At once we realized the water was freezing and tried to lift ourselves out. Upon realizing that we had overestimated our upper body strength we began swimming to the shore. Being that we were in jeans and sweat pants, this was not easy. At last we reached the shore, shivering but proud! After a few victory photoshots we quickly headed for the hot showers.
On October 4th my parents and I visited the ruins of Pompeii and Herculaneum. Our time at the two sites was enjoyable. Herculaneum was much more intact with many wall paintings and mosaics still in place. Pompeii, although not as well preserved, was a great portal into the life of ancient Romans.
Getting to and from the ruins was a bit of a challenge. When we got the train station in the morning we looked at the departure board and our train was listed but the platform was not. At our departure time the platform was still not listed so finally I went over and looked at the board with the "regular departures". I found that the 8:15 train to Naples usually leaves from platform 8 but it was too late. We had missed our train.
I went back to the information office to find out what we could do. The information office was packed with people and some of them were pretty angry. There really wasn't a line and people just crowded around the two information desk so I nudged my way up to the desk and said got the information lady's attention. She said we could get another train at and pay the ticket difference at 9 euros a person. Of course, when the attendant came to check our tickets he told us that we owned a lot more. Finally, he let us go at 8 euros. We got to Naples and it took 6 people (my family and another family) to figure out which tram to take to the ruins. Eventually that too was figured out and we were on our way.
The way home was almost as complicated. We misread our ticket and thought we were to leave Naples at 9:22 pm, but that was what time we were suppose to arrive in Rome. For some reason I asked to see the ticket on the tram back from Pompeii and that is when we made the discovery. It was already 9pm. We missed our train again. Fortunately there was a really nice man at customer service in Naples who helped us switch around our reservations for a later train and this time we didn't need to pay anything.
Traveling with Trenitalia can be quite the experience.
Well, I’ve been in Italy a little over a week and it’s pretty sweet. Actually, I think you all should be jealous. Rome is the most amazing city in the world. The other day we were going to see the Victoria Emmanuel Monument and as we turned the corner, I looked up and the Coliseum was right in front of me! I could have walked over and touched it! The Victoria Emmanuel Monument was pretty cool too, but getting lost in it wasn’t much fun. Fortunately, before climbing up the 242 steps to the top of the monument, we ate a delicious meal at a local place. By the way, Italian food is amazing. Last week we also saw San Pietro’s Basilica and San Clemente’s Basilica. San Pietro is in the Vatican City and has the most fantastic artwork one has ever seen. San Clemente isn’t quite as artsy, but is built on top of an ancient Mithraic temple and house. It’s crazy to think that I walked around something that was built in the 2nd century AD.
This week we are going to Pompeii and the Etruscan Museum. Next week it’s inside the Coliseum, Roman Forum, Palatine Hills, and the Pantheon. Stay tuned for updates.
Okay, enough about the site seeing. Here are some things I have learned about Italy:
