Within the hustle and bustle of the metropolis of Naples, Italy, the Museo Archeologico Nazionale (National Archaeological Museum) is located at the NW corner of the original Greek wall of the city of Neapolis. This museum contains a large collection of Roman artifacts from Pompeii, Stabiae and Herculaneum. The collection includes the best quality of Roman, Greek and Italian Renaissance works, including the famous Farnese Collection. This museum also houses gems collected by Cosimo de' Medici and Lorenzo il Magnifico in the 15th century, as well as the Farnese Marbles.

Museo Archeologico Nazionale

Piazza Museo Nazionale, 19, 80135 - Napoli

Tel. 039.081.292823

Bacchus

Bona Dea

I love this one - it's like a "Dia de los muertos" from Pompeii - awesome mosaic

Doryphoros - the Spearbearer (Roman Copy)

Mosaic Lion

Farnese Bull - this is one of the most amazing works.

Three Graces Mosaic from Pompeii - again, simply amazing detail

And when exiting the Museum, take a walk straight across the busy, noisy street. Through this quiet little oasis, you will find a quaint and peaceful reprieve from the hustle and bustle, car horns, yelling, sirens and traffic. At the other end of this thruway, there is a cute ristorante/cafe that has the most excellent pizza for lunch.

        

Cerveteri (Caere), about 48km north of Rome, is one of the greatest of Etruscan cities which date as far back as 9th century BCE.

The town of Cerveteri, otherwise known as Caere, boasts an incredible Necropolis.

The interiors of these tombs resemble rooms in ancient Etruscan homes. The main burial area is the Necropolis of Banditacca where the Tomba Bella (Tomb of the Reliefs) is located.

On the walls of this tomb are relief depictions of household items, pets and anything the dead would need in the next world. Of course there are the 'beds' for the dead, where Etruscans laid their loved ones for all of eternity.

Many of the tombs are open to the public and you are free to walk the necropolis. We visited near dusk and I was able to get some great shots of the turning leaves and diminishing sunlight and shadows between the tombs.

Simply walking through these tumuli gave an 'otherworldly' feeling, and descending and ascending in and out of the tombs was even more of an experience I can compare to no other.

Many of the relics found in Cerveteri can be found in Rome's Etruscan Museum, the Villa Giulia.

Necropolis of Cerveteri (tel. 06-9940001), Open daily from 8:30am to 1 hour before sunset.

Admission is 6€ ($9.60) for adults and 3€ ($4.80) for children under 18 years of age.

Website: http://www.comune.cerveteri.rm.it/engver/index.html

        

Thoughts on Versailles
 
It was a pleasure to take a day trip to Versailles when we were in Paris this vacation. I had read so much about it and studied it in art history courses. After entering the huge gate, the cobblestone courtyard oozes with history and one wonders how many monarchs, queens and court dandies and ladies in waiting have set foot on it.
 

Inside the palace, there were many pieces of artwork and busts of French royalty and famous Frenchmen lining the sides of the hallways. We saw the Kings chambers, with Louis XIV’s bed, where he slept and died, watched by many members of court. We also saw the Queens chambers, as well as Marie Antoinette’s rooms.

Viewing the Hall of Mirrors was awesome with all the crystal and gold leaf. The marble floors were beautiful. The opulence of this palace is overwhelming!

The gardens and grounds were our favorite part, though. There is so much to see. We did a huge amount of walking, as we didn’t get there early enough to rent a golf cart, which would have made exploring the grounds more efficient and less exhausting.

We saw the pond where the famous swans of Versailles live, and they are quite the beggars. I rustled some paper, pretending to get some food for them so we could get a good picture up close.

As we were there in March, many of the marble urns were covered, as if they were to fill with water and freeze, they would crack. The trees in the garden were starting to bud, and some of the early spring flowers were also peeking out.

The Grand Trianon and Petit Trianon and Marie Antoinette’s Hamlet were also very wonderful. The Grand Trianon was fashioned in Italian Renaissance style with beautiful marble patterns and columns in pale pink, black and white. The Petit Trianon and Marie’s Hamlet were much more country French in appearance. We saw a vast French country kitchen that we wanted to bring home with us.

If we were to ever visit there again, we would skip the palace and go directly to the gardens and Marie Antoinette’s Hamlet, and hopefully that would be when everything is in bloom.

        

Here is a list of some of the sites and museums I visited in Paris. My mom and dad, who make fairly frequent trips, have a much longer list.

Musée du Louvre
Rue de Rivoli, 75001 Paris, France
Phone: +33 1 40 20 57 60‎
Website: http://www.louvre.fr/llv/commun/home.jsp?bmLocale=en

Musée d’ Orsay
62, rue de Lille
75007 Paris, France
Phone: +33 1 40 49 48 14‎
Website: http://www.musee-orsay.fr/en/home.html

Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris
6 Parvis Notre-Dame
Place Jean-Paul II
75004 Paris
+33 (0)1 42 34 56 10
Website: http://www.notredamedeparis.fr/-English-

Sainte-Chapelle
Boulevard du Palais, 75001 Paris, France
Website: (travel site) http://www.sacred-destinations.com/france/paris-sainte-chapelle.htm

        

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