Pompeii Day 2

We've had another great day. Last night, I made baked lemon chicken thighs with my fresh lemon. I also dressed a salad with lemon dressing I made from fresh lemon. It's so great to be in a place where we can buy produce on the spot.

Today, we went back and explored more of the Archeological Park. I had wanted to go into the museum or Antiquarium, but it was closed for more archeological digs. We found the forum and city administrative offices and temples to Venus, Jupiter, Apollo, as well as temples to local rulers. The homes are really interesting, and plaster was made from limestone rocks crushed and then turned into a type of wall material (like plaster). These were then painted with various scenes (kind of like today's wallpaper). Some of the most expensive pigments came from China! Imagine that in 70 BC or so, that paint came from China?

We went through a few ornate homes and lots of mosaic tiled floors in some homes. Lots of community fountains and some people have fountains in their homes.

We went to a bakery and saw 4 grain mills, too. Also saw lots more of the food venues. We started naming them after fast food restaurants there were so many (Kwik Wok, Burger King, etc.)

It was a fascinating day. We stopped at the store to get pork chops for supper. Back at our apartment, I bought 2 more lemons, two fresh oranges, and a fennel bulb, which the grandmother pulled and cut fresh for me from the garden. She also gave me a jar of homemade fig jelly, so Phil ran to the store to buy bread for breakfast. We'll have a citrus fennel salad for supper with a couple of lemon rosemary pork chops.

Tomorrow, we take the train north to Cinque Terra. Our apt there overlooks the sea in a tiny town called Manarola.Læs mere