Europe Day 15: Pompeii

Bittersweet Farewells
Our start today was finally at a normal time, but it was bittersweet relief as we said our additional goodbyes to those who were leaving the tour. We promised to all keep in touch with Facebook and exchange pictures as soon as we were all home. Many of them were still continuing their travels on their own though so don’t be too sad for them!

Long road to Pompeii
It took a fairly long time to get to Pompeii. I don’t think I was expecting that one. However, there were nice views of Mount Vesuvius along the way – so that was nice.

What is this thing called M.....?
Apparently – Pompeii is “run” by two separate "Mafia" families and all the tour groups that run through there have to book with one or the other family. Hence – upon arrival, we were informed that we HAD to eat and shop within the restaurant and tourist area dedicated to our group, as well as go into the site with the tour guide provided to us. It basically didn’t matter all that much, except that a superbly crap-tacular lunch cost us twice as much as a good one – so H-Rabbit and I only bought one meal and shared it so we didn’t spend any more than we would have at a decent place. You think at those prices the food would at least be decent, but apparently learning to cook isn’t high on the “families’” priorities.

Despite the melodrama
Regardless of the crazy mafia ties, our trip to Pompeii was indeed exciting. While our supplied tour guide seemed to be bored with his job, and talked in an indifferent monotone voice, he did lead us on an awesome walk through the ruins of the city. The area is absolutely massive, with only about 25% of it currently uncovered. The rest is still lying deep beneath the overgrown earth. From the parts that have been uncovered, it was amazing to see the innovations of such an old society fairly intact.


Death casts
The highlight, for quite a few people on tour, was the plaster casts of the citizens that had been trapped amongst the falling ashes of the volcano. Basically – their bodies had been trapped in the debris, and cavities formed where their bodies had disintegrated. When researchers came across these “cavities” – before breaking through them – they filled them with plaster and could display in pretty good detail the position and actions of the being that had been trapped. One on display was that of a mother and child, another of a dog, and another of a man praying.

Off again
Our tour wasn’t as long as some of us would have liked – and it would be neat to get to go back and spend a much longer time in Pompeii for sure. After gathering again after our super-expensive Mafia lunch, we then continued on our way to Brindisi and the Italian coast to catch our 9:30pm ferry to Greece!

So much driving!!
This is definitely the LONGEST driving day ever so far (however I am told our drive to Athens is going to be ten times worse). It’s just that we’ve spent so much time on the bus today; I can’t quite take it anymore.

We’ve finally made it to Brindisi!
Well – we made it to the coast. It was sad, but we had to say goodbye to Joop our driver, as we weren’t going to be having a particular bus to ourselves anymore for the rest of the trip. Gnomie said goodbye to Joop too and we have picture proof!

Big ferry
Our ferry trip to Greece was going to be a long one, and we had a fairly big ship to board. As we were making our way up the escalator on the boat to the cabin levels, it broke down, and I had to lug up my 60lb bag on my own – so not recommended after a long day on a bus and when your arms feel like jellyfish.

Tight squeeze cabin
While H-Rabbit and I got our own cabin, with four beds, everything was still a pretty tight squeeze. It was so tight – that the entire bathroom was contained within the shower stall! However – it really isn’t that bad – I feel worse for the people we saw out in the lounges who didn’t have a room at all, but just as much luggage as we did. Val & Theo (a couple on the trip from Sydney) got an unwelcome surprise in their room. Two people had broken in and had tried to convince them that they were supposed to share (re: the four beds)! Val got it sorted out damn quick and those people got kicked out ASAP!

Ish Time
After settling in, we joined a bunch of the group and Leona on the top deck where there was a little disco area, and we also took a small tour of the rest of the boat where we found multiple bars, a cafeteria, and a casino. Leona also more aptly explained the concept of Ish Time and how it was definitely in play here. Our ferry didn’t leave until almost an hour later (10:30pm) than it was supposed to.

Full Moon on the Water
We stayed up quite awhile and chatted, put away a few nightcaps, and enjoyed the company of our tour mates. Over the water, a dazzling white midnight moon rose from the horizon line and the view was mesmerizing.

Lo and behold the seasickness
When the ship finally took sale – I realized that I probably was being affected by the seasickness I had felt the last time I was on a big boat like the ferry. It’s funny – I can take a catamaran, a rowboat and anything midsize that flops around like a crazy bobble-head – but the slight motion of the bigger ships always seems to make me crazy. In the end, I took some Gravol and fell fast asleep.

Europe Day 14: Rome

Sleep is overrated?
Today we had a really early morning start – I wanted to die. I missed breakfast trying to clear my camera cards – I don’t remember why, but I forgot to clear them last night.

Rome ahead!
We got a bus lift to the train station to take the train into the city. The rail ride wasn’t too long but we had to switch lines twice – this was a little confusing since the Metro lines in Rome skirt around the city, rather than running through it. This is because of all the ruins that exist in Rome, and how 95% of them are all 50% below the current level of the ground. We got off at Colosseum station (which unbelievably is RIGHT across the street from the actual Colosseum – it looms in your view as you exit the station) to make our way to the entrance of the Forum for our two-hour walking tour of both (the Forum and the Colosseum).

Roman Guide
Our historical guide was quite good and quite funny, and told us a lot about the city’s history – though I fully admit I’ll need to look through the pictures to recall it all. I’m definitely a pictorial memory person – plus – I was certainly paying more attention to my photographs, and only my secondary multitask ear was keeping track of her.


