Herculaneum and Pompeii

Another packed day as we visited the archeological sites of Herculaneum and Pompeii, buried when Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79 AD. We left for Naples after breakfast, first to Herculaneum, an hour's drive away. We were met by a local guide, an archeologist, who took us on a walk over the small but very well preserved site that sat right next to residential areas in the town of Ercolano. The guide pointed interesting artifacts and structures along the way. We were told that there were more of the ancient city buried but it would be almost impossible to relocate current residents to dig it up.

After that rather brief tour, we got back on the bus and stopped for lunch just outside of Pompeii at an outdoor restaurant with shades. It was hot but the fans placed everywhere made it bearable. We had a simple and quick lunch since we had a lot to cover in Pompeii. I ordered a sandwich while my travel mate had a tuna salad. Both were rather large, but very good.

After lunch and a quick restroom break, we entered the Pompeii archeological site. I have been to Pompeii when I lived in Italy over 10 years ago. This is a much much bigger site than Herculaneum. There was hardly any shade and it was mid afternoon. It was tough following the guide through the interesting structures. I was so happy I brought my umbrella and was able to deploy it for a little shade.

Back at the hotel, we had another cooking demonstration, this time, a complete three course dinner. I was amazed that the kitchen crew, under the direction of the chef, was able to put together the pasta dish from scratch. The trick was the use of machinery that did everything, from mixing the flour and eggs to pushing the pasta dough out in the shape this area is known for, scialatielli, somewhat like linguini but thicker and cut short. The chef showed how the seafood sauce was made, with clams, mussels and squid: the result was scialatielli allo scoglio. At the same time another chef showed us how to make baked fish seasoned with breadcrumbs for the main course. Then, they asked for volunteers to make tiramasu which we had for dessert. It was quite an experience!