Three countries in 3 weeks

It's hard to believe that we've been travelling for three weeks now.  It feels like we've been away from home for a very long time.  Maybe it's because we've packed a lot into those 3 weeks. Today we took the train to Pompeii to visit the ruins of the ancient city. It was amazing to walk around the old city and realize that people then lived much the same as we do now. They had their bakeries and refreshment bars, their vineyards and farms. They even had spas (Roman baths) and brothels. So incredible to try to imagine how life for the people of Pompeii was cut short so suddenly on that warm spring day in 79 AD. The ash and other pyroclastic flows preserved the city so well that you really got a sense of what life was like for the people of Pompeii. We had a pasta lunch in the modern city of Pompeii before catching an afternoon train back to Salerno.
We're so glad we decided to stay in Salerno for these four days; it really is an Italian city. A welcome change after the chaos of Rome! English is hard to come by here so we try our best to use Italian and lots of hand gestures to make ourselves understood. Dinner is a late night affair as in the other cities we've visited. Restaurants don't start to get busy until after 9:00 pm. The thing I enjoy most, though, is the evening stroll (passeggiare) that starts about 6 pm and continues on until late in the evening. At some point, most families get out together to walk along the boulevards or along the waterfront. The Main Street in town is pedestrian only so it is a perfect place to stroll. One can stop to visit with friends or taste a gelato along the way; it's a lovely ritual to take part in.
Susan