Rome Day 4: Day Trip to Pompeii

POMPEII!

Does anyone *not* have a memory from, like, fourth grade learning about Pompeii?

For me it's one of a handful of experiences I can point to and say, "that stuck with me." It was tragic and ancient, and amazing that a perfectly persevered-in-a-moment archaeological site came out of it. And today I walked it. I saw the plaster casts and the ruts from chariots.

It's not like Pompeii has occupied my thoughts incessantly for 20-some-odd years. Other than the basic pop-culture ancient-history tragedy I didn't know much about Pompeii before today. Turns out it was a huge, functional, on-its-way-to-glory city. It had crosswalks and bakeries and Roman baths and a red light district and impressive mosaics. Yet the people of Pompeii didn't know Vesuvius was a volcano. Go figure. 

Whether or not I had done my homework, Pompeii was really neat. Our two-hour tour explained the methodology of how archaeologists and historians have pieced together daily life, and they offered insight into most of what we were looking at. And it's all fascinating. What we know and how we know it is the kind of facts that just make you go Hmmmm. 

Let's let the photos do the talking, eh?

(More about the Dark Rome/City Wonders tour at the end of the post.)

H'okay. So. About the tour. 

It was, honestly, perfectly fine. Our two tour guides on the bus were fantastic and our guide around Pompeii was delightful. I very sincerely learned a lot and wanted it to continue for the whole day.

But it was still very much a get-on-the-bus; get-off-the-bus; listen-to-the-guide-in-headphones type of tour. According to our guides, Pompeii was busy today, and I'd doubt it gets any better if you're taking the tour in the summer. I got frustrated at certain points because I didn't feel like I had enough time to really take it all in. There was a boat-load of information but I just wanted to look at it. Which there frankly wasn't always time for. 

We stopped for lunch at a pizza place just down the road from the historic site, and the pizza was delicious (salad was meh). We also stopped by the National Archaeological Museum of Naples to see a lot of artifacts that had been "removed" (CoughLootedCough) including AHMAZING mosaic murals (HUGE, intricate murals) and erotic art originally from a Pompeii brothel (also, ahem, huge...).

Ultimately I felt like it was worth the money and I'd do it again, especially since it was my first day tour based out of Rome. But if I go back just for Pompeii, I'm definitely doing it DIY. High-speed trains leave frequently from Rome, so if you time it right you could have a lot more time to spend at the ruins than the two hours allotted for our tour (and we didn't get to go back to look at things!). 

Honestly, I'd seriously consider staying in Naples or Sorrento for a couple of nights if this is high on your to-do list. We had tried to work that into our itinerary but it was going to make everything super frantic. The ruins themselves have enough to look at for at least a day. Rick Steves (of Colosseum/Roman Forum fame) suggested three hours to follow along with his podcast on the site. You could very easily spend more time here.

Rome Day 3: Audio tours FTW

Today was full of ancient ruins! The Colosseum and Roman Forum are central to Rome's ancient history, and they're mighty impressive to look at. But even though I was here in 2012 and saw both I didn't take a tour, and of course I didn't look up any information before this trip because that would have been sensible.

Enter: The Rick Steves Audio Tours. If you've traveled much, you know the name Rick Steves. If you're like me and grew up on a television diet of PBS, you know him from the Saturday afternoon lineup (probably right after Bob Ross). He's a be-khakied, be-polo-shirted Very Nice Dude who has traveled the world and he brings it to your living room in soft-spoken, digestible 30-minute nuggets. It's delightful! And today we learned, he has an app for Europe. Day = enriched.

All four of us were able to download audio tours of the Colosseum and Roman Forum, then plug in our ear buds and meander on our own through the buildings and ruins. It worked really well for our group. We kind of stayed together without having to stay together or talk to each other. Plus we were still able to talk about what we learned afterwards. Each tour took about an hour start-to-finish, so if you play your cards right — or skip the line by buying your tickets ahead of time (this link is not an endorsement!) — you could easily get to both of these sights before noon. We took a bit longer than that, but we also didn't have a whole heckuva lot else to do today, so we definitely meandered more than we might have if today were our first day.

 

We also ate some delicious pizza, fried anchovies (surprisingly delicious!), perfect pasta, and of course MOAR GELATO. Because when you're in Rome, the food is as much of an attraction as anything else.

For those of you keeping track at home, today makes three gelatos in three days. Batting 1.000! I've tried lemongrass, pear and cheese, strawberry, giuliano chocolate (traditional Italian flavor), and "black passion" which was mega chocolate plus berries. OM NOM NOM.

Rome Day 2: Ancient Aqueduct, Walking Tour, Gelato

OHEMGEE AQUEDUCT.

I jumped around with glee at the sight of the ruins of Rome's ancient aqueduct at Parco degli Acquedotti in south Rome.

