Day 10: Naples Day 4 – Pompeii

September 18, 2015December 20, 2015 / angelahynes / Leave a comment

You would think we would have made the connection between cruise ships and the crowds on Capri, but we didn’t. So, still clueless, we headed out to Pompeii on the Circumvesuviana Rail Line. You can get this train from the main “Garibaldi” station in the heart of the city. It was walking distance for us, although I have to admit we wimped out and took a cab.

This is a suburban commuter train with several lines, cheap and un-airconditioned, that connects among other places, Sorrento with Naples. Along this line you can get off at Herculaneum (Ercolano) and Pompeii (Pompei). The trip costs 2.60 euro each way, a bargain, and takes about 35 minutes. You get out at the stop Pompei, Villa dei Misteri. Then you wander about in a state of confusion for a few minutes, while hawkers size you up, figure out your native language, and yell at you in your language that there are tours in (insert language here).

On the train, it was hot and crowded, and we were treated to the sight of very run-down apartment blocks and abandoned buildings, covered often with graffiti at the beginning of the trip. Gradually the buildings became cleaner and more comfortable-looking, and the Bay of Naples appeared in the near distance. A group of Roma (I think) got onto the train with a boom box, and kept time to the very loud music with tambourines and bongos. It was deafening, and the Italians rolled their eyes as a man moved down the aisle holding a plastic cup and asking for money. The tourists avoided looking at him and held onto their bags, unnecessarily, I thought. I rocked back and forth, trying to catch the breeze from the half-opened windows.

When we arrived and walked the short distance to the entrance, we found a very long line already in place. Our friends were disgusted, and said there was no way they were waiting that long in the heat, but Tom and I really wanted to see the excavations, so we queued up, and immediately discovered that we were moving quickly. As well as that, you could hide under the adjacent hedge and escape the worst of the heat. I hid.

Admission is 13 euro, free for EU citizens under 25. We got an official map, bought a guide book and set out.

You have to watch your step on the ancient stones of the street, which also has a sidewalk on both sides, here and there with modern repairs. Pedestrians could use stepping stones set at intervals, to cross the street during flooding, or to avoid dirt and manure from animals. In many places, the ruts left by centuries of carts are still visible. (The pattern of the street paving stones is similar in Italian cities today – stones are placed at angles, which makes it safer for wheels to avoid getting stuck in parallel ruts. I saw this in Florence in the old city as well.)

We walked down the main street, which led to the Forum, a huge space. The size of it surprised me at first, until I considered that this was really the political and business center of the city, and its size indicated its importance. Some of the original marble paving was still intact, in other places simpler stone paving. We found one of the biggest complexes of baths, with separate areas for men and women. The ceilings were intact here, and considerable remains of beautifully delicate carvings and wall paintings.

The Forum

The Baths

Outside was the remains of a swimming pool, originally a meter and a half deep.

There was a remains of a restaurant/snack bar, with the serving counter inset with terracotta pots for the food. An area in the back would have offered a seating area for customers, and the owner and his family would probably have lived upstairs. I imagined the seating area, which was not roofed, covered with an arbor of vines for shade.

It was hard to figure out what was what. One map had numbers of buildings up to 45, and we found buildings with numbers into the 60’s. Then we found the same number again on a different building. We gradually realized that the city, for modern interpretation, is divided into sections. I have no idea if this corresponds to an original way of figuring addresses. We were both confused, and wondered if we should have got a tour.

There were crowds everywhere. Masses of people were trotting along behind guides with umbrellas or other long items held aloft for identification. I hate the idea of tours. We tried to get to see the brothel, obviously a highlight for tours, but the lines were too long and we were too hot. The reality of the cruise ships started to dawn on us.

Amphitheater Great Palestra

We did see the larger amphitheater. Unfortunately, a rather ugly plywood pyramid had been built smack in the middle, with an exhibition of art inspired by Pompeii, but its placement made it impossible to get a good all-round view of the theater. Behind it was the Palestra, the Roman equivalent of organized youth sports, where young men got exercise, learned sports, and were taught to value Roman and Imperial ideals.

The necropolis

We found the necropolis at the edge of the city, and tried to discipher the inscriptions with our high school Latin, with limited success. I was amazed I could figure out anything, and thought nice things about my Latin teacher.

The crowds were thinning out, so we could finally get some good photos of the streets of the city, much more evocative without crowds of modern tourists. I had got to the end of my tether, and Tom wasn’t looking too good either. We followed the exiting masses and got some cold drinks before climbing back onto the Circumvesuviana, and heading home to our apartment.

