April 23- Naples to Pompei

We were up and gone by 8:45 this morning. We figured we had lots of time to catch the 9:40 train. As it happens, when we got there we were told that we could take the earlier train that was arriving shortly. So we left shortly after 9:00. We arrived in Pompei and had a short walk to our hotel so we decided to walk around a bit as we were too early to check in. We went to the Tourist information center to pick up a map of the city. Then we bought two croissants and sat in the piazza in front of the massive Cathedral. After eating our wonderful breakfast, we decided to visit the church. Unfortunately there was a service going on so we just stayed in the back and admired the beauty.

I only took one side picture because of the service going on.

The Duomo

Huge Cathedral Our Lady of Pompei

We went to the hotel to check in and drop off our bags. The young girl was great. Gave us a map and direction to get to the ruins. Our room was not ready so we left our bags in the front office beside a couch. It was about a 15 minute walk to the ruins. When we got there a line up was already in full swing. We ended up buying our entry tickets about 25 minutes after arriving.  

So off we go exploring. We have Lucie’s guide Rick Steve’s guide book to help us. Unfortunately for us, we entered in the opposite entry point. All is ok as we visit along the way and finally make it to the central meeting point.

Main road-Via Dell Abbondanza

So many ruins, a whole city basically gone.

This is a model of what the city would have looked like

There were a few areas of thermal baths. One room for women and one for men

Remaining statues

A man found after the eruption. Most people were sleeping when the volcano erupted so were caught off guard. A lot are in position of arms up trying to protect themselves 

Some of the columns of Temple of Jupiter

Sculpture from a Polish artist placed here.

Remains of the columns in the Forum

It is very hot walking in the ruins. Also, there has to be many thousands of people sharing the space. We watch a video describing the main aspects of the city and after almost three hours, we are done. We walk back toward the main square and I buy a gelato. Ron had a sandwich that he had bought earlier in the morning. We return to our hotel to get our room. There’s another person working and she doesn’t understand English, at all. We can’t make her understand that we already checked in so she calls the young women who checked us in and it was confirmed. We stretch out for twenty minutes or so and then go out for a drink. We stop at a café and each have a bee. It includes a few tapas: small bowl of chips, olives, small Arancine, and two more little items. We visit the church again. Another kind of service going on but tourist are still walking around and taking pictures. We return to rest until we go out for supper later. 

It’s 7:30 so we decide to go out to find something to eat. We reject the restaurant that we thought we would enter as there was only one person there. We walk around and find another place with four tables of diners. Ron orders a lasagna and get a penne arribiata. We get a half litre of red wine to wash it down. When Ron’s meal is served, I think that he’s made a mistake and it is my meal, except that it is not penne. The waiter says “ lasagna”? Ron says yes. He hands it over. Not lasagna at all. We are so stunned that we don’t say anything. Even the people sitting nearby stare in disbelief. (I forgot to take a picture), I get my meal and it is penne but the sauce is not spicy as it should be. We leave when we finish and now Ron want to try the “sfogliatelle”.  It is the renown Napoli dessert. We saw it everywhere in Naples so he thought that it was time. 

Sfogliatelle- it means small, thin layers. It resembles stacked leaves. It is stuffed with orange flavoured ricotta or almond cream, or something else. Ron’s was almond paste or cream. It is served warm. Back at the hotel for the night. We are both tired so will shower and hit the sack, ready for a bit of a travel day tomorrow.