Kehrmiterranean Day 13: Naples, Pompeii

We got an early start in Naples on Tuesday. Our group of 10 entered the old port city and out first stop after making our way through a large crowd of organized looking men offering tourist services was Castle Nuovo. It was a large sturdy structure from the 1200's and was complete with a canon ball divit in it's wall. Just a few paces away there was the Royal Palace. This had gotten great reviews but was under restoration so we visited the huge open Piazza del Plebiscito and the church of San Francisco di Poala. The morning was young but it was already getting hot, so we bought a few waters and walked up the Via Toledo.

Castle Nuovo

Piazza del Plebiscito and the church of San Francisco di Poala

Via Toledo was lined with many contemporary shops and we came across chalk drawings of some of our favorite things, the Virgin Mary and the characters from Inside Out. We had an early lunch at MaMa cafe. The staff there was very cordial and seemed a little surprised by our large American group. I think they also were surprised by receiving a tip. It was still a little early for lunch so no one ate much. I would up wrapping some of our sandwiches and pizza and put it in my bag. From there we headed toward the Spanaccnapoli, which is a basically a series of old streets filled with shops. We were headed to the train station. The Spannaccnapoli was full of fast moving Italians and wandering tourists. We popped in and out of stores and grabbed some fruit at a fruit stand as we made out way to the train station.

The train station and ticketing was rather confusing but we got our tickets to Pompeii. None of us were prepared for the train ride.

It was standing room only and we were lucky to jump on. We were in a few different train cars but we were all on the same train and all headed in the right direction. We had to hold onto each other as we were pressed together in the non-air-conditioned train, so that we didn't fall on top of anyone as the train accelerated or stopped. When we arrived we didn't see our tour guide right away so we walked toward the entrance of Pompeii. Finally we connected and after reviewing return train schedules we determined that we would have to make the tour a quick one.

Pompeii is astounding. It's shear size was hard to comprehend. It was a whole city, buried in one devastating day. Out tour guide brought us along street after street where we got a feel for much of the city as it was in 79 AD. We saw bakeries and food counters, homes and municipal buildings. We stopped at the baths which were amazingly preserved. The biggest impact though was to see a few of the hollows left by people. All of their things, their food  their tools. I was fascinated by their streets which had gutters and a water drainage system, as well as traffic control measures for horses and carts. The roads even had white bites of marble that reflected light, to aid travel as night. The sun was high and the blue sky had very few clouds. It was a beautiful day and it was difficult to leave. We were all a little disappointed that we didn't have any time to visit the gift shop or local stalls but we really needed to get back on the train.

The train ride back was just as crazy. It was tight and cramped and so so sweaty. But after a few stops we were able to grab a seat and rest. We had so many new thoughts to consider and experiences to log and soon we were back at the Train station. We then had to check local buses to get back to the cruise ship and that took some navigating and decision making based on guidebooks and terrible sign reading. We grabbed .50 euro granitas as we walked and that made the bus ride more pleasant.

When we arrived back at the port, it took a bit to get back on the ship because Emma had lost her room card. She and I were the last people across the gangplank, and it was a little intimidating to have them pull it up behind us.

That evening, our last evening on the ship, we had a reservation for a cirque show DREAM and dinner. That was so much fun and made even sweeter as we shared the bottles of wine that PawPaw and Grandma Kate received as a gift for their anniversary. The gymnasts and cirque members were great and funny. WE were thoroughly entertained. Poor Hanna was so tired after our crazy and hot day that she feel asleep in my lap during dinner. I am glad that she was at least awake for some of the show.

After the show Em and Rachael mustered enough energy to head off to the Teen club one more time. after the packing was done.