13 June: Arriving @ Roma - Pompeii @ Napoli

At last arrived at Roma, after 12 + 2 + 2 hours.

We headed straight to ancient city Pompeii, the well known historical site which was a result a volcanic eruption caused by the angry volcano, Vesuvius which is still active these days. This is the first World Heritage site we visited in this trip.

This is not the first time I visit such sites. Can easily draw a comparison with Ephesus in Turkey. It's about 'experiencing' what people of those old days lived - through walking the ruins - their habitat houses, the bath, the bakery areas, the commercial & shopping streets, etc. It's well known because of its historical values, when today's mankind attempt to piece as much information as possible of the great civilization, the once powerful Roman empire. The culture was so rich... not just contained in this site, but this region - the Greeks and the Turks. It's filled with admiration, it's about curiosity, too.

Paintings on the wall

The fountain area in a common bath area

The Romans were well-known builders of aqueducts!

13 June: First Lunch in Rome

Our first lunch in Rome was at AutoGrill, a popular chain situated along the highways.
We were on the way to Pompeii.

13 June: what awaits us @ Roma

Three things that Italy is famous for... (We were told)

1. Fashion

2. Food

3. Traffic jams

to find out in the rest of the trip to come.

As in Napoli, we saw the famous lemon that is as big as a pomelo!

Have not tasted it yet, though we were told that it has an exceptionally high sugar level.

As of pizza, Leslie "forewarned" us not to pin too high hope on the famous margarita 'cos the main ingredient are tomato and cheese, which is a bit 'monotonous' compared to the modified versions we have at home!

The gigantic lemons at Pompeii

13 June: Transiting @ Istanbul

Probably because it's an early morning flight, the immigration counter at the Istanbul airport was definitely not as busier as what Leslie had described though the process was not quite computerized. I saw more chaotic situation before!

The transit time was quite short. Took a glimpse of the price tags of stuff sold there - a Magnum ice cream costs €7.30. A muffin costs the same too! Wow! "Daylight robbery"?