Black Keys & Band Of Horses @ PNC Pavilion

God! It's so hot!  I do not like the Carolina's in the summer.

Anyway, after the boys liked Paul McCartney, we decided that the Black Keys would be another good show for them so when they started selling $25 tickets for the lawn, it seemed like a bargain.

I am not a fan of seeing shows at PNC Pavilion.  It's soo big and Live Nation have made it worse by ridiculous fees on tickets and penny pinching in general ($10 extra for an isle seat...really?).  Mom decided rock n roll on a school night was too much, so the boys and I headed up to the show in the 90 degree heat.  Band of Horses had already started, we could hear them in the parking lot.  It was easy to get in (not like last time with ZZ Top) and we found our way to the back of the lawn.  Bought some drinks, and was headed over to the merchandise stand, when we ran into Sanders.  All the Guignards were there - for E & B's first concert, so we set up camp with them in the middle at the front of the lawn.  Band of Horses continued their set in the background.  I don't know their stuff, but the crowd down the front definitely did, and they were into it.

Band of Horses Setlist

Not long after 9.15pm, the Black Keys hit the stage, to a not very full venue. It's been better if they'd sold out the smaller amphitheater Uptown instead. Howlin' for You, the 2nd song got everyone going, but by the time they played Tighten Up, B had hit the wall and faded to the blanket. The band was good, but the sound wasn't the best - just typical for a big venue, and I kept falling into the trap of watching the screens instead of the actual band. They played enough songs spread out to keep L interested.  Gold On The Ceiling, Do The Rump and Have Love Will Travel were highlights through the middle of the set.  When the set finished we decided we'd be right at the back for the encore to make the quick escape when it was all over.  Little Black Submarines and L's favorite, Lonely Boy, finished the night (and seemed to revitalize B).  The boys said they had a good time, but I think B was being polite - he and E gave up pretty early (the Guignards left before the set was over).  I hope they enjoy concerts as much as I do in the future - once they get used to staying up late.

Black Keys Setlist

The Crap Facts:

This is my 476th concert.
This is my 4th show at PNC Pavilion 
This is my 93rd show in Charlotte
This is my 110th show in North Carolina.
This is my 279th concert in the US.
Band Of Horses are the 550th band I've seen

This is my 5th Black Keys show.

Herculaneum, Italy to Rome, Italy

While the boys and I packed up the apartment, A headed back to Il Tartufo for a variety of pastries for breakfast.

We left for Herculaneum at 10am and arrived in no time.

Herculaneum is about a quarter of the size of Pompeii and there at 10% of the people, making the feel a little more comfortable. The structures here are also in better shape. Lots of art, mosaics and buildings in complete form. It’s hot again today, but with fewer people, and the ease to find shade, it seems a lot easier to get around. Our tour starts at the Terrace of Marcus Nonius Balbus. The Casa di Servi was our first stop, but it was the Casa del Bicentenario that first caught our eye. This 2-storey home was large and airy. Many frescos on the wall and a well maintained “doormat” mosaic. Next to it is Augusteum, the arch, which leads to Sede Degli Augustali, a one-time religious building. Augustali is in sublime condition. Whole walls covered in frescos, as well as the Plaque to Augustus. Casa di Nettuno e Anfitrite was out next stop. These were the women’s baths, and again these 200-year-old buildings are just in magnificent shape. The Termini Centrali had wonderful marine-themed apodyterium mosaic. Stops into a couple more houses bought an end to our 3 hours in Herculaneum. A better day heat and people wise from yesterday, but just as amazing an archeological site as yesterday. A great finale to 2 weeks of non-stop history.

Herculaneum, Italy

Casa del Bicentenario, Herculaneum, Italy

Casa di Nettuno e Anfitrite, Herculaneum, Italy

L, D & B, Sedi Degli Augustali, Herculaneum, Italy

D, L, B & M, Herculaneum, Italy

Just outside the park is La Terra d’Ercole, where we climb the thin spiral stairs to have lunch. In the heat it’s pizza, pasta and salad and a bucket of water trying to hydrate.

After lunch we’re back on the road for the drive to Hotel Isola Scora near the Rome Airport, where we’ll spend the last night. The boys are dying to get back in the pool, and it’s a great way to cool off after this morning and the 3-hour drive from Herculaneum. The hotel is nice and we have 2 rooms.

As the sun went down, we drove out to Fiumicino and had dinner at a restaurant on the canal (across from the Coast Guard – I don’t remember the name of it). The food was good, and a perfect non-touristy end to this awesome vacation. This is a local’s area, but as a street by the canal, it is lined with restaurants and bars, and by the time we left the whole area was jumping. Of course, we didn’t miss out on one last chance at gelato, as we picked up an order from Gelateria Polo Nord.

What a great couple of weeks – Sunday morning we returned the car and made an easy trip into the airport. Made our flight with plenty of time, and it was a smooth, uneventful ride home. I (and I’m sure the family) had a great time. It was great to be in Italy with some money and time. So different from 24 years ago, backpacking in a tent in Rome and Florence. The best part was sharing it all with A and the boys. I really hope they appreciate this in ears to come. And for the opportunity to spend this time with Pops and NanNan made it all the more special.