The Colosseum
We made our way though the Forum, which she explained as being the centre of the original city, where citizens gathered and conducted business and affairs, and we learned some interesting facts about the centre of Roman civilization. From the Forum, we then went to see the Colosseum. Our guide referred to it as the Roman Amphitheatre – as most of the outer layer of the Colosseum was demolished (only one side remains) and what you can actually see is what the Romans called the Amphitheatre area. That ring of walls is still mainly intact.

So many facts
Our guide was filled with lots of facts to share with us about how the Colosseum worked, where the word arena came from, and how the Colosseum was used for both water games and dry games due to the access to the Aqueduct. She actually spent quite a lot of time explaining tons of details to us which was a nice change since many times we have been visiting sites without really knowing too much about what we've been seeing, and not really having anywhere to turn to for finding out. One of my "Millionaire Wishes" is that one day I'll get to travel with an actual personal guide to historical sites, because the emotion of the history really comes through when you know the actual stories behind "what's left behind" instead of the random guesses of people who don't really know.

Running free in Rome
Our tour ended in the Colosseum and from there we were free to do other things. Because we only had the day in the city, and had been told about long lines and crazy wait times, we decided to head right away to Vatican city. After hopping the Metro and getting off at the right station, we decided to grab some lunch first. We went to the “suggested” pizza place – but it really wasn’t all that “hot”. However – we were hungry – and couldn’t bother to find anything else – so we sat and ate.

Line-up
From lunch, we then went to find the “line-up” for the Vatican that we were told about – but there wasn’t one! Apparently the Pope was in Australia, and regardless of it being a summer day in the height of travel season, there simply really wasn’t anyone in line to enter Vatican City from the museum entrance. We got right in, right away (sans the mini-wait time when Heather had to re-line-up to get her student discount since they only give the discount from one ticket window… wtf’s with that?).


Vatican City Museum
They’re pretty good about cameras in the museum so we took lots of pictures – especially in all the areas with statues and sculptured art. When we moved into fresco areas – we weren’t allowed to use our flash, but still allowed pictures. I’m not sure how the pictures in these areas came out – they always look in focus on the camera but not necessarily so on a computer when there’s no flash allowed and the shutter speed is so slow – so we’ll have to see how they come out later.

Sistine Chapel
We then got to the part that I had been waiting for forever – the Sistine Chapel. It was so absolutely beautiful and magnificent – I was awestruck. I could have stayed in that room all day. I know people think I’m crazy for the emotion that takes over me for movies, touching stories, seeing history in the flesh, etc. – but I don’t care – I find it much more crazy and depressing to think of the poor people who AREN’T moved by it. How sad their life must be to not be able to expand their minds in order to feel and envelope in appreciation what that room has to offer, or anything that has a story to tell.

While I would have been absolutely content to not go anywhere else in the city, I was also with a bunch of people, and there were other things to see, so we made our way to the secret exit that Leona told us about. Instead of leaving through the museum exits and having to –re-enter the area to get into St. Peter’s Basilica (which had an enormous line-up), our secret exit led us through a small stairway and side door that dropped us right in front of the entrance to St. Peter’s!

Tombs
Before entering the church, we decided to enter the small line-up that would take us down into the tomb area of the Basilica, where all the Popes are buried. All of them have tombs with sculptures of themselves in a lay-down position on top of the “boxes”. The only tomb unlike this was for Pope John Paul II. There wasn’t any reason for it laid out, so we’re either figuring he asked for such a tomb – or perhaps that’s the way the tomb for the last deceased Pope always looks. It was separate in a brightly lit room, flat and made of white marble. There were many people gathered in front, paying their respects and praying. At the end of the tomb walk, you get to see St. Peter’s tomb that is housed under the Basilica altar.

St. Peter’s Basilica
From the tomb walk, the exit actually leads you directly up a set of stairs that have you coming up from the belly of the Basilica into the centre of the church. Inside – the Basilica is absolutely beautiful and exquisite. There’s so much detail in the artwork – and evolution certainly hasn’t stepped inside this Basilica at any time. Perhaps the upkeep of historic artwork is the only time such a concept is a good thing. After getting our fill of the church, we then walked out into the Square to get a look at the whole picture.

Easy day in Rome
After finishing with the Vatican – we then had the rest of our day in Rome to really just relax and hang out. We went shopping and H-Rabbit bought lots, getting her shopping kicks out. We walked along the Tevere (Tiber) River and saw Hadrian’s Mausoleum (Castel Sant Angelo), and came upon a local market area walking towards the north of the city.

From there we then revisited the Trevi Fountain for me since I loved the site so much. After, we just wandered around and had a great pasta dinner in a small restaurant. Afterwards, we made our way home on the multiple trains in time to catch the coach ride back to our hotel.

Saying goodbye
Once at the hotel, we took some time to get rested and showered. We then joined the group in the hotel patio to say goodbye to part of our tour group. In the beginning – our Road to Athens group was combined with the Road to Rome group and this was their last day, and tomorrow morning we would be heading off to Greece without them. Leaving us was Natasha and Belinda, Tatiana, Mic and Ali, as well as a few others, for a total of 15 in all. Joop also joined us for a few glasses, as after he drops us off in Brindisi for the ferry to Greece – he too would be leaving us.