With plenty of other sites to investigate, I never found the large amphitheater I had hoped to see, but our class will probably be taking its own trip to this region later next month, so I'll have another chance at that time. And another chance to buy trinkets to support the local economy, of course. I can only hope the weather is like this again on our return trip -- late October and it's sunny and must be 75 degrees. How much did it rain today in Seattle? ;-)

The main disadvantage of this trip is that it's not an overnight adventure, and so too soon we must pile back onto the bus for the ride back to Rome. But not before taking a ride around the Gulf of Naples to Sorrento, above hillsides covered with olive trees (and also covered with acres of netting, to catch the olives as they fall), along roads and through towns carved from hillside as delicately as a cameo is carved from a shell, and with a spectacular view of Mount Vesuvius across the sparkling water.

On the way north, I noticed how every little bit of land around us seemed to be used for agriculture of some kind. It wasn't just landscaped or looking as though the inhabitants took good care of their property. No, there were serious well-tended crops being grown everywhere, even right next to the highway that we drove along. Must be that excellent volcanic soil that Vesuvius spits out every so often, because I just didn't see any bare patches of land not being put to use until long after the mountain was behind us.

Returning into Rome, I saw a cemetery next to the highway, with many lit candles on graves and next to tombs, and several small Stars of David illuminated around the burial grounds. A Jewish cemetery, apparently. But is it some sort of holy day? Dunno. In some ways, there are way too many holidays around here to keep track of, and sometimes it seems to be a special occasion Just Because.