Destination : Pompeii Scavi!


Destination : Pompeii Scavi!
Friday (21st December), Steve and I dragged ourselves out of bed and down to the Central Train station in Naples to find our way to Pompeii by train. The train line that runs towards to Pompeii and Sorrento is called "Circumvesuviana" which literally translated means Circle Vesuvius or around Vesuvius. It runs around the base of Mt Vesuvius. Maximum speed for the train is 90 km/h, although we didn't know that and therefore did not expect our journey to the Pompeii ruins to take quite so long. The trains that run out that way are OK, not as luxurious as the Treni Italia train we took from Rome to Naples... and of course these trains were covered in graffiti! Still, it got us to where we were going!

For those of you uninitiated and that have been living under a rock and let history pass them by - Pompeii was destroyed and completely buried over the course of two days by a massive eruption of Mt Vesuvius in 79AD. It was buried under metres of Ash and Pumice for nearly 1700 years until its accidental discovery in 1748. It is remarkable how well preserved it is after almost 2000 years. The lack of air and moisture underground has allowed things to stay so well preserved. The fresco's and mosaics on the floors in some of the houses are still almost as clear as they would have been in their time. The town of Pompeii is around 7km in circumference and required a considerable amount of time for exploration.

When we arrived, immediately on entry to the ruins we were ambushed by a couple of guys with their tourist gimics...We happily accepted their map and little guide to help us along our visit of these ancient ruins. We didn't really know what to expect when we entered, but to be walking on cobble stone roads and wandering in and out of structures that were 2000 yrs old - really quite amazing. As remarkably interesting as it was... after a while the whole place starts to look the same... same cobble roads, all the other houses look the same as well except those of the more important people within the ancient city.

What we didn't really realise was that there was no toilet nor anywhere to grab a bite to eat once you have entered the ruins. Lucky for us we had brought in a couple of bottles of water and a MARS BAR. We were also blessed with a wonderful afternoon of sunshine where the outdoor temperature reached around 13C. I found myself removing my scarf, gloves and hat because I was starting to feel HOT! Anyway, after a good four hours I couldn't hold my bladder, we were thirsty and hungry! I forgot to mention that while we circled the ancient ruins we found there to be a number of stray dogs on the plot... maybe they belonged to the people that run the place I don't know, but they are friendly and welcome a pat... I made the mistake of patting a number of them and ended up having one follow me around for the rest of the afternoon...and leave the attraction with me!

By the time we decided to leave the ruins, the sun was starting to set over the great and threatening Mt Vesuvius and the temperature outside was going down with the sun so Steve and I packed up our archaeological expedition at Pompeii and jumped on the Circumvesuviana back to Naples to have a nice dinner and wine on our last night in Naples. By the 3rd night in Naples and about the 7th night in Italy itself Steve and I were OVER the whole Pizza & Pasta experience. I KNOW - I never thought I would say I had, had my fill of my favourite carbohydrate! We asked the hotel concierge where we could get a meal that didn't involve any of the above. He directed us to a restaurant called "Mimi's" which was just around the corner from the hotel.

Steve and I went back up to our hotel room, got a little tidied up and tackled Naples once again in order to get our dinner. Mimi's was nice, quiet and classy. I don't think that we quite fitted in there. I found myself struggling with the language that evening and I am positive the waiters were making fun of us when we weren't looking. Still, Steve and I chose a nice white wine to compliment our meals. I ordered a veal scallopine with a side salad and Steve had a random fisherman's basket of sorts with all kinds of sea food that had essentially been battered and then thrown onto HOT OIL and fried. Either way Steve and I enjoyed our meals. The Veal Scallopine was cooked to perfection and just melted in my mouth and we both demolished the bottle of wine between the two of us. For those of you who remember I had injured myself somehow the day before and my left shoulder was still giving me an exceptional amount of grief . The white wine somehow had removed some of the pain and I felt a bit more flexible. After dinner, Steve and I headed back to our hotel room to get reacquainted with our friend Mr Grappa and to numb out the rest of the pain in my shoulder!

For those of you who don't know what Grappa is, it is a grape based pomace brandy. It is distilled from the left overs of wine making and can be between 38-80% alcohol or 75 -160 proof. It is mostly served as a digestivo to apparently aid the digestion of a heavy meal. Like I said it is surprisingly smooth in taste and it has a lovely warming sensation as it travels down from your mouth into your stomach... After having polished off wine at the restaurant, the lady at the hotel bar either accidentally or intentionally over- filled the grappa in our glasses... and after slowly demolishing it a little at a time Steve and I cheerfully returned to our hotel room and finally crashed into our comfy bed and last night's sleep in our hotel in Naples!


Photo's from Pompeii Scavi : http://picasaweb.google.com/hillsj/Pompeii

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