Pompeii, Italy

We got up this morning and prepared for our day at Pompeii. We walked out to the car but not before stopping at Il Tartufo Pasticceria & Caffe for a pastry breakfast.

We are about 4 miles from Pompeii but traffic, both volume and ferocity, means it’s a slow trip before we find a parking lot near a grocery store and walk back to the entrance. We have tickets already, so it’s straight in for us. We’re in not long after 10 am, and begin our 3 hours in the heat around this unshaded archeological marvel.

It's hot! Hotter than hell. And there is no escaping it here. These ruins, caused by Mt. Vesuvius’ eruption in AD 79 took the roofs off a majority of buildings, giving you very few opportunities to hide from the sun.

You enter and the first site you see is the Quadriportico, a grassed courtyard leading to the Teatro Piccolo. We walked up Via Stabiana and took a left on Via dell’Abbondanza and stopped into all the open rooms we could, including a Roman Kitchen, Terme Stabiane, and the House of the Wild Boar, with it’s beautiful, intact floor mosaics. The street leads to the southern end of the Forum. On approach you see the Centaur Statue, but once you get into the open Forum you get this sweeping view of Pompeii with Vesuvius in the background to the north. The mountain still looms ominously over the tragic site, that has become a modern marvel.

B, M & L, Via Stabiana, Pompeii, Italy

House of the Wild Boar, Pompeii, Italy

Mt. Vesuvius, Pompeii, Italy

The heat has already become too much and we seek refuge and rehydrate in a general store before the rest of the self-guided tour.

North through the Forum takes us up to Casa del Poeta Tragico, where we saw the well preserved and likely oldest, “Beware of the Dog” sign, in the shape of another black and white floor tiling. A brief step North-west on Via della Fortuna took us to Casa del Fauno, with its exquisite courtyard and gardens. A quick stop in Casa di Marco Lucrezio and Casa del Larario di Achille for some pictures of some of the artwork was had before we walked down to Orto dei Fuggiaschi, where the preserved ashen bodies of some of Vesuvius’ victims lie on display. This is really eerie, yet well and truly fascinating at the same time, that these remains have stood the test of time for 2000 years. At this point we were done. It had been 3 hours and although there was a lot of Pompeii to see, we called time and left, but not before stopping into the 2-storey Casa del Criptoportico, which had some wonderful frescos on the wall and mosaics in almost perfect condition. Having left without looking at the map I was disappointed to later find out that at Fuggiaschi, we were so close to the Palestra Grande and Anfiteatro, which we definitely should have seen. Regardless, it had been a magnificent stop on this trip and something I’ll remember for a long time. I hope the boys get the significance. I assume they will, as it was them who wanted to come to Pompeii specifically.

Casa del Poeta Tragico, Pompeii, Italy

Orto dei Fuggiaschi, Pompeii, Italy

B, M, L & D, Casa del Larario di Achille, Pompeii, Italy

Before we got back to the car, we went into the grocery store behind the parking lot to buy lunch, which we took back to the apartment.

The day took it out of all of us, and I started to get a migraine. Fortunately, we now have parking at the apartment, so after a quick unload, we had lunch and went into siesta mode. I was just a relief to be out of the heat more than anything.

While resting, A decided that the evening we would drive down to Sorrento for dinner. At 5pm we made the, what turned out to be, the adventurous trip an hour south (though only 28 kilometers). The drive was a winding road through a couple of mountain tunnels, but the most amazing part was the devil may care attitude of the crazy moped riders. They just were constantly overtaking us, weaving in and out of traffic, crossing double yellow lines to oncoming traffic all the way to Sorrento. It was so distressing to watch people fly by us in the craziest of moves, that in the end it became a joke in the car. Better us than them. The last few kilometers down the mountain gave a panoramic ocean view, and while traffic was congested, the view became calming. We had a parking station placed in Google Maps, that turned out to be a valet service and that is where we parked. We walked over a bridge to see to the Valle dei Mulini, the flour mills that have been abandoned since the 1940’s. Now overgrown, the buildings seem creepy, stuck down in the valley away, but so close to this bustling city. We walk down towards the water, through the lively entertainment district – restaurants and stores as far as the eye can see. It’s lovely to see the ocean, though weird to me that is below some rather high cliffs, not easily accessible like most other coastal places I’ve been. Via Padre Reginaldo Giuliani was a street lined with outdoor dining restaurants, where we found Ristorante Sorrento and sat outside and had a marvelous dinner. Pizza and pasta, as always, and a great meal in a great spot. We wandered the streets of Sorrento, stopping at stores and the obligatory gelato. Close to 10pm we got back in the car and made the calmer ride back to Torre Annunziata.

L, M & B, Sorrento, Italy

A huge day today, with one more before we head home. It’s always disappointing when a trip comes to an end, but this has been such a blast.