Pompei - City of Ruins

Lena & I started the morning traveling from the cruise ship via metro & train to Pompei. We didn't find a spot outside the port in Naples to purchase a metro ticket and ended up riding to the train station for free.  The train ride from Naples to Pompei took about 35 minutes and cost 2.80 euro each.  There were signs in the train station saying - be aware of pick-pockets -  so we were both on "red alert".  A neat little band boarded the train and played music for everyone in our compartment. It was fun and we arrived in Pompei without incident. 

Pompei was very interesting.  We walked the runis of the city destroyed when Mount Vesuveus errupted in 79 AD.  At the time Pompei was a middle class trading town with over 20,000 residents. We saw the runis of homes, a large forum, municipal buildings, two outdoor arenas and even a bakery. It was funny that the most crowded "attraction" in Pompei was the whorehouse... Crowds of tour groups gathered outside waiting to walk around inside.  

We returned to Naples via train and walked through the middle of town in search of an "authentic" pizzeria.  We found the pizzeria recommended by Rick Steves but when we arrived we saw the long line outside and changed direction. We found another pizzeria closer to the port and enjoyed a thin Naples pizza (proscuttio & cheese) with wine.    

Back at the ship we cleaned up and joined Walt, Tania, my Mom & Dad for dinner and drinks.  Walt & Tania celebrated their 52nd wedding anniversary and the wait staff sang them congratulations.  Our next stop is Santorini.  We have a full day at sea (Wednesday the 21st) before we arrive in Santorini.  The ship captain made an announcement today that there will be nine (9) cruise ships in Santorini.  There could be more than 20,000 people on the island tomorrow... it should be interesting ;)

Birthday in Roma!

We spent Lena's birthday this year in Roma. We traveled from the port city of Civitavechia to Roma via TrenItalia... the Italian train system.  It was fun traveling with Walt, Tania and my mom & dad on an Italian train.  We told stories and before we knew it we were all in Roma. 

Our train arrived at San Peitro station and Lena & I walked 15 minutes to Vatican City for our tour of the Sistine Chapel and St. Peter's cathedral.  The weather in Roma was beautiful and the crowds in St. Peter's square were large.  We took in the scene at St. Peter's square and then walked a short way to the Vatican Museum to tour the Sistine Chapel.  

Roma water... the best! 

Vatican Museum and the Sistine Chapel was packed.  It seemed like everyone in Roma was at the museum.  We snuck out the "side exit" from the Sistine Chapel to gain access to St. Peter's and did our own "Rick Steves" tour we downloaded to our iPods.  Elena & I tried to view the fresco of St. Peter's crucifixion but got yelled by the local guard.  We didn't realize the area around the fresco was reserved for sitting and saying prayers.   

The highlight of the day was walking to a local pizzeria at the end of our tours.  My parents got lost in the Sistine Chapel but Walt & Tania joined us to help celebrate Lena's birthday with great pizza and local red wine!  

Barcelona - a walk through the city

Elena & I landed in Barcelona, Spain this morning after a long flight from San Diego.  We made a hectic trip from the airport to the hotel via bus, train and the local metro.  I didn't realize the metro stations in Barcelona don't have escalators.  Elena & I lugged several bags ups numerous flights of stairs and in/out of several trains. It was a bit of a work-out and I'm glad it's over.  Once we dropped off our bags at the hotel we decided to walk a section of Barcelona called The Rambles.

One of the neat things we found in Barcelona this morning were the local water fountains.  After traveling all night and working up a sweat carting bags from the airport it was time for a drink.  Check out the huge water fountain in the center of town!

Elena & I had lunch today at a place called Cafe d L Opera.  Despite walking more than 3 miles we didn't eat much.  Elena had a Sangria and I had a beer.... not much of a lunch!

Local street musicians today in Barcelona. 

View of the city during our walk today. 

We had dinner tonight in Barcelona at a place called Cafe de L'Academia.  It was a great place on a pretty square tucked away in the heart of the Barri Gotic neighborhood of Barcelona. Here my folks and Elena's folks are walking to the restaurant.  Everyone thought we were lost except Elena & I! 

