I'm Back!

[CarlD]

We came into Naples but went to Pompei one day and Herculaneum the other.

We also went into Rome, Messina, Florence and Pisa (yes, the tower really leans). Here's a shot I took on Friday. You can see someone at the rail by the bells. If you are crazy and fearless you can climb to the VERY top above the bells. I got as far as the rail around the bells. The whole site is much more beautiful than we expected--or than it used to be, and they are nearly finished cleaning the tower so it's white, not dark soot. They've stabilized it so it's safe. The romanesque cathedral it's part of also leans, though not as dramatically. People don't realize this is a cathedral's bell tower--and the bells still ring. It was old when Galileo climbed it, and the chandelier in the cathedral is supposedly the one he saw swinging and timed to begin his investigations into the laws of Gravity.



It's a tough job, but someone's got to do it--visit all these amazing places!