The Best Place I Ever Visited

 Originally Written Between 2013-2015

Oh my goodness!  What a topic!  How does one pick and choose the best?  Well, after thinking that maybe I should write about fabulous Puerto Rico (since I seem to go there year after year), I probably should confess that while it does have the most perfect weather for a winter’s vacation, it is not my favorite.  Or maybe I should say that it doesn’t “stand out” in particular such as other vacation spots I’ve taken.

Unfortunately, I can’t pick just one.  Therefore, I have a tie between Venice, Italy and another Italian city – Pompeii.

Norm and I went on a Mediterranean cruise for our 40^th anniversary.  The cruise started in Rome and took us through most of Italy, Spain, Croatia, and France.  One of the excursions took us on a tour of the hidden city – Pompeii.  To read a little from the literature, Pompeii was a resort town in the Roman Empire, located south of Naples on the western coast of Italy.  Many wealthy Romans had “country homes” there.  At its height, Pompeii had a population of nearly 20,000 people.  This happens to be a highly active volcanic area, and on August 24, 79AD, the city was buried by the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius.  Most people fled the eruption at the start, but an estimated 2,000 people opted to stay and were buried in the eruption along with the city.  The bulk of material covering Pompeii was lapilli (a small, lightweight pebbly material) and ash.  Most died from a blast of poisonous gasses.  The eruption lasted for nearly a day, the end result being Pompeii buried under some 25 feet of volcanic material and Herculaneum (Pompeii’s neighbor to the north) with as much as 65 feet.

While the two cities remained in people’s memories, as time passed, the exact locations were lost.  They were re-discovered in the 1700’s.  Excavation was started, but mostly amounted to looting by various owners at that time.  It wasn’t until the mid-1800’s that careful recording of discoveries began.  The lapilli and ash had done an amazing job of preserving the city.  Though walls and ceilings had collapsed, people’s belongings were left as they were when disaster struck.  Many took their gold and jewels, but left everything else behind.

I placed various pictures of Pompeii in our trip photo album.  Anyone with a wheelchair or even a walker would not be able to tour the city.  The streets were paved with huge rocks – very uneven rocks.  In one picture, you can see the grooves that were made by the chariots.  And, the one thing that moved Pompeii to the top of my favorite places is the fact that the murals on the walls in the homes are still intact!  Beautiful vibrant colors still exist after being hidden for well over 1700 years and since the mid-1800’s, left open to the elements.  These are gorgeous murals.  One picture even shows the mosaic entrance to a Pompeii home – every stone in place.

Now… on to Venice, Italy.  Norm and I visited Venice for our 25^th wedding anniversary and fell in love with the city that is surrounded by water.  So, of course, we were excited to go back for our 40^th.  The ship “parked” right next to St. Mark’s Square and we stayed in Venice for almost two days – going on and off the ship as we pleased. Our anniversary is in September and that meant the crowds were smaller and the weather was perfect for Fall. We, of course, did all of the “touristy stuff” but found ourselves experiencing a very different – and so exciting – evening.   We decided to go to a concert that was advertised all over the city.  The concert took place in a huge second-floor ballroom.  We were determined to find this building without any help from the locals.  Of course, that worked for about six blocks and we were completely lost.  We got up enough nerve to ask.  We showed a kind-looking gentleman the address on our tickets and he pointed behind us.  We were already there!

Anyway, the concert consisted of nine musicians in period costumes playing the harpsichord, violins, cello, and other string instruments.  The four equally costumed singers sang parts of various well-known operas.  The thing that overwhelmed me, however, was the fact that I was in this most beautiful space –- 15-foot ceilings with floor-to-ceiling draped windows that opened to the sounds of the street below.  This was the exact space where Mozart, Beethoven, Brahams, Handel and others played so many centuries ago.  Their music came alive and it was very emotional for me.

Next time, I will remember to bring my camera to the concert.  You see, we plan on going back in a year and a half – to celebrate our 50^th anniversary and we definitely want to revisit our favorite cities.  Of course…… there is also Paris…… and Brussels….. and London.  I think this is going to be one long trip!