Day 9: Naples Day 3 – Capri

September 18, 2015September 18, 2015 / angelahynes / 1 Comment

One of the two sights on our must-see list was the island of Capri, and on Capri, the Blue Grotto. I knew that waiting times to get into the grotto were normally long, but it being mid-September, we decided that an hour’s wait or so wasn’t unbearable. The four of us took a taxi to the waterfront, and carefully crossed the aptly-named Via Action to Molo Beverello, Molo Docks, where the high-speed ferries leave for Capri and Ischia. Tickets are about 20 euro each way (the price varies slightly according to when you go), and we finally boarded with several hundred of our closest friends. The harbor had a number of huge cruise ships, whose significance we missed completely.

I had thought we would sit outside, but all seats were airplane-like armchairs inside. Why that is so became apparent when we set off. Naples is a huge port, and many boats create many wakes behind them. The ride was rough. We pitched, rose and fell sharply, and the staff began walking around handing out plastic bags for the tourists who were about to part company with their breakfasts. Unfortunately, Rob was one of those who felt sick, and had to retreat to a small area in the fresh air, where a number of passengers were being helped.

When we got off the boat, and checked that our friends would be alright, Tom and I raced for a boat leaving just that moment for a tour around the island and the Blue Grotto. It’s a wonderful tour; the pilot brought us close to the cliffs and the caves that line the coastline. One cave, now about 30 feet above sea level, had yielded a lot of archaeological finds, going back 40,000 years, the pilot told us. We chugged into the entrance of two of the caves as far as we could go, to see the sea water change to a glowing greeny-blue. The pilot told us it was just the same as the Blue Grotto, and why would anyone want to wait the three hours in line that we would have to do today?

The cliffs were very high, the sun hot and the sea very blue. Spray washed over me time and again, cooling me off. Passengers lurched from one side to the other for their best photo ops.

When we finally arrived at the Blue Grotto, it was clear that the wait was impossible. At least 10 large boats, loaded with at least 20-25 people each, were moored off the coast, waiting for their turn to disgorge people into the small rowboats that would take you for a very few minutes into the grotto. Everyone voted against waiting, so we set off again. I have to admit to disappointment – I’d been waiting years to see it, but what we did see was so beautiful, and the rest of the ride was so much fun, I figured I probably didn’t miss much, all told.

When we got back to shore, the crowds of tourists were overwhelming. The cruise ship excursions in Naples necessarily include Capri and Pompeii, and most of them were on Capri that day. It was hot on land, but it seemed that we should at least try to see something more of the island, so we secured return tickets to Naples on the next ferry, and bought tickets to the funicular that runs from the harbor up the small mountain to Capri town.

The main piazza is a mini-piazza, and the streets leading off it are full of shopping, which didn’t interest us. We admired the view of the harbor, and explored some of the side residential streets, which are lovely. A few minutes of this, though, and the heat had got to us. We decided to get down the hill and get a drink.

As the funicular descended, I could see more clearly than on the way up that the hillside was terraced into lemon groves and grape-growing mini-fields. The lemons suddenly reminded me that I had yet to try lemoncello, the lemon liquor that some say comes from Capri (others say the Amalfi Coast). We sat down at the edge of the harbor sidewalk, drank lemoncello and cokes, and finally boarded the ferry back to Naples.

Days 7 & 8: Naples, Days 1 & 2

September 13, 2015December 20, 2015 / angelahynes / Leave a comment

At 6:20 a.m., we left the apartment, and hauled our cases down the street about 3 blocks to the train station. We had reserved seats for the 5 1/2 hour trip to Naples, and were glad we did.

We had reserved our seats months in advance, and got our seats for 9 euro each (about $11), an incredible bargain. In general, train travel in Italy is very cheap, especially if you can plan ahead. Another bonus: having reserved online, all you need to show the conductor is a copy of your email confirmation from Trenitalia, the Italian Rail Service, showing your booking number. No standing in line or thumping the ticket machine.

We also learned how to use the coffee machine on the train platform, which I foresee being useful.

My rudimentary Italian has proven useful on this trip, and it proved so again when we got to Naples. The cab driver didn’t know exactly where our address was until I sputtered something about it being “next to the Duomo” and having a “Monumento” in it. Having arrived, we were faced with a huge, intimidating door with a small people door cut into it, locked tight. I had been told that someone would be there to let us in, but how to find her? Rob tried calling her number, I tried, and all we got was a message telling us in two languages that “this number has not yet been assigned”. Click.

