Pompeii. It is a city frozen or rather cyroplasticized in time. In 79 A.D. Mt Vesuveus erupted and the well developed city of Pompeii was covered in lava. Although it buried the city and killed thousands, it also preserved the city, creating an archaeological gold mine and unique look into life in the Roman Empire almost 2000 years ago. It was discovered during a construction project in the 1800s and the city has been carefully excavated ever since. It is massive. Fifty hectacres of an estimated 66 have been revealed. The city was very well designed, with the major roads leading to a forum with impressive temples. We walked past vineyards. Trees and grape vines have been replanted in their original holes. Detailed frescoes can still be viewed on the walls of the more wealthy homes. The marble counter tops of shops look clean enough for business today. There is a huge amphitheater that is being renovated. I was impressed that a structure over 2000 years old that has survived two earthquakes and a volcanic eruption and then 1800 years of being covered in dirt is still usable today. Pretty impressive engineering and construction. That would be a pretty sweet gig too. Melissa and I stopped to walk through their much smaller but still impressive version of the Colosseum. If you ever get a chance to go to Pompeii, do. It is eerie and amazing to see life as it once was. You walk down the cobblestone streets and you wonder at how well everything is preserved but you also know that massive devastation led to its preservation.
Pompeii is located south of Napoli. We had originally planned to take a day trip from Rome but when we had difficulty getting a hostel room in Rome, we just decided to stay the night in Napoli or Naples. When we arrived in Napoli, we first made our way to the hostel to drop our backpacks. The sun was shinning and it was quite warm. We emerged from train station to the chaos that is Piazza Garibaldi and fairly representative of the city. Naples is known for being dirty, grimy and loud. It's almost like it says, "Yeah, I'm loud and ugly but I'm here and I'm proud, so listen to what I have to say and deal with it." And I will be most happy to listen to any city that invents pizza. I was intrigued by the reputation and after reading Elizabeth Gilbert's account of her pizza experience in "Eat, Pray, Love" I wanted to go. It was only after we had left the city that we read of its crime problem and that it had over 100 mafia related deaths in 2004. Melissa was a bit intimidated by the city but gamely boarded the train and when we finally arrived at the hostel, her eyes were as big as saucers. Mine were quite wide as well. Naples has a raw energy and feels a bit more like a third world nation. Laundry hangs from every balcony of dilapidated and crumbling buildings. A layer of grime covers the city. The harbor shows a life of hard work and long hours. People line the narrow sidewalks, eating pizza outside of small stands, standing on layers of cigarette butts and disgarded wrappers. Rapid Italian swirls around you. The sidewalks were littered with massive piles of trash surrounded by swarms of flies. We later found out that there was a trash strike. However, people seemed to be rather accepting of the mounds of refuse and simply carried on with life. We often had to venture into the road as our path was barricaded by trash, which was terrifying prospect. Vespas whizzed by. Cars honk their horns loudly as they zoom by. Traffic rules are more of a suggestion. I'm not sure that there are speed limits either. We actually saw one car cut another off at an intersection. Both cars stopped in the intersection and the drivers had a heated exchange in rapid Italian. Traffic backed up and more drivers honked. In the end, both drivers, shook their heads at each other, shrugged their shoulders and smiled as they drove off. I'm never quite sure how many lanes a road is in Italy. What would be considered a two lane road, becomes four or five lanes. A road that would have one way signs plastered all over it in America, is two lanes, with the drivers patiently pulling over to let the bigger vehicle past. Our bus driver let off a string of words as we tried to leave the chaotic Garibaldi Piazza. I have no idea of the content but I'm pretty sure it was curse words. Beautiful and entertaining to listen to though. On our return from Pompeii, we took a taxi so as not to get lost again on the streets of Pompeii at night. The taxi ride was death defying. A favorite moment was turning left from the right hand lane and darting through oncoming cars. We celebrated our brush with death and exhilaration at being alive by eating pizza. Pizza in Napoli is no ordinary pizza. It is amazing. It is so satisfying. It is not greasy. We got a simple margarhita pizza. The crust was gooey in the center, thin and crispy on the surrounding area and light and fluffy on the perimeter. The tomato sauce was so good and simple and the cheese was the supreme melted topping. Melissa and I sang "When the moon is as big as a big pizza pie, that's amore" Amore indeed.
Things I Did Not Expect When I Woke Up
Napoli Edition
Play an imaginary game of football in old Roman stadium. We won of course.
Dart through traffic
Snack in front of a priestess temple
Get wonderful directions from a cute old Italian man "Take a righta and thena lefta"
Listen to Italian road rage
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