The Home Stretch ....

We're in the "home stretch" of the backyard remodel.  The guys worked on both the deck and BBQ area this week.  The deck is made of redwood trucked down from Oregon. The posts, beams and ledgers arrived with plastic wrap around each piece.  I suppose the wrap keeps the wood clean during transit.  It really looked new when it was unwrapped.

 Julio smiles for the camera as he finishes the stone work on the new BBQ. 

The crew worked on the deck most of the week.  We "upsized" the ledgers from 2"x6" to 3"x6".  This made a big difference in the look and structural integrity of the deck.  When we added the larger ledgers the deck looks more like an arbor when viewed from underneath.  I was joking with the crew this week that the deck is so SOLID that when the big one hits N. California... Elena & I will wait it out under the deck!

Here's the view from the deck with the 2"x6" redwood floor.  The railing gets added this week.

Here's the finished BBQ structure.  The countertop and stainless steel BBQ gets added this week.

This photo shows the stone detail on the stairs leading up to the BBQ area and deck.  We had a worker at the house today pressure cleaning the stone (yeah I know on a Sunday no less).  They intend to seal all stone surfaces tomorrow.

The deck will follow

We're in the final stages of backyard construction.  Last week the teams finished the stone work on the patio and made preparations for the new deck.  We added a new walk-way to the lower section of the backyard last week.  The photo above shows the walkway before the new concrete was poured today.  

The construction teams used a wheel barrow to haul the concrete from the cement truck to the walkway. They made at least 20 trips with wheel barrows today!  

Here's a photo of the half finished walkway.  The concrete is a color called "San Diego Brown".  The walkway looks much better today!

I know what your thinking... what's so special about three (3) concrete blocks?  The blocks are the foundation and form for the new BBQ.  The crew set the blocks yesterday and bolted them together. Next steps are to add the stone exterior, place the BBQ & shelves and finally pour a concrete stained counter top. The work will be complete next week.

The center piece to the backyard is the new deck!  You can see in the photo above three (3) posts that will support the new deck.  We finalized the deck design last week and the crew ordered new redwood lumber.  The redwood material should arrive tomorrow morning.  Deck construction begins!!!

Masons at work

The masons have been on-site all week cutting, measuring and laying new stone.  Work started this week on the fireplace and bench at the edge of the patio.   Each piece of stone is cut by hand and laid in place.  These guys have been cutting and setting stone all week.

 Here's the new fireplace and bench.  It's about 80% complete.  It should be complete once the bench stone is set in concrete, cleaned and sealed.

We selected a stone called Navajo Brown for the patio surface.  It's a very heavy stone similar to flagstone.  The color may not look brown now due to the concrete dust caused by all the sawing.  The stone will look much better once it's cleaned and sealed.

End of a day's work.  It took the crew all day yesterday to add the rock to the bench on the left.  Here you can see the new wall and stairs leading up to the future BBQ.

Maxwelton remodel - Week 5

Today was the "big pour" day. The concrete truck showed up at 7:30 this morning despite the Piedmont ordinance that prohibits work before 8 am.   A big concrete pour requires a lot of manpower to move, form and set concrete.  The Garden Lights crew was eleven strong... their largest crew to date.  One crew poured the lower patio and the walkway along the side of the house.  The second crew cut and laid new stone on the upper portion of the patio.

Here the crew is holding the hose for the concrete pour into the new retaining wall.  This wall holds up the new landscape area adjacent to the new patio.

Here's a good shot of the new retaining wall adjacent to the patio.  This is the same wall as the photo above taken from below.

Here the crew is pumping concrete onto the main patio.  In the right of the photo you can see the new stairs leading to the new upper patio.  Note the new rebar supporting the concrete. Our old patio didn't have supporting rebar in the concrete... a must for earthquake prone N. California.

Here's the new patio looking up towards the garage and upper patio section.  The crew begins laying stone on the lower patio later this week. The large white pipe sticking up to the left of the photo will be a drain for the gas fireplace.

New stone on the upper patio was laid today.  Nice to see the backyard finally taking shape!