The arches, now in several segments instead of one long structure, loom on the horizon as you walk along the path. You're transported immediately from the busy Viale Giulio Agricola to a peaceful park, where locals are running with their dogs and greeting each other on the pathways. Children were laughing. There was even a babbling brook running through this thing. I'll tell you what, ancient Rome knew what was up.

It was super simple to get to, just take Metro A to Guilio Agricola, then head down Viale Guilio Agricola until you see a freakin' aqueduct.

Today we also went on a walking tour with Rome's Ultimate. I was so relieved to finally be on a tour with only six humans and a guide! After the cumbersome 30-plus member groups in Munich, having the guide almost to ourselves was super. Our guide was full of information and was flexible when I commandeered the route to stop for gelato. (What? I hadn't had any yet today!)

I didn't take too many photos (most of what we saw is plenty-well documented by the internets), but I do feel like I learned quite a bit that I didn't know before. And I got to eat gelato.

Carefonfidence: It's the Roman Way

Rome is not Munich.

Rome is not London.

Rome is Rome, and I love it.

Rome does not have the structure of London, nor the discipline of Munich. Rome is chaotic and alive and full of ancient history — the kind of ancient history that hooks you on ancient history for the rest of your life and ultimately leads you to get a degree in Anthropology. But enough about me.

To cross the street in London, you need to know the rules (zebra crossings FTW). To cross the street in Munich, you need to follow the rules (green man ONLY). To cross the street in Rome, you need carefonfidence(™). 

You must be careful and also confident.

Carefonfident. 

You might be at a crosswalk, but Rome isn't going to stop for you just because you look pretty today. Rome has places to be and cappuccinos to drink! Rome has no time for your floundering! Are you crossing or not because I'm only slowing down once!

Carefonfidence means looking for traffic in all directions, then closing your eyes to cross. (Metaphorically. (Sort of.)) One sign of hesitation, of uncertainty in the moment, and that Fiat is hitting the gas.

Carefonfidence is checking the dance floor for slick spots before busting a move at homecoming.

Carefonfidence is a life skill taught by your estranged aunt who'll teach you how to smoke then rat you out to your mother. Check all around you. Clear? Okay go!

Carefonfidence means owning that crosswalk like a lioness owns a cub. Put it between your teeth and declare, This Is Mine. I Tell It What To Do.

Am I getting carried away? I'm getting carried away.

My point is, Rome has a way of teaching you to be awesome. You learn how to be aware of your surroundings and how to gauge a situation. Then it teaches you how to say, "eff it" and go do whatchyoo gotta do. Or how to decide when maybe it's time to relax with a latte and try again later.

Pisa [Europe 2012: The forgotten blog posts]

You know what feels more productive than working today? Updating my blog about our trip to Europe last summer. Because I never finished writing about some of the best parts! Plus now Pinterest lets you pin things toa map, which is super cool. So, thus I start the first installment of Europe 2012: The forgotten blog posts.

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How iconic is the leaning tower of Pisa, when you think about traveling the world? To me, it’s one of my first memories of thinking “I want to see that.” I was probably in middle school I guess? I remember being fascinated by the story that Galileo dropped cannon balls off the side of it to prove gravity worked evenly on everything. You mean to tell me that something Galileo stood on is still standing (though tilted) today??

[The train ride from Rome was fine, except that the train car we chose didn’t have a working bathroom and I forgot to “go before we left.” My mother’s words haunted me for the last thirty minutes as I did everything short of dancing around the car to not wet myself. That might have been the most uncomfortable half-hour of my life, despite the comfy chairs and beautiful Italian countryside rolling by. To make matters worse, you had to PAY FOR the bathrooms in the Pisa train station (not uncommon in Europe, mind you) and I didn’t have any change. When I finally did get some change, I wound up hurriedly dropping my dime into the turnstile for — and then walking into — the MEN’S BATHROOM. Luckily the two restrooms were connected by a custodian’s closet, which was miraculously open, and the poor custodian cleaning the bathrooms — who spoke little, if any, English — frantically waved me through. Talk about a comedy of errors.]

So. Pisa. Yes.

The bus to the tower is just a normal city bus, so we had to figure that out. The herd of dazed tourists wandering from the station helped. We rode this crazily-driven bus through the tiny city (luckily with EMPTY bladders), trying not to fall on each other, until finally the driver yelled a few Italian words and we all decided that this must be the stop, even though there was no tower and no signs suggesting a tower.

So we walked. And walked a little more. I feel like it was at least a mile. B can attest that I’m a terrible judge of distance, but I distinctly remember wondering if we would ever see this tower.

