After our exciting day in Rome, and almost missing the boat, we were ready for another fun day of sightseeing. Our stop was Naples, Italy but we wanted to go to Pompeii and see the ruins.

We got on a train that was supposed to stop at the ruins. Unfortunately, the train went in a different direction. We got off and were stuck in the middle of nowhere waiting for a train to go back one stop to a hub where we could find the different train.

The train station out of Napoli was awful. There were no clear indications of which train was coming next, and one train seemed to be running late from what we could tell. So the one we got onto was the one we expected to go the right stop.

As we sat at this tiny train station, we heard and saw the train crossing signal go down on a road beside the station, then about 5 minutes later a train passed by, but going the wrong way for us. Unfortunately for this little town, it seems that it broke their train crossing signal because it stayed down for a very long time… probably 10 minutes until  the next train came by. Hopefully it went up again, but we got on the next train and tried to get out of there.

When we got back to the bigger station, we were done with their train system. We looked outside and a taxi van was driving by. We waved and he stopped to let us in. Inside the van were already 6 people. Josh sat on the floor by the sliding door, and I was helped into the far corner of the back seat by an old woman who helped me in by pushing me by the bum. A little too personal for me.

The cab driver started driving around, dropping off the people in the van at various locations. Thankfully, finally, he got us to Pompeii, and for only 10 Euros.

By this time, we’re already worn out. We stopped at a little cafeteria and had some lunch to brighten up our spirits, then we went into Pompeii. We didn’t have a map because they were out of the maps, except with the audio guide, and we didn’t want to pay any more.

We went in and started walking down the streets of the city. There was a lot to see. We saw their store cases of the pottery and various household objects that they found, as well as plaster casts of some of the people’s bodies, and even a dog.

The houses were interesting. The site honestly reminded me of a regular town/city today. They had gardens and parks and streets and theaters. We saw some really nice houses that were huge and had beautiful gardens with fountains and pools. It is eerie, in that it is so intact. These are by far the best ruins I’ve seen, if you’re in to that kind of thing. The only others that I have seen that are good are the Ephesus ruins, but Pompeii is much better preserved. It was also very nice because they have let the garden/green spaces of the city grow back, and they maintain them, so that you can have a better picture of what the city really looked like.

Josh and I walked until we were too tired to walk anymore, and then headed back to the entrance. We didn’t make it to all the main sites of the city. There is a lot to see here, and I think if I went back, I’d prefer to have a guide or at least the audio guide. More likely a person though, since I had a lot of questions, and a live person could answer them better.

As we boarded the boat again, there was more drama. An old man wanted to bring on a bottle of wine, but the company policy is to keep all alcohol that is brought on board and return it the final night. This man was not agreeing or cooperating with this policy at all.

He started yelling, “This is the worst cruise ever! I have never been on a cruise this bad. I drink your overpriced wine in the restaurants. This is the worst cruise ever! I want to speak to the captain! I want to speak to the captain!” As if the captain has anything to do with the alcohol policy. I think he’s busy driving the boat, not worrying about whether old men can bring on wine.

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