March 17 + March 18 = Pompei and Naples

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My WiFi died yesterday at the hotel - ugh - so both today and yesterday's entries are together.

March 17 - Pompeii.

Pompei was truly amazing - it's what I was most excited for on this trip and it didn't disappoint. There is just something to be said about the age and the history of the place... and the frescos, oh the frescos are stunning. Of course seeing the casts of the people who were covered in ash is also quite the site.

I spent 5.5hrs, didn't see it all, but absolutely loved it. After those 5.5hrs I was pretty done for the day though lol. Good timing because just as I got back to my hotel it started to poor rain.

Excuse the mini rant for a moment: this is why March Break was the perfect time to come to Italy... I'm pretty certain I would have lost my mind at Pompeii in the middle of tourist season because as it was the tour groups were difficult to ignore and avoid... and I have verrrry little patience for tour groups. Generalizing on my part, but I really have a hard time dealing with crowds who a) don't ever shut up, b) have no regard for other visitors and c) don't know how to use a camera and then get out of the central spot to allow others the shot. Also, school groups of like 200 French Gr 7-8s running around? Yeah. Not cool.

Ok enough old lady grumbling 😊 Like I said it was a wonderful day. I even got to see a bunch of dogs roaming around the ruins lol - pretty sure they weren't strays because they looked quite well fed. I also saw a few little lizards which was cool. And I played the usual helpful tourist as I had 4 different people stop me to ask for directions in the maze that is Pompeii (seriously, the map they give you is shit.) Met quite a few Americans today, actually... all from the South.

March 18 - Back to Rome via Naples

Super lazy morning today. Originally I'd planned to go to Naples early in the day, giving me half a day to explore before heading back to Rome. Also my flight was originally at 6am on Saturday so I was going to sleep at the airport.

Chaaaaaaanges.

My flight got bumped to 11h30, so I decided it was worth that $35 to book a hostel and you know, actually sleep 😉 I was already locked into my train ticket though so be it.

The train from Pompei to Naples was lovely - great views along the coast even with the cloud cover. Again my camera was in the depths of my bag, but that's ok. While waiting for the train I marvelled at the stupidity of some local teens playing soccer on the train tracks. Good place.

There's something to be said about taking the local routes rather than express trains. I love seeing the day to day - hearing the local language, seeing small towns and countryside you otherwise would miss. Again, the buildings all look so rundown but I suppose considering the age of most of them that's not surprising.

(Sidenote: I'm so sad when I see laundry out to dry and it's raining hahahaha.)

I got to Naples around 11h30 and decided I didn't really feel like exploring a city today, so on a whim I stored my suitcase and decided to back track a bit to Ercolano, which is along the coast. It looked pretty when I went by and I figured I had time, so why not?

(Sidenote: Naples Central Station wasn't anywhere as bad as everyone online made it sound...? It didn't feel unsafe at all. Maybe it's because it's not tourist season so the pickpockets stay at home? Or maybe it's because im oblivious to things like that now? Idk.)

Ercolano was sort of worth the trip back... when I got there I checked the departures and it's a good thing I did because the train I planned to take back had been cancelled. Go figure. So I only had about 15min rather than an hour and a bit to explore... but I did at least get to see the waterfront and feel the wind in my hair.

Back in Naples, I'd heard that Toledo metro station is really nice because it has a bunch of artsy stuff in it, so I wandered off there. Man, their metro is slow and infrequent... so I basically did that (it was pretty!!) and came back.

Train to Rome was mildly entertaining. First off, we were super delayed for some reason... can we tell today is not a good train day? Once we got going it was fine - I even joined an American family in a few rounds of Euchre 😊 Of course I kicked some ass - Grandpa would be proud.

Back in Rome, I didn't do much... basically grabbed some pizza and read a bit lol. It's only me and one other girl in the room at the hostel - she's from Malaysia. We had a super long and in depth conversation about life back in our countries, which led to talk about politics and refugees and all that. I laughed so hard when she had a light bulb moment - "OHHHH!!! Yes! You have that new President?? The really good looking one!!!" ... uh, yes.

So, that's that for antoher trip. I'm in denial that I work in 48 hrs. But just think, only 118 days until my summer trip... not that I have a countdown on my phone or anything 😊

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