such a store. Now if it had been a sombrero store-who doesn't need another huge sombrero, muchacho?

 

We were in tight streets in Ercolano now and luckily the bus stopped by a nice trash display...

 

 

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The toilets were the carrot on a stick. The store had one door in and the exit door was at the other end of the store so you had to walk through it at least. No obligation to buy-no hard sell.

 

The toilets were immaculately clean

 

 

We take photos of the buses we get off so we can get back on the right one if they are in a group (Carol's idea)

 

 

Another 2 busses have arrived

 

 

Norris

[Bimmer09]

The sooner I show you the Cameo Factory the sooner we can get back on the bus!

 

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Shooting through glass and yet I forgot to turn off the autofocus. Doh!

 

People are looking at a monitor screen on the wall

 

 

The artist who is crafting the cameo is shown in close-up on the monitor.

 

 

Ok!! Back on the bus everybody!

 

 

TO THE RUINS!!

[Willow45]

This is a great review. I just love your style, lots of photo's with funny quips and information in between. When I have a few spare days I will have to read your other posts LOL. I started reading this post last night and three hours later I thought I should go to bed. Good thing you had only got up to day 2 on the cruise :)

[Bimmer09]

This is a great review. I just love your style, lots of photo's with funny quips and information in between. When I have a few spare days I will have to read your other posts LOL. I started reading this post last night and three hours later I thought I should go to bed. Good thing you had only got up to day 2 on the cruise :)

 

Thanks Willow, it's the greatest compliment when you say you started reading and stopped after 3 hours to sleep. I'm very glad you were kept interested and amused.

 

I haven't actually read it through myself yet as I am using every spare computer moment to write it and most of the writing is done from 5 a.m to 8 a.m when I am having that first 3 cups of coffee.

 

Carol hasn't even got to the ship part yet due to work and planning future adventures. Much of it is a surprise to her as I often go off alone taking photos and video.

 

I read and re read it of course as I write it, looking for clumsy grammar or spelling errors.

 

Yes, after this review for sure go back and read the others. We have had some good cruises-with I hope many more to come, starting with our first Celebrity in January. We are both excited about that.

 

I am always happy to see another Australian join our band of readers and commenters here. So, welcome!

 

Norris

[Poipu1]

We have been shanghaied to that same cameo shop! I look forward to your photos of Herculaneum -- we visited there last summer. I enjoyed it, but the ruins at Knossos, and especially Pompeii, fascinated me more.

 

Back on the bus!:D

[Bimmer09]

We have been shanghaied to that same cameo shop! I look forward to your photos of Herculaneum -- we visited there last summer. I enjoyed it, but the ruins at Knossos, and especially Pompeii, fascinated me more.

 

Back on the bus!:D

 

Ok. Knossos added to my list. We visited Pompeii last year via the Ocean Princess.

 

Photos of Herculaneum coming up!

 

Norris

[Bimmer09]

Ercolano is easier to spell and quicker to type than Herculaneum so I'll use it for now.

 

This would be the first time Carol and I would get to experience a guide's narration through in-ear headphones via a small receiver hung around our necks, leaving our hands free which is handy when you are trying to work cameras.

The guide doesn't have to shout through a bullhorn but instead can talk softly.

 

One drawback to my desire to take a lot of photos was that I tended to hang back from the group to get clear shots without heads in the way so she was often talking about something I had my back to or had yet to get in front of.

The bus can't just drive through the streets of Ercolano so this is a 100% walking tour and it's on cobbles-uneven with step-ups onto narrow sidewalks and some slopes. There is even a part, where the dock area would have been that involves steep stone steps. Ercolano was on the sea which has since moved further away.

 

The site is surrounded by the modern town of Ercolano which hems it in at very close quarters.

 

So the bus parks and you walk past the refreshment and fridge magnet stands to the ticketing pavilion and then you are good to go visit.

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Ercolano was a much smaller town that Pompeii. It is believed it had about 4,000 inhabitants versus Pompeii's 17,000 and it didn't lie in the direct path of the volcanic explosion. Everyone in both was killed by the extreme heat before they got buried in ash or mud.

 

The one big difference between the two is that Ercolano can be seen all at once laid out before you rather than the undulating sprawl of Pompeii.

 

This compactness is going to make it an easier walk. You can see the border of the current excavation by the modern houses at the back of the site in their bright colors.

 

 

We are looking at a town where all the people died at once on the same day and no one has lived there since as it lay hidden for 1700 years until the first excavations began.

 

 

We haven't set foot IN it yet. To do that we have to walk over a modern bridge.

We will soon though.

 



 

[LC1950]

Sheesh, enough with the cameos! Norris, let's just get our buts back on the bus and get this show on the road!

