*This is one of our first entries since back in 2018 (pre Covid GASP). In the foreseeable future, posts will likely be a mix of entries, jumping around different trips across the past seven years*

Day: 3 (22nd July 2018)

Total distance travelled: 17,544.87 kilometres (10,901.87 miles)

We were headed out of Rome today, on a journey south to visit the tragic city of Pompeii.

Thinking ourselves clever, we’d gone to the station the previous evening to arrange our tickets using our Eurail passes.

It was busy enough that the queues to the ticket counter were moving slowly, and inside there appeared to be no air conditioning so the heat was quite stifling.

After waiting (sweating) for some time, we realised that behind us stood several electronic ticket machines, through which we could arrange the tickets that we needed.

Tickets for this morning sorted, we’d left feeling a little less clever than when we’d first sauntered in…

So here we were, travelling on a morning train towards Naples, the clear skies and sunshine of the previous two days having seemingly abandoned us.

In a little over an hour, we hit Napoli, and first impressions, admittedly mostly just in and around the station were pretty grim.

Almost like something out of Victorian England, everything seemed to be soot covered, and there was graffiti scrawled seemingly everywhere.

If the place hadn’t been a hive of activity, it might have almost looked abandoned!

The station was only a transit point for us, as from here we’d take the Circumvesuviana train that runs between Naples and Sorrento.

We of course weren’t travelling that far, however there were two stops of significance to us, Pompeii and Herculaneum.

What seemed liked the entirety of the train spilled out on the narrow Pompei Scavi-Villa dei Misteri platform, with its odd terracotta and cream covered station building.

From there, it was mere seconds, and we at the entrance to the Parco Archeologico di Pompei.

We’d already visited the Pompeii of the Americas, now here we were at the UNESO World Heritage listed Pompeii!

The skies remained dull (in fact they began to look threatening), but thankfully it wasn’t cold as we began our explorations.

We tried our best to find areas thin of crowds, however, this was quite the task, especially close to the ruins entrance.

Foro di Pompei (the Forum of Pompeii) was where the action was, and by action, I simply mean its where people seemed to mill, waiting for their guided groups to assemble and depart.

I say it was busy, and we were eager to explore in solitude, but it was actually less busy than I’d expected.

Perhaps on account of the average looking weather with its looming threat of rain? Still… I’d not think many tourists would have the luxury of picking and choosing when they’d next come back!

We appreciated that the site is a vast sprawl, but it was still a surprise at how much of it was unkempt and overgrown, especially as one got away from the crowds.

These areas were quite calm and tranquil, however, to explore the complex fully, it was impossible to avoid people completely, especially the horde sized groups, many of which were found around the Teatro Grande (Theatre) and the Anfiteatro di Pompei (Amphitheatre).

An incredible amount of scaffold was assembled everywhere as well, although much of which stood in areas that appeared to not have seen human hands in a long time… again perhaps a legacy of the sheer size of the place, and amount of excavation that continues to this day!

It’s quite mind boggling to get ones head around that fact that you’re wandering a city that is almost 2,000 years old, the tragedy that erased it from the face of the earth when Vesuvius erupted in 79AD, the very reason that we’re able to wander its streets.

Almost 1,500 years and in many places longer encased within its volcanic ash sarcophagus the, means it still to this very day remains an Archaeological treasure trove and working site to this day.

Ironically, it’s current exposure to the elements and the footsteps of the 2 million or more tourists who visit it every year, are likely a greater risk to its future than another eruption of Mount Vesuvius…

If you’re prepared to wander, it doesn’t take much effort to get away from the crowds, so this we endeavored to do.

About this time it began to rain, and fairly steadily too.

We’d brought lightweight spray jackets with us, which although never feeling great when the temperature is reasonably warm, but you’re a little wet, at least meant we could continue to wander.

The benefit the rain brought was twofold.

Most of the tourists became corralled in far smaller areas of the site as they huddled for shelter away from the rain, and where the ancient floor mosaic remained exposed to the sky, now wet, their colour began to pop even more!

A little damp, sure, but we reveled in the freedom (by that, I mean lack of other people) the weather had brought, and it meant we generally had to wait for people to move out of our view rarely, if at all.

Hardly a secret, it was still really cool when we came across some ancient graffiti although this, unlike much other Roman graffiti (if its reputation is to go by), lacked the bawdy nature it generally seemingly has!

We may have been there for hours, however, the more I write of it, the more it sounds repetitious and boring, things that being in there in person, it certainly was not!

More ruins, more mosaic (a lot more), some incredibly beautiful stucco (still full of vibrant colour), and even some incredibly well preserved bread!

We were finally done, and a little peckish to be honest, only… we weren’t actually done.

There remained a whole other town to explore! Remember?

So, back onto the train we went, travelling all of 3 or 4 stations if memory serves me correctly.

We went local for lunch, so local it was almost the first place we saw after getting off the train.

Pizza and a house chianti. Can’t go too wrong really!

It was a straight line from there to the ruins, all of about a 5-10 minute walk.

I was not expecting the opening views, nor the scale of this place.

Compared to Pompeii, it was far more compact, and I certainly wasn’t expecting it to be a a true sunken city!

The rains were long passed, however, compared to Pompeii, despite its much smaller, compressed size, it was far more tranquil here, and it possessed some pretty cool things to see as well!

Much more preserved (if a little charred) timber, to complement more wonderful mosaic (can I mention it any more?)!

Herculaneum felt a bit like a modern city block, with narrow streets and passageways that allowed us to explore what once must have been stately homes and public spaces.

Blackened, aged wood clung to some levels, incredibly preserved by the very ash that took the lives of its people and kept it hidden for the ensuing centuries.

Once can only hope that when their deaths came, most were unconscious from the smoke and toxic gasses rather than burned by the heat or buried alive with awareness.

We were reminded of their passing with the presence of remains (in this case, casts of the originals, since removed for preservation) in what I can only assume were once storage areas for the ancient port that Herculaneum was.

It’s a sobering reminder that both of these places were once very much alive and populated by real people, some of whom are now eternal…

A train back to Rome was all that remained, which after riding the Circumvesuviana train back to Naples we took.

Our time in Naples itself was brief, but my lasting memories are oddly of graffiti (modern, not ancient Roman) and grime!

* We pre-purchased Skip the Line tickets for Pompeii via Headout which cost us €40.00 for two people

* We did the same for Herculaneum as well, and pre-purchased Skip the Line tickets via Headout which cost us €30.00 for two people

* Our open jaw (into Rome, out of Amsterdam), flights cost us $930.05AUD each, which I found and purchased through work at STA Travel

* We confirmed 5 nights at Smart BB near Termini station in Rome through Booking.com for €410.00. Upon check-in, our host offered to offer us a discounted rate to cancel and pay directly through her!

* I purchased Eurail Italy 5 days within a month travel passes through work (which provided an industry discount) for $72.00AUD per person