Catching our train for Sorrento ended up being a more difficult and comical task than planned. We arrived at the platform about 10 minutes before the train was due to arrive, but it hadn't been clearly communicated what time our train was coming in. For anyone who knows the metro/train system, then they know that within 10 minutes two or three different trains can roll through the same platform. Anyways, I was dying for a drink so I went off to buy one because I had heard we had about 10 minutes. As I walked away from our platform and up the stairs to the sales stand, a train stopped at our platform. I had looked and saw that it didn't say Sorrento on it, so I was betting that it wasn't our train. At the same time, I saw two of our instructors walking down the stairs towards the platform. I asked them if this was our train and they said "Yes." So oh well, I was going to go without my drink. I walked down with them and mentioned that the train didn't say Sorrento on it. My instructors quickly looked at each other and then began to sprint down the platform. At this point, all my classmates had boarded onto this wrong train and now my intstructors were running by knocking on windows and yelling at them to get off. Everyone managed to get off except for four people. To where they went, I have no idea. Luckily, they had cell phones on them, and we were able to quickly contact them. Overall, it was a pretty comical sight to watch it all happen. I ended up getting a perspective of it that no one else had, and at the end of it all, I was able to get my soda. :-)
After getting onto the correct train, we took it to Sorrento which is where we stayed the night. We had some time to kill before dinner, so I went shopping with a few other girls. I ended up making my first clothing/accessory purchase of my European stay in Sorrento! I bought a long strand of real pearls for 5 Euros! For dinner, our instructors set up a group dinner at a restaurant they now referred to as "The Lemon Tree". There we got served a delicious 4 course meal and had 4 bottles of wine to split at our table of 8! After dinner, Pia, our instructor, had set-up a special deal at disco club to get in and get our first drink for 8 Euro. Unfortunately, not a lot of people decided to take part in this but it was a lot of fun for those who did! It was rather comical to see our instructors showing off their moves on the dance floor. We even got to sing and dance to Alejandro by Lady Gaga with our instructor Alessandro!
Early the next morning we caught the train to Herculaneum. The place was soo cool! Herculaneum is smaller than Pompeii, but the building walls that are preserved are larger than those at Pompeii. We got to walk into different domuses (houses), baths, insulas (apartments), and stores. It was an amazing occasion to see frescoes dating back almost 2000 years to still be filled with color.
In my opinion, the general concept of buildings have not changed much from this date. Dining rooms and kitchens were close to their outdoor space. Bedrooms were placed near the back. Retail spaces advertised their products through their windows and painted advertisements on their exteriors. Wood beams and brick were used to build walls and tiles were used for flooring. Walls were being decorated with colored plaster (more beautifully than how walls are typically painted today). They had roads with sidewalks; even had holes in the sidewalks to tie up their horses. It makes me wonder is it just simply amazing how crafted and wise these people were during their time? Or are we unwise to still rely on some of these basic concepts? The more I looked around the area the more I thought, "Wow. We haven't advanced much from this time." Sure we have computers, phones, electricity, etc. but that is all technological and not what I'm focusing on for this point. What about building structures? I think it is merely an expanded idea of what these former figures have created. Then again, that is common design. Different art pieces are typically an adaption of something done before. So, that statement alone brings me back to my initial thought. These buildings from 79 AD are worthy of appraisal just like some buildings are today. They've been created ingeniously by a designer who has decided to design it based of what they have learned and analyzed with a personal stamp. And that is what continues to make the design wheel spin.
In my opinion, the general concept of buildings have not changed much from this date. Dining rooms and kitchens were close to their outdoor space. Bedrooms were placed near the back. Retail spaces advertised their products through their windows and painted advertisements on their exteriors. Wood beams and brick were used to build walls and tiles were used for flooring. Walls were being decorated with colored plaster (more beautifully than how walls are typically painted today). They had roads with sidewalks; even had holes in the sidewalks to tie up their horses. It makes me wonder is it just simply amazing how crafted and wise these people were during their time? Or are we unwise to still rely on some of these basic concepts? The more I looked around the area the more I thought, "Wow. We haven't advanced much from this time." Sure we have computers, phones, electricity, etc. but that is all technological and not what I'm focusing on for this point. What about building structures? I think it is merely an expanded idea of what these former figures have created. Then again, that is common design. Different art pieces are typically an adaption of something done before. So, that statement alone brings me back to my initial thought. These buildings from 79 AD are worthy of appraisal just like some buildings are today. They've been created ingeniously by a designer who has decided to design it based of what they have learned and analyzed with a personal stamp. And that is what continues to make the design wheel spin.
Hopefully, I'll be able to post about my trip to Capri tomorrow so be sure to check back!
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