Further impressions

We don't seem to be getting very far from Pompei, mainly because we're having difficulty with the driving around here - for the problems see the Fox's blog. We did try to get to Castelmarre di Stabia to get totally lost. We did discover Pompei's out of town supermarket. We decided to get some bottles of water & some wine. We returned to discover some vandal had scratched right along our hire car. There goes our 600 euro deposit!

A trip to Salerno did actually find us there, but unable to find a parking space. It looked beautiful with a long, flat promenade, the lungo mare, along the Mediterranean Sea. We're thinking we might try again sometime midweek.

We have now made various discoveries. Disabled parking spaces are delineated in yellow/orange, the colour of Italian disabled badges. That should make finding parking easier.

Lacrima Christi wine, a grape only grown on the lower levels of Vesuvius, is delicious. It's slightly more expensive than some but still reasonable compared to English prices. Definitely something we will look out for when we return home. It comes in red, white or rosé.

We've also found a very good restaurant just around the corner from the hotel. We keep surprising the waiter by choosing items that are on the Italian version of the menu, but not on the English. The spaghetti con vongole (with baby clams) was delicious. Yesterday we both tried the risotto con funghi porcinini - obviously the Italians share the French opinion that the English don't eat mushrooms so there's no need to translate - & shared our first real Italian pizza, quite unlike those you get in England. Even the bread is different, made with olive oil & baked in special wood-fired ovens. As for the tomatoes, they have an intensity of flavour never experienced in England.

We've splashed out on an extra map, which hopefully means we stand a chance of getting where we want to. I wouldn't guarantee that when few roads have road signs or directions. I just hope we will be able to find Naples airport before the plane takes off when it comes time to return home. We're intending to allow plenty of time for that trip.

We've also bought a dictionary. The phrase book is not sufficient. Contrary to what the guidebooks say few people in Pompei speak English so we need some extra words. But then the town itself is not an obvious tourist place. Most visitors prefer to stay in Sorrento, on the Amalfi coast or in Naples itself.

We're also struck by the level of poverty there is in the area. The roads are in bad repair. Much of the housing is uninspiring concrete blocks of flats. And yet some things are expensive. We've met one English couple whose bags got left behind at Manchester airport. They had to do some hasty clothes shopping to find a T-shirt could cost 250 euros! They were relieved to find a cheaper sports shop but even so it was nearer £25 for a basic T-shirt. Their joy when their suitcases caught up with them was all too apparent.

The adventure continues.