I channeled my inner Neapolitan, and yelled up at the lower balcony. A head appeared, and someone said, “Angela?” “Si”, I yelled, and a few minutes later, Giovanna let us in. Our apartment is a bit quirky, but very nice. We have three bedrooms (one single, which we don’t need), and two bathrooms. We have wifi, and a nice TV with lots of stations, one even in English. The only problem is the curved archway which isn’t high enough to walk through at the side. The men have found this out through experience.

We have two balconies which look out, not onto the street, as you would think, but onto a courtyard which serves as the entrance for a hotel, and another balcony directly on the piazza. Cardinal Sforza has a huge monument to himself in the piazza, which rather cuts off our view, and takes up about a quarter of the entire piazza. It’s all situated on an ancient street called Via dei Tribunali, which was one of the three central Roman streets crossing the city in parallel in Imperial times, from east to west. As such, most of the oldest buildings and archaealogy finds are located here.

The old city is gritty and run-down, smelly and has an edgy, slightly dangerous feel. I like it. Everybody yells. Apparently I was behaving absolutely in line with everybody else by screaming in the street. Smaller streets branch off the Via dei Tribunali north and south, approximately, and they are densely populated with immigrants, and I would say it approximates the Lower East Side of New York at the turn of the 20th century. You look into apartments as you pass, and there’s a table, one light, the door open and people sweating over dinner.

The people are intense, good-looking and dark. They crowd the streets, cars zip down our street one way; there’s no sidewalk, only cobbles, and barely room to step around people out of the traffic. Motorcycles roar up and down the streets at all hours, and the Duomo sets up a racket of booming bells, right into the bedroom, at six every evening, and in the mornings on Sunday. Laundry hangs from balconies, and I can attest to the fact that this is practical. It’s right there for you, and dries fast. Why not?

Audrey and I had been chomping at the bit to do our own laundry, and there was a washing machine in the apartment. Unfortunately it came with rudimentary and confusing directions – in Italian, of course – and it didn’t take us long to run into one snag that almost had us stumped. It appeared that once the cycle was over, you couldn’t open the door to liberate the dripping contents without getting the procedure correct. Click a certain knob, walk away for about fifteen minutes, then come back and open the door. We found this out, after I got the door open prematurely and got water all over the bathroom floor. Durp.

Today being Sunday, day 2 here, I trotted around the corner to the Duomo for nine o’clock Mass in the Chapel of San Gennaro. S. Gennaro was a martyr who was executed in Pozzuoli in 305 A.D., and whose blood apparantly liquifies miraculously every year on September 19. That happens to be next weekend, the day we’re supposed to leave Naples. Pozzuoli isn’t Naples, but no matter, close enough. Naples has adopted him.

The Chapel is beautifully painted and full of items of the “Treasure of San Gennaro”, silver candelabra, and other items of value and art. Look at the floor of the photo on the right, below. Even the floor is inlaid with three colors of marble in a precise design.

When I got “home”, we set off for the Naples Archaeological Museum. It has a great collection of ancient sculpture and some Egyptian artifacts, as well as an exhibition of hundreds of items from Pompeii, which were looted by collectors, before people realized that we would all understand much more about these things if we could see where they had been, in context. The mosaics were very intricate at times, being made up of so many tiny pieces that if you stand just a few feet away, they are as subtle as paintings. I hadn’t realized that mosaic had ever been used so finely.

The museum had a lot of interesting items, but was poorly curated. There was no guide to the museum, except for one we found afterwards in the bookshop, for 12 euro. Since the entrance had cost 13 euro already, it’s unlikely we would have forked out so much for a guide. But all that was available was a poorly xeroxed plan of the museum, with numbers in each “room”, and no indication of what might be there. I had to go back to ask what floor we were on, since you can enter on so many levels in these huge Italian buildings, I couldn’t tell if I was on the ground floor or the first. There were no signs directing you to one floor or the other, you just had to wander around. Having said that, it was definitely worth a trip, and I would even put it at the top of the list.

All of these items came from Pompeii. The last image is of braziers and stoves found in one of the houses. Amazing that they should still be intact.

When we came out of the museum, we were accosted by a well-spoken young man, who offered to walk us to the restaurant he worked for, where, he assured us, we would have a great lunch. Rob and Audrey agreed to go with him, so we tagged along, and he was right; we were off the main road in a quiet side street, in the shade, and had salads and light, white wine.

Then we went home and I had a two-hour nap. Tomorrow: Capri.