Day 2 in Naples meant a train trip to Pompeii to absorb some of the history of ancient times.
We managed to negotiate the metro station and the Circumvesuviana train line with only one small hiccup: I nearly got on the wrong train! It was the right platform at the right time, but the wrong train - I dashed on board to get a seat ( the competition for seats is tough on Italian trains sometimes! ) only to hear Ewan's booming voice saying "Get off the train NOW!" which I did .
Finally sitting on the right train, it was as if we were at the United Nations: every tourist seems to go to Pompeii so there was almost every nationality represented. The trains are dirty, hot and covered in graffiti as is much of the city in Naples so it's always a relief to get to your destination.
Thousands of people visit every day, so it is big business. There's no end to the number of erupting Mount Vesuvius statues and Erotic Pompeii calendars available, none of which we purchased ( all of you expecting a gift should be very relieved!).
We went on a walking tour for two hours with a local Italian who spoke great English and was passionate abut Pompeii's history. Our experiences with autoguides here have been rather erratic, so we went for a real person this time, which proved to be an excellent idea.
Pompeii was bombarded with pumice stone and ash, and completely covered ,when Mt Vesuvius erupted in 79 AD. It was rediscovered and excavations began in the mid-18th century sponsored by wealthy families who wanted the art treasures hidden within. It covers about 44 hectares and was a large successful town with shops, enormous villas for the wealthy, slaves dwellings, wine bars, amphitheatres and take away restaurants, roads wide enough for chariots, and more brothels than bakeries! We've visited other Roman ruins in Turkey at Efesus and Hierapolis, and, as Erin will tell you, there were a lot of rocks, and not much else. But Pompeii has intact roads, and the walls and frescoes of many of the buildings remain. You get a real sense of what it would have been like to live in the city so many centuries ago. It was fascinating.
After we stopped at the 'Ye olde Roman ruins' restaurant in the middle of the site, Ewan provided great amusement for groups of elderly tourists from huge cruise liners by having a power nap sitting propped up against a wall. It was hot and humid so a snooze was in order after hours of walking around.
We caught the train home with no problems. Although we did wonder why we bothered to buy a ticket as we haven't needed any of the train tickets to get in and out of any of the train stations we have been in. Working as well as Myki I think!
So another trip to a pizzeria for a huge crisp pizza with delicious toppings and home for an early night.
Well, almost, as our preparation for this trip consisted of booking the flights to Rome and accommodation in Rome and Naples - and that was it. So with the aid of the trusty technology we planned another couple of days ( now I begin to see the point of the technology!) In the apartment the best wifi connection was accessed by sitting facing the bathroom door!?! Very peculiar indeed.
The old section of Naples where we stayed was full of busy narrow alleyways flanked by enormous apartment buildings with motorbikes , the occasional car and pedestrians vying for space and people everywhere. Huge rubbish bins don't seem to reduce the amount of rubbish and graffiti seems to cover every available space. It was never dull and there was always something new to see: shops selling tiny motorised figurines or buffalo mozzarella or decorated masks or marshmallow wedding dresses or musical instruments. .......and so on. Very intriguing!
Wednesday 11th September
We packed up, stopped for the usual breakfast of cafe latte and a cornetto ( Italian croissant) and headed for the same train line, this time to farewell Naples and go to Herculaneum or Ercolano Scavi.
It was a small fishing town not far from Pompeii right on the coast when it was buried by hot mud oozing from the ground caused by the eruption of Mt Vesuvius. The excavators had to dig through 12 metres of heavy solid dirt to get to the town buildings. The mud preserved the buildings better than at Pompeii and we saw some buildings with first floors, even the remains of a couple of beds and lots of carbonised wood doors that didn't survive at Pompeii. In one of the photos you can see some columns with a first floor of a building behind it: this is apparently a very significant historical building as no other buildings of the era remain in such good condition.
It was worthwhile going to both sites as they are different but I think we've covered the eruption of Mt Vesuvius, and now we are headed for more recent delights: the Amalfi Coast.
We caught the train to Sorrento and then a bus along the Amalfi Coast to a little place called Praiano. The trip in the bus was breathtaking in every sense of the word (although maybe doing it in a red Ferrari would be even better!). The sea was blue and vast , the cliffs almost vertical along the coast , the buildings seem about to slide down into the sea and the roads are so narrow that it is a miracle that so few accidents occur ( or maybe it's just that we don't hear about them?) The road was obviously built to accommodate smaller vehicles than those currently using it. It is a very precarious manoeuvre for two buses to pass each other and we witnessed a few altercations between buses trucks and cars all hoping to pass each other.
Fortunately the trip around the many hairpin bends is relatively slow, and the view is so marvellous that no one seems to care. In some places the road has been widened by the building of a ledge hanging out even more precariously from the side of the mountain. I can't even begin to imagine how the road was built - must have taken some great engineering!
We have arrived at our little hotel perched on the cliffs and we have a panoramic view of the water, the occasional white ferry and the township of Praiano clinging to the cliffs. Just perfect for a day of rest and relaxation tomorrow.
your contented traveller
Dianne
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