Dec 6, 2012 - Pompeii

One of the must dos of the region is to take a visit to Pompeii - the stuff of legends. To get there we caught the local train. Missed our stop. Got off at the next station. Caught a train back to the correct stop - or so we thought. In fact we caught the wrong train to the wrong station, which in fact was the correct station. Well, not THE correct station, but A correct station. Confused? So were we. Turns out Pompeii is serviced by two stations on separate lines. Anyway, finally arrived at Pompeii (quite a large town) and found our way to...

Oct 8, 2012 - Pompeii

This morning I do a bit of shuffle with my bags leaving the big heavy bag at my next hotel then taking a smaller bag I Head off by fast train, 1 hour 10 minutes to Naples, got on the local train to the city of Pompeii. A very packed train with only small amount of standing room we head to the stop for Pompeii a trip taking some 30 minutes, Off the train and a 1 1/2 km walk to my hotel a warm day but not real hot so a nice walk. Got checked into the hotel (nice) then out for a walk about the new city of Pompeii with a visit to the Basilica...

Sep 11, 2012 - Pompeii

Off again on the Circumvesuviana! Won't complain about BR as this is a pretty basic affair - lino on the floor and cheapest of plastic seats but understandable I imagine in the heat of summer. At least the windows open up a long way. Alight at the Villa dei Misteri station and at the ticket office, once again, we are delighted that if you are of an age you get in free - just show your passport! Pompeii is a huge site, not much shade available so we needed to plan our 'tour' - easier said than done! Our biggest achievement was avoiding the...

Sep 4, 2012 - Pompei, let the Ruins began

It's Pompei Day trip Day. Alarm went off at 430am. Ouch. Well, I disregarded. I have another one set at 445am. Plenty of time to grab my stuff and head to the train station by 5am for my 541am train. And now the chaos ensues. I wake up at 615am! GUH! I throw on my shoes, grab my bag and I'm gone. Yeah, I slept in the clothes I was going to wear. Just easier and it saves time when dressing in the dark.  Bolt outside and it's pouring rain. Yes, packed my rain jacket. Threw that on and now I'm huffing it. I know there is another train heading...

Jul 26, 2012 - Pompeii

POMPEII We took the slow train from Florence to Naples with a change of train in Rome. The trip to Rome was 3½ hrs and cost only 17 Euro’s as opposed to the fast train for 1 hr at cost of 47 Euros. The disadvantage of this train was that it stopped at two Rome stations and at the first one, we suddenly noticed we were in Rome, jumped up, grabbed our bags and headed for the door. The train left before we were able to get off, fortunately for us, as this was the wrong station. Roma Termini was the next station down the line. Made connections...

Jun 27, 2012 - Pompeii and Mt. Vesuvius

The trip to Mt. Vesuvius and Pompeii, started at 7:30am and was back in Rome at 9:00pm. It took two hours to get there but in a very comfortable air conditioned bus. The hardest part for me was the up-hill, narrow street bus journey to the hiking drop-off. Once we had to back up to let another bus pass and the back tire was literally hanging over the cliff. My palms were sweaty. Buses were backed up everywhere, due to an early morning strike by the cruise ship excursion bus drivers from Naples that should have been there by 8am and gone by...

Jun 16, 2012 - Sorrento - Pompeii - Rome

It is pretty much the same routine in the morning. (Got on the bus by 8:00). Today was a little more of a relaxing day. We got on the bus and headed back towards Rome. Stopped in Pompeii. They call it "The Forgotten City" What an incredible reconstruction of a city. The short story of Pompeii is that the volcano named Vesuvivius erupted in 79 AD. First the gases from the volcano came which killed all of the people. Then the ash came and buried the city with I think 7 foot of ash. It wasn’t till many, many years later that they discovered...

May 26, 2012 - Up in ashes.

Where to start. Don't read further if you aren't enthralled as I am with history of Pompeii & Herculeneum and the ensuing Mount Vesuvius eruption in the 1st century AD. We had a guide from Amalfi who was most informative, but slightly challenged in humor & intuitiveness. The drive was harrowing, of course, fraught with daredevil motorcyclists & Plus Sized buses on 1-1/2 lane roads. But our driver was terrific. Our first stop was at Herculeneun in the midst of a ghetto neighborhood of ugly high rise buildings. It's a smaller community by...

May 10, 2012 - Alas Pompeii

I put myself into the gentle hands of Appian Tours for this one, AFter a two hour bus 'tour' that was not very helpful on Tuesday, I joined a pleasant tour group and traveled to Pompeii in style... on a coach bus. I got out my knitting and enjoyed the scenary, knitted, and watached the others on the tour bus. We stopped for a 'technical' / potty stop near Monetcassino, site of a WW II battle and bombing,then continued to Naples. What impressed me most? the stacks of trailers, 8? 10? high near the huge cargo ships in the harbor. The city was...

May 5, 2012 - Sorrento to Naples...train full to Sicily!

Happy cinco de mayo!! We had a fab breakfast at our favorite hotel so far, and packed up for our train to Naples and then off to Taormina ! The train we wanted (first class and fast, with no stops) was all booked up. We decided to overnight at the same hotel we stayed on Tuesday, and take the early train out! It was perfect because I was able to jump on the bus, circumvesiana line, and go to Pompeii for a few hours! What a sight! Of course, I follow an English guide, next stop the Lupanare... Lupa in Latin means prostitute and this little...

Mar 8, 2012 - Pompeii-revistied

During a half hour train ride to Pompeii on Thursday all of these things happened: first a saxophonist and his drumming companion entertained us with some typical Italian tunes and then passed the hat and jumped off after two stations; next came a hoard of teenagers and their voices competed with the musicians and it's hard to say who was louder; then another drummer and an accordionist replaced the first pair of musicians at the next station and moved through the carriage with their cap open for donations—they lasted three stations;...

Nov 26, 2011 - Pompeii

@@@@@@@ BACKGROUND Who hasn’t heard of Pompeii and the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD 79, that buried the city under lapilli, burning pumice stone, and preserved an ancient way of life for us all to discover and marvel at? However, a massive earthquake first struck the thriving port of Pompeii with its 20,000 inhabitants, sixteen years earlier, and many citizens had fled and not returned. For that reason, only about 2,000 people actually died as a result of the eruption, and their bodies were encased in the debris, almost exactly as they...