Sunday 24th: looking at Pompei

[ pictures:  https://picasaweb.google.com/110144623598348247797/20110424?authkey=Gv1sRgCLvzjID-2pjtgAE#  ]

Something is wrong with my apostrophe key. So there are no apostrophes in this blog entry.

I started a little late again. It turned out that today is Easter Sunday and so the trains stop running at midday or so. But luckily I started just a little before midday so I would be alright. When I want to go back to Naples, I can catch one of the larger inter-city trains which are still running.

I made a quick walk to the train station because I wanted to make sure I got there before they stop running. On the way I got some chocolate biscuits from a store.

I got the ticket in the same way as when I went to Mt Vesuvius. Then I got the train to Pompei. For a while I wasnt sure if I was on the right train, but I was. I was a bit worried about if I would be able to know which stop is Pompei Scavi since at some stops people had put grafiti all over the sign saying the name of the station. But it was alright.

I got off the train then walked in the general direction that everyone was heading in. One of the main streets seems to be closed to traffic today. I found a tourist place where I was considering getting some kind of info about the place, because while I was in Rome, I had a little bit of regret that I didnt know more about the history of the things that I was seeing. I could get an audio guide for 10 euros or a book for 8. I decided to get the book because I thought it would be cool to take home with me.

Before going into the general area I decided to eat a good meal of pasta or pizza so that I would have enough energy within me.

I found a restaurant that seemed to be a little bit for tourists, but it also seemed to cook an alright meal. I bought the pasta with a kind of tomato and chili sauce. It was very hot. Probably too hot. But it was also good. Then I went into the pompei park thing.

I was hoping to get a reduced entry fee. I told the lady that I am a student but she asked me what I study and then said that the student price is only for archaeology students and those types of things. Then she asked where Im from and then she said that the pompei site has some kind of agreement with Adelaide university, so I could get in for the reduced price. Hooray. I thought that was quite strange. She gave me a map and a small book that lists some history about a lot of the sites. So you might not need to buy an extra book.

I went in and then wandered around looking at stuff.

I'm continuing the writing of this on May 7. The apostrophe key is working again now. So now there are apostrophes again.

My map tells me this is called the Antifeatro. It's one of those oval shaped thing with seats around the edges where they might have had gladiator fighting or something like that. I'm sure there's a better way to say that, but I can't think of it. It's an arena for things.

Inside.

Walking down the streets on the newer, less dense side of town. I think it is amazing that the vibe of the town can still be imagined quite well.

Inside someone's house. All the walls are painted in bright colours like red and yellow and often have images painted directly to the walls that are still visible.

Small painting on the wall.

This is a large image on one wall of the courtyard. 2000 year old painting.

This house has the garden recreated as it would have been. They were able to find remains of the roots of the plants so that they knew what the layout would have been like. Lots of vines in this garden. They produced a good amount of wine probably.

These stones are for pedestrian crossings. Three stones supposedly means that this is a two way street. So, two carts can get past each other without having to wait. I am amazed at being able to see the grooves of the cart wheels.

This is the small theatre thing. This one was supposedly an inside ampitheatre, covered by walls and a roof. I think that the seats are the original stone, which is why you can't go up there. At an other ampitheatre, the seats have been replaced and you can sit inside it.

The forum place with Vesuvius behind it.

Inside the forum bath. The roof is intact and everything.

There are lots of stray dogs in pompei. I overheard a tour guide saying that when all the tourists leave, the dogs leave as well, and then come back in the morning. You can adopt some of them, according to a sign. But other signs say that you should not interact with them because they may be unpredictable.

The stones here for the seats are all replacements, so you can sit in here.

Gate on one side of the city. Looking back in. It is very high. Supposedly, they lowered the level of the street after building the gate which is why it is fairly high.

Crypt, just outside the city.

I walked back into the town and tried to find the place where I was supposedly able to catch a train back to Napoli. I had to go to a different train station, that the inter-city trains use, because the regional train was not running after midday or so. I eventually found the train station.

Then I thought I should buy a ticket, but there was no one selling tickets. A taxi driver was milling around and asked me if I needed a taxi. I said no and asked him if he knew where I could buy a train ticket. He asked where I was going and I said Napoli. He said that he could take me to Napoli. I suspected that was a bit ridiculous. I asked how much he thought that would cost. "For you ... 50 euros". I told him that I will certainly take the train. Then he said that he can sell me a train ticket. That sounded a bit strange to me. I don't think taxi drivers generally multi-specialise as sellers of train tickets. I think he said that it would cost me 5 euros. I was suspicious of the guy so I asked him if he can actually show me the ticket. I was suspicious that he was genuine with what he was saying. He told me to just wait there while he gets something. I followed along a little bit. He went to his car for some reason. Then he led me to a cafe next to the train station where he told the lady serving people that I need a ticket. The lady sold me a ticket for 2.8 euros. I felt a bit mean for being so suspicious of this man, since he really did help me to get a ticket. But then I remembered that he was going to sell this ticket to me for 5 euros.

The train went parallel to the coast to Naples. The views were good.

I got back to Napoli and I think I probably had another pizza since it's my last night in Naples.I think I ordered a take-away and then walked back to the hostel. At the hostel I met a strange man from Italy and his girlfriend. He was very friendly and wanted to know where I got the pizza from because he was very interested in eating as much of the stuff as he could.

I spent some time working out some last details for the next day since the following day I would be leaving Italy and going to Berlin, Germany.