...the one where Kristy got molested on the train.
...the one where it took us 4 hours to get to Pompeii.
...the one where we ran into a group of BYU students (Mormons!) at Pompeii.
...the one where the train conductor didn't fine us when he should have.
...the one where we took a bus and two trains, and spent 4 hours traveling to a brothel.
...the one where the archaeologists let us walk through but not the guys behind us.
...the one where we both stole rock from a national archaeological site.
...the one where the info desk guy upgraded our tickets when our original train was delayed.
...the one where we went grocery shopping in the train station.
...the one where Kristy can't find any super plus tampons in Italy.
...the one where we ate (really bad) American food for dinner.
I don't even know where to start!
Today has been a day. We woke up and got going this morning about 8:30am. Kristy wasn't feeling good but we eventually left the room and headed down to breakfast in the dining room. Afterwards we went across the street to the little pharmacy so Kristy could get some tampons and pads for the day. Then we walked up to the bus stop. We rode the bus to the train terminal and that's where everything started to go downhill and I really began to question the wisdom of our decision to come to Rome. The goal was Pompeii. We finally figured out the self-service ticket kiosks, and the Italian that was on the ticket once it was printed (thanks partly to "Uncle Rick" - we started referring to Rick Steves as Uncle Rick last week because we used is book ALL THE TIME! He saved us many a time!).
While we were at the kiosk, though, this pushy Italian lady came up and was getting all up in our business trying to "help" us. She kept pushing buttons on our screen. We told her no multiple times and that we were fine and didn't need any help. When we were done she tried to get money from us. We just walked away. We found the train and platform we needed to get to Naples - step one in our journey today. The train was CROWDED! The ride from Rome to Naples (which is only about an hour and a half) took us 2 hours and 40 minutes. We ended up standing for the first hour, until some people got off and seats opened up. While we were still standing, however, we realized (by reading more in Uncle Rick's book) that we were supposed to have gotten our ticket validated back at the station in Rome before we got on the train. Oops! Having an un-validated ticket means we can be fined. There was nothing to do about it at that point, so we just had to wait for the conductor to come through and hope he was understanding and/or that the fine wasn't more than the combined cash we had between us. Luckily, he was nice. We tried to explain that we didn't know we were supposed to validate the ticket. He told us where the validation machine was at the station, then wrote something in Italian on the back of the ticket, punched it, and went on his way. Thank goodness!
In between stops (while we were still standing up), a man walked through the car we were on and stopped where we were standing by one of the doors. He proceeded to yell and make noises and gesture at everyone for about 10 minutes, until the next stop came and he got off. Pretty sure he had turrets or something. It was uncomfortable.
We finally sat down and rode the rest of the way in to Naples. According to Uncle Rick, and others we had talked to before we left on our trip, we were warned that Naples wasn't a safe place to be. It's still mostly run by the mafia and, if you're going to get robbed or pick pocketed anywhere in Italy, it's going to be in Naples. Crime is very high there. Our goal was to not loose our purses or money while we made the transfer to get on the train going from Naples to Sorrento, which stops in Pompeii. What we were NOT warned about was how crowded the trains were, and how confusing the Napoli (Naples) Centrale Station would be. Or how ghetto and dirty the train cars are. You look at them and seriously wonder if they still work, or if they should be working still at all...
We got our tickets, then stopped at a little newspaper shop to get a drink and some Pringles because it was now 2pm and I was starving. We followed the signs down to platform 3, which was supposedly where the Sorrento train would be. There was a crowd of people and I was starting to get grumpy due to not having anything to eat since 9am. Also, everything was in Italian, so we weren't 100% sure we were even on the right platform. A train soon came and we got on, only to realize at the last second that it was the wrong train because a lady already on the train was yelling at some other guy, "No Sorrento! No Sorrento!" So we quickly got off and waited for the next on which was supposed to be the right one to go to Sorrento. This train was 10 minutes late. Eventually it came, and about a bajillion people got on. Seriously, I've never had that many people touching me all at the same time before. I hate public transportation! I am a big, loud, greedy, obnoxious American. I need my space, damn it!
Kristy and I were jammed into the back of the row of seats in front of the door where we were once again standing, packed in like sardines. There was a guy crammed up behind Kristy, who kept trying to reach his hand through between us to grab onto one of the bars to hold onto. In the process he kept grazing my left book repeatedly and, what I didn't know at the time but Kristy told me later after boob-graze guy got off and we were finally able to sit down, was that there was some definite thrusting going on as he was standing behind her. *shudders* So gross!!
While we had been standing, and publicly molested, we noticed a girl sitting a few rows up from us wearing a BYU T-shirt. Mormons! It made us happy to run into someone we knew was from home and who we had an immediate connection with. When we were in line buying our tickets at Pompeii was stopped and talked with them for a few moments.
Our traumatic 40 minute train ride to Pompeii finally ended.