We did, of course, and it was SO. COOL. The tower’s white façade against that day’s clear, blue skies was breathtaking, and it looked just like the photos! It was like seeing a celebrity on the street. I’d seen this tower so often in photos it had become like a myth. Seeing it in person, examining the foundation, realizing that a 4-degree tilt really does matter when something is 180 feet tall… it was just awesome.

And then we took silly photos. :D

"The Romans were everywhere!"

We let ourselves sleep in - til all of 10:00! Then it's up and at 'em. Our "B&B" provided cereal and instant coffee, which I have quite the affinity for after Ecuador. It was really nice to have a slow morning after some of the early and get-a-move-on mornings of the past few days.

We found lunch near the Vatican - pizza with fresh toppings and these little fried rice balls stuffed with fillings. I can't remember what they're called at the moment but they were gooood. This was one of the first meals that between the two of us we didn't finish.

Then we walked off to the Vatican! To say that it was impressive is just not a big enough statement. It's amazingly complex and beautiful. And it's huge. Every wall, piece of ceiling, altar, prayer is a work of art in itself. I wish I could have laid down on the floor looking up to be able to gaze at it all but there we're far too many people.

And there is a dress code (which we adhered to) that many people, mostly women in short skirts and skimpy tops, couldn't figure out. The Vatican is very strict about these rules - two guards stand at the steps in front of the entrance checking visitors - and they're also prepared with these paper hospital gown type things for people to wear around their shoulders or tie around their waist to cover their knees. Some people brought their own scarves and would wind up looking like they wore a long dress stamped with "ROMA ROMA ROMA" all over it. I on the other hand looked cute in a sun dress that has small shoulder frilly-ness. Inadvertent brilliance, as my dad would say!

Next to the colosseum! Which had nothing of the wait we'd be warned about and we got inside within around 30 minutes. We think it's mainly because it was the middle of the day, it was hot, and right now many Europeans are taking their own holiday. Works for us! We were prepared with lots of water and light clothing, and we stayed in the shade whenever possible.

The colosseum is also impressive but in a different way from the Vatican. The colosseum is, I believe, a testament to the Romans' incredible legacy of craftsmanship. Built well, built quickly, and built with functionality for its purpose. With all of our new-fangled technology, we still don't rival some of these structures.

And there are plenty of examples of this literally all over Rome. Ruins that are closed off, ruins that were reused, buildings that are still standing. Just as Britton realized, "Man, the Romans were EVERYWHERE!" (Yes, especially when in ROME.) ;D

And - because why stop at a full day when you can pack two days worth of things into one? - we went on a bike tour at 7:00 that night! This tour was "Unusual Rome" and complemented our time in Rome really, really well. We saw some unique sights - a panorama of Rome at sunset, the Vatican through a peephole, Hadron's (?) castle, the forum at night with pictures of how it was when it was built. Plus, we had a guide which meant our random questions were answered! I was wishing at some points during the day that we had taken guided tours, because you do get so much more info. Britton and I tend to speculate and wonder what was this for or why is it like that but can't get answers from walls or signs in Italian.

Woke up in Budapest, fell asleep in Rome

Travel day between Budapest and Rome was an early one, with the added stress of it being the first time traveling by plane after landing in London the first day.

Luckily there weren't any mishaps. I think we might have been one of the last ones to the gate though, and since it's open seating on Ryanair (budget European airline) I thought it'd be a much bigger issue than it was. We were still able to sit across the aisle from each other.

And then we were in ROME! Aaaah there were so many things to see and do, and unlike previous cities, we knew ahead of time what those things were!

Colosseum, Vatican, Pantheon - see ALL the things!

We walked around for a bit - had OK pizza at what we thought was a place far enough away to not be a tourist trap. Wrong. :-/ But we made up for it with gelato!

Also - what is the deal with Europe - scratch that, the rest of the world - and carbonated water?! Uuuugh. Guess which one we bought by mistake. Blech. Good thing Rome is full of free fountains with drinkable water! So cool!

We joined a walking tour that left from the Spanish steps (which have a real name but I don't remember what it is... which is why they're known as the Spanish steps in the first place) and started off on our trek! I have to say, Rome left me amazed more times than any city yet. So much history and art, so many intricate buildings and thought-out systems. There is a church with the ceiling painted to look like it continues the wall, and like there is a dome where there is really just a flat canvas. One could sit in many of these buildings all day and always be awe-struck.

Our guide was great, too. An Italian with lots of knowledge about the history of Rome and of Italy, and answers to all of the questions asked.

And, most fun, while on the tour we met Raquel (from LA) and Ross and Colin (from Scotland)! They were a fun group and we wound up getting dinner together at a restaurant recommended by the guide. So. Delicious. Definitely made up for the ugh pizza earlier! The menu was so extensive, I just closed my eyes and pointed at a dish. And it was GREAT.