 

Oooops, working on my laptop - away from home right now - and it's doing my head in.

 

Just calling in to say I'm loving your travelogue. Your pics are just stunning! Thank the Goddess I can access it "wherever" I am. Thank you again for your hard work.

[Bimmer09]

Am I the person to tell you all you need to know about Ercolano? Oh no,no,no.

The guide talked for two hours as we walked and I was otherwise occupied some distance away. I hope the pictures may spark an interest in you and you can do your own research.

 

Volcanoes don't erupt on a weekly basis. Back in 79AD a loud rumbling would have been heard and plumes of smoke seen but the phrase "she's gonna blow" hadn't been coined yet. Befitting the times people prayed to the gods to protect them from the rumbling noise-maybe an angry god? They may have been unaware of the explosive power within and the speed with which lava, mud and ash can travel. The catastrophe was beyond their imaginings.

 

By the time Mount St. Helens erupted we had seen volcanic action on TV and had a wealth of reading material, yet some people stayed on and met a similar fate to those on the slopes of Vesuvius.

 

I am just a tourist taking photos, as many as I can even though it's such a bright sunny day which isn't ideal for photography so thank goodness for Lightroom.

 

We need the footbridge due to this deep trench

 

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We are now in the streets. Lemon trees grow in the garden of this ancient house as they would have done in 79 AD.

 

 

The tour tickets said No Wheelchairs but his young lady did her best in getting around. There were very few rooms she didn't get to see.

People helped her up and down on to the sidewalks

.

 

 

Looking back to from where we came-by that row of trees.

 

 

Steps to an upper level. Most of the buildings here, unlike Pompeii have both floors intact. The wood beams were preserved, not burned away as in Pompeii.

 

 

 

More to come

[Bimmer09]

With only two hours at the site the guide had to keep us moving along. More buses were disgorging more people. I would have loved to have stopped and stood still for ten minutes to half-close my eyes and try to imagine the everyday scene here before there was any threat. I could hear some kids laughing and playing on the beach, building sand temples with miniature shovels. The noise of wooden cart wheels on the cobbles. A fresh catch being announced as another fishing boat docked. Merchants haggling with fishermen over the price. Pretty girls calling down to the street from Brothel windows. The smell of baking bread or pizza in an oven for sale. The fast food stores pull open their sliding doors for another day's business as their wood stoves keep soups and stews warm. The smell and smoke of fish on a grill as the lunch crowd builds. The warm sun and fragrance of lemons and olives in the air. Business meetings or people philosophizing in a square. Women hanging out clothes to dry in the sun. Another sunny day in a prosperous seaside town. Why should that ever change?

 

No-we're walking and trying to keep out of the way of others, get our photos, learn something even though we are (well me at least) distracted.

 

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I take photos, not always understanding what I might be looking at, but once I have them I can go back in the future and if I am interested enough can read and research and find out exactly what I saw. Knowing everything about Ercolano or Pompeii of course doesn't benefit you in your everyday life in the 21st Century but it can sure fire your imagination for a good daydream. You may at least marvel at their organization back then-the grid pattern streets and drainage, the fast food shops etc.

 

 

[cruiselife4me]

GREAT review, one of the best with both amazing photo's and great explanations of what we're seeing - thank you!!

 

Are you coming to northern Michigan to see the colors? We are almost to peak and it's stunning.

 

Mary

[jtagphillycruiser]

Good morning. Great photos of this "compact" site. I visited Pompeii 2 years ago, which I found fascinating, but too large with not enough time to truly take in the ruins & the history. I look forward to your writings & your photos and I find myself checking this thread several times a day. Can you give me a "teaser" pic of Florence.....I'm like the kids...."are we there yet...."

 

Joanne

[Bimmer09]

GREAT review, one of the best with both amazing photo's and great explanations of what we're seeing - thank you!!

 

Are you coming to northern Michigan to see the colors? We are almost to peak and it's stunning.

 

Mary

 

Mary, thanks for the compliments! I'm happy to see that you are following along.

 

Yes we go up to Mission Peninsula tomorrow and stay in a winery on a hill. We'll visit Traverse City for some great eats at the Cook's House. We don't have time to go any further North.

 

Camera at the ready!

 

Norris

[Bimmer09]

Good morning. Great photos of this "compact" site. I visited Pompeii 2 years ago, which I found fascinating, but too large with not enough time to truly take in the ruins & the history. I look forward to your writings & your photos and I find myself checking this thread several times a day. Can you give me a "teaser" pic of Florence.....I'm like the kids...."are we there yet...."

 

Joanne

 

Joanne, since you asked and because it will be a few days before I get to Florence here's a few teaser pics.

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Norris