Kristy made a pit stop at the WC at the station and I needed a minute to just sit and recover from the ordeal of getting down here. After a little while we headed down the street to the entrance of the archaeological area. We bought our tickets and headed up the hill. So cool!
Despite the frustration and trauma of the trip getting there, I'm glad we came. It was really cool to walk down the streets of this ancient town and get a peek into daily Roman life. We walked around the forum, and down lots of the streets. We saw where the baths were, where "fast food" vendors had their stalls, the ancient lead pipes that carried the water from the aqueducts throughout the whole city, and where they had stepping stones or "crosswalks" across from one side of the street to the other for when they would flood the streets daily to clean them. We saw where chariot wheels had worn grooves into the stones paving the roads. We saw a couple of the bigger houses that have been excavated, and we walked through a current excavation area where the archaeologists doing some survey work let us walk through their area, but wouldn't let the guys behind us through. Ha!
a bath house
"fast food" places
can you see the wheel ruts in the road?
"blessings to you" - an ancient door mat :)
a bakery
We each picked up a rock to keep, even though we were probably not supposed to, and we saw the famous brothel with the painted "menu" of acts available with it's little rooms with stone beds. Very interesting.
We had lunch at the modern cafeteria they have here - pizza! Our first since being in Italy. Then we continued our tour. It was interesting to me the difference in feeling between this place and the Colosseum yesterday. I didn't feel the same spiritual connection with Pompeii that I did with the Colosseum. It was still really cool for the history/archaeological aspect, but I didn't love it like I did the Colosseum. (Yesterday Kristy and I were talking about our connection with the Eiffel Tower for her, and the Colosseum for me. Maybe we were some of the angels assigned to help in building them? Or, maybe I'm going to marry a Roman or gladiator in the Millenium and that's why I love it! I must have spent time watching him--knowing we would be apart for a long time until we'd be able to be together. Probably not very likely, but it makes a good story!)
Kristy saw this sign and said, "Scary Spaceman says do not enter!"
After a couple hours we both decided we were done. Kind of sad, considering what we went through, and how much time was spent getting there today. But, we had both had enough and were anxious to get back to our hotel where we could shower and feel safe back in our room. So we bough our tickets back (after making a quick stop in the bookstore where Kristy bought a charm for her charm bracelet, and I bought a magnet from a vendor in the train station) and waited for the train back to Naples.
The train back to Naples was crowded. As usual. We stood for a while until a few stops, then finally were able to sit, just not together. Which was fine. Kristy ended up sitting by the group from BYU and talking to them. Turns out they're doing an International Business study abroad program where they're going to a million different countries in only a few weeks. Sounds exhausting but fun!
When we got back to the central station in Naples we then had to figure out where to buy tickets back to Rome. By this time I was tired, and cranky, and just wanted to be done traveling and go home! We got our tickets - deciding to upgrade to first class so we had actual assigned seats, then wen to find out what platform the train was on. When we got to the departure monitors I wanted to cry. Our train was delayed 75 minutes!! I wanted to throw a tantrum right there in the train terminal. Instead I told Kristy I had to sit somewhere because I wans't going to just stand around for more than an hour waiting. We found an unoccupied bench and sat. Then Kristy went to find an information desk to make sure the train really was delayed and we had tickets to the right one.
After her being gone for 30 minutes, I started to worry that maybe something had happened and I should be concerned. Had she gotten kidnapped?? But then she came back and said she got our tickets switched to another train. The guy she talked to upgraded our tickets to the express train, which was fast and WAY nicer, free of charge! Our original train was now delayed 95 minutes. Gross. We found the platform for the express train we were now going to be on and got on. It was so nice!
how we felt at the end of our crazy day
Note to self: next time your in Italy, spend the extra money to get on the nicer, super fast train from Rome to Naples. Trust me. It's worth it.
The train was actually going from Naples to Florence, but it stopped at our train terminal in Rome. The trip only took just over an hour. The train was really booking it: 270 km/hour, which I think we figured out was 160 miles/hour. It was fun. When we got back to Rome we stopped at the grocery store (in the terminal!) and picked up some cookies, a couple candy bars, and a giant jar of Nutella for Kristy's roommate back home.
Our dinner plans for the evening changed. We had talked about eating again at the hotel restaurant, but by the time we got back into town it was too late for that. They had already closed up. So, we decided to eat at the McDonald's located in the terminal. Probably the worst McDonald's I've ever had. The fries tasted weird, plus there was no salt or seasoning on them. They don't believe in ketchup over here apparently, and the burger was SO dry! Blech.
After dinner we came back to the hotel on our little bus. I took a shower and wrote in my journal for a bit then went to bed. Tomorrow is our last day here. We're going to go to the Vatican to see the Sistine Chapel, then take it easy and rest the rest of the afternoon/evening since we're both exhausted and ready to go home.
Steps walked: 12,389
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