uncommonly feeble and random thoughts

Just for visual starters... this is the second shot I took on the trip. It's looking out over the balcony of our room, over the Gulf of Naples. We hadn't even unpacked our bags yet. The very first shot was this exact framing, a minute or two earlier, but without the boat, and wake. Photography is sometimes about preparation, but I think more about luck. From the Grand Hotel La Favorita in Sorrento at 2:39 pm. "The Favorite" indeed. My immediate sense was "omg this can't be real".  And yet, here we are. We were met at the airport, at the baggage carousel, by a Tauk guide (naturally) and were whisked from NAP (Naples-Capodichino International Airport) to a waiting, black, Mercedes limo driven by Luigi... cue The Godfather theme music.   La Masseria Farm Tour We arrived in Italy a day before the official tour began, but Tauk is such an extraordinary company, they offered, and we took, a tour of a Sorrento lemon farm.  We met a small bus and somehow surviv...

Crafting this post has a difficulty factor of about 9.9, for several reasons.  First, we arrived early to the site in order to beat the crowds - which was a big plus. It worked. However, rather than having overhead, more midday sun, we had early sun, so long shadows. I tried to take advantage of the drama but was not able to conquer the challenge. Second, the ruins did not lend themselves to my photo-narrative eye. It was a hard shoot. Last, our visit followed the Sorrento-Amalfi excursions, which were landscape-gorgeous, and it was hard switching gears.  Let's begin with a brief intro to this most fascinating city: Pompeii was a thriving seaport, just south of what is now Naples.  It was a marvel of urban planning, municpal innfrastructure, and artistic and architectural excellence. Streets and a clean water supply were vital conveniences for residents. Merchants grew rich on trade, and local restaurants/bars and bakeries did brisk business. Every block had a well. Upon ...

  Our first stop had to be the Colosseum... under construction, yet and still. It originally sported a gleaming white external facade, but that marble was stripped off to pave St. Peter's Square.  There are some blocks laying about, waiting for the reconstruction: It turns out there was a canvas "roof" for the Colosseum that required the efforts of a thousand sailors to deploy.   Nearby, the Arch of Constantine:           Italy Posts (click to navigate): Context, intro, meandrie avertimentis Sorrento and Amalfi Coast Pompeii Imperial Rome Rome, St. Peter's Square & Borghese Gallery Orvieto & Umbria Historic Assisi Tuscany, Lucca Florence Cinque Terre Villages Venice Final thoughts  

            Italy Posts (click to navigate): Context, intro, meandrie avertimentis Sorrento and Amalfi Coast Pompeii Imperial Rome Rome, St. Peter's Square & Borghese Gallery Orvieto & Umbria Historic Assisi Tuscany, Lucca Florence Cinque Terre Villages Venice Final thoughts

            Italy Posts (click to navigate): Context, intro, meandrie avertimentis Sorrento and Amalfi Coast Pompeii Imperial Rome Rome, St. Peter's Square & Borghese Gallery Orvieto & Umbria Historic Assisi Tuscany, Lucca Florence Cinque Terre Villages Venice Final thoughts

            Italy Posts (click to navigate): Context, intro,meandrie avertimentis Sorrento and Amalfi Coast Pompeii Imperial Rome Rome, St. Peter's Square & Borghese Gallery Orvieto & Umbria Historic Assisi Tuscany, Lucca Florence Cinque Terre Villages Venice Final thoughts