Day 218, 7 February 2013, Pompeii, Italia. We were up bright and early. Well it was early at least. Headed to Termini station and roamed about checking the various locations of the 29 platforms. Any misconceptions we had about Italy being like Spain (late start, long lunch, sensible finish) have been dashed. People everywhere! Workers, tourists, absolutely everywhere. Our first Italian train is just a semi-speedy Intercity (a step up from the slow Regional trains, a couple of steps down from the Freciarossa/Freciargento - Red and Silver Arrows). We still went at a cracking pace of 100 miles an hour or so en route to Napoli (Naples) where we changed to an altogether slower form of transport to get us to Pompei - the commuter Circumvesuviana line. We had 20 minutes up our sleeve so indulged in another Italian food group - Coffee! Now many Australian visitors to Italy will complain about the cost €3-€5 to sit down for a cappucino. The expensive part of drinking coffee in Italy is in fact the sitting down! We indulged at a coffee bar. They sell coffee. There is a bar. You stand at it - and lo' and behold, a cup of espresso for $0.60 each. Onwards and downwards to the Circumvesuviana line. The day was exciting - the train was grotty. In fact it was the sublime to the ridiculous as we clattered through 20 odd stations, past rubbish dumps, shanty towns, graffiti so dense on walls it looked like weeds. And we saw a lot of them too. In comparison to the Colosseum, the apartment buildings erected in the 20th century were already falling down around the inhabitants ears - concrete cancer everywhere. In stark contrast to the reality of it all, even in winter, masses of citrus trees abounded - in gardens, alongside the tracks, at stations along the way. We also passed market gardens with green houses full of spring flowers. Simply put, a 40 minute train trip of contrasts. We arrived at Pompei Scavi - Villa dei Misteria with very little idea of what we would see. As it turned out, it was amazing. (And we know we use that word frequently.) Walking along streets that had been buried under metres of ash, seeing fabulous mosaics and courtyard fountains. The public baths scattered through Pompeii with skylights, mosaics and statuary were superb. There were storerooms where the loose items are stored - tools, pottery, lamps etc and we also saw what I think of as the shadow people. These are the people who were caught in the boiling gas and ash and sheltered in whatever way they could - one was even pregnant and found lying on her side trying to shelter her belly. The organic material of the bodies and the skeleton itself was in most part destroyed by the heat and over time - but what remained was the cavity they created. When excavated the scientists filled the cavity with plaster and were able to capture the shape of the unfortunate being caught in the disaster. Currently on loan to the Prado in Madrid is the dog shadow - even sadder because he was found curled up and strangling on his own chain, unable to run away. Speaking of dogs, one of the most beautiful mosaics we saw was a picture of a fierce black dog on a chain with the words Cave Canem - Officially the earliest known "Beware of the Dog" sign (found in the house of the Tragic Poet). We walked, we looked, it thundered, it rained and then the sun shone again. And we walked some more. A very long day! Incredibly enjoyable however and we eventually spent 4 hours or so on the site. Heading back to Naples about 3.30 pm we ended up with a couple of hours to wander the central district, have dinner and another gelato. When we arrived back in Rome at 9 pm, we did some more research to decide whether we wanted to join an early bird guided tour of St Peter's Basilica and the Vatican Museums tomorrow. It was a toss up between the €160 price tag (vs. €32 to DIY) but mainly it was the thought of having to get up at 6.00 am to make the 7.45 am start time. Suffice to say we are now planning a sleep in tomorrow prior to visiting St Peter's and the museums/Sistine Chapel all by ourselves.
PS - interesting word connection today - Pompei "Scavi" and the nearby ruins at Ercolano "Scavi" - make me think the word excavation might be related. Hmmm...