Romeing

After my visit to Pompeii, my husband and I spent a few days exploring the Amalfi coast. This breathtaking part of Italy is made up of many small villages built into the tall jagged cliffs of the seashore. Here is a map! Driving along from Pompeii, we were simultaneously amazed and terrified by the dramatic twists and turns in the road as we moved further southeast. All the way, steep drop-offs to the ocean had us glued to the car windows. We marveled at the engineering it must have taken to construct this highway and were filled with admiration for the people who have lived here for generations - building their homes, churches, and local businesses right into the landscape of the rocky coast. Throughout our visit to this part of Italy, we never got used to the magnificent views that could be had from each hamlet or village where we stopped along the way. While reading up on one particularly distant pair of rocky islands and coves that could be seen a bi...

Hello friends! My last blog (Pompeii - Part Uno) covered a lot of information about the roads and set up/organization of Pompeii. Romans are famous for building long-lasting roads that connected the villages and cities of their empire as it grew larger and larger. Perhaps we take our roads for granted now, but if you think about it, the” paths” we travel over and over again to get to school, the market, to see family/friends, and so on have become the roads of our lives . Not really "paths" at all, but modernized and fortified with strong materials like stone, asphalt, and concrete. They allow us to feel connected to one another and to travel easily from place to place. They also enable us to share our stories, ideas, plans, and concerns throughout our communities. The stories, ideas, and values of the Romans were shared and passed on over time by way of the people who traveled the ancient roads that still exist in Italian cities today. This is just one way they uni...

Ciao! Visiting Pompeii was such a thrill and left me with so much to think about that I have decided to blog about it in two parts, maybe even three! This will be the first, but stay tuned for more! Upon arriving in Pompeii outside of the ruins, my guide was a bit late. When we finally found one another, I offered to shorten the tour. I told her that if she needed to leave me early, I could find my way around the last part of the city. She jokingly scolded me. "No! Let's go! We will see it all! Now hurry up, Pompeii is waiting for you !" I loved what she said because for so many years, I feel as though I have been waiting for my chance to see Pompeii. Then again, this enormous city (more than 146 acres in all/only partially excavated at this point) waited its fair share of time to be discovered as well. Dolores (my guide) took me through one of several entrances to the city - we walked up the "sea gate" where sailors would arrive by boat. It is important...

Ciao! Today, we visited The Duomo , a major cathedral in the center of Florence. From the ground, it is quite a sight to see, but when we climbed the cupola to the very top, we were overwhelmed by the breathtaking view of all of Florence. Here are two views of The Duomo from the ground - can you guess why it is called The Duomo ? Here is an incredible picture (that I did not take myself) of Duomo from a distance at dusk. Domes are amazing architectural achievements. You might be reminded of The Pantheon in Rome from a recent blog post. Rome's Pantheon was indeed a inspiration to the Florentine people. But of course, they wanted their dome to be even larger! When looking at the pictures above, can you imagine how this dome was built? Can you envision the workers putting it together piece by piece? How did they do it? How long did it take? How did they get the materials from one place to another without modern technology? Here is a brief expla...