Our smooth, high speed train left the Roma Termini station at 7:30 - traveling at 160mph to get us to Napoli in just over an hour. The train experience was new and disorienting to Kate, who asked, "When do we land?" And as we got off commented, "I liked that!"
Getting of the train, I warned the kids to be especially careful of pickpockets here. Our guide for the day, Giuseppe, greets us on the platform. As if he heard me, he tells us how tourists don't come to Napoli because they think it is not safe. We spend the next few hours discovering how friendly and welcoming the city is ... I am glad we came!
Kate's first ride on a high-speed train
Spoiled in the "premium coach" which serves drinks and snacks
Getting of the train, I warned the kids to be especially careful of pickpockets here. Our guide for the day, Giuseppe, greets us on the platform. As if he heard me, he tells us how tourists don't come to Napoli because they think it is not safe. We spend the next few hours discovering how friendly and welcoming the city is ... I am glad we came!
Napoli, the port city founded by the Greek just a few 2500 years ago, is unlike any Italian city we will visit. The "streets" are small and narrow. This is where pizza began.
A simple yet ingenious way to avoid climbing up and down all those stairs!
We walked the street lined with Nativity shops. Napoli is famous for its nativity scenes, and there is one in every church - but hardly the nativity scene I was expecting! They had some Mary, Joseph, and baby Jesus figurines, but the majority were traditional village people (like a butcher), and even famous people (Obama). We got to go inside a workshop where the figurines cost $500-1000 each... Crazy! It felt so odd, fake and cheapening to see something that in my head should be entirely religious!
Nativity figurines
Giuseppe said that all the cruise ship passengers do one thing in Napoli: see the Veiled Christ. He took us there. I can't describe it better than this, and it is the most amazing piece of sculpture I have ever seen:
- "Carved in 1753 by Giuseppe Sanmartino, it shows the figure of Christ lying under what looks like a piece of the thinnest of fabrics. The facial features are clearly visible, as are the body and even the crucifixion wounds, but the entire body is covered by the delicate folds of a cloth. The visual effect is truly stunning."
I purchased a postcard since photography is not allowed
As lunchtime approached, Giuseppe asked, "Do your kids like pizza?" Is he serious?! When he discovered that the pizza restaurant didn't open for 30 more minutes, he said, "Here are our choices - we can visit more churches..." - NO we had already been to 4 which was 3 too many! I was beginning to grow concerned that he would take us to all 600 churches in Napoli!
For many years I have been waiting to try original, real Napoli pizza. Misled by the price, about $3 each, we ordered 5 - 1 for each of us. (I got Buffalo mozzarella, called "white gold", so it cost a little more.). Out comes 5 huge pizza pans - about 3 times more than we can eat - the best pizza we have ever eaten, particularly for the price!
Giuseppe instantly took a liking to Jeremy, and used our time together to teach him as many life lessons as he could. He had all sorts of expectations for Jeremy, especially that he will be very successful. "You must make your mom happy."(He is a smart man!) "Your mom didn't take you to Europe to spend time with her but to become cultured and interesting." "When you are with a woman, never say what you think."
We took the bus from Napoli to Pompeii, which I don't think I could've figure out how to do by myself - or at least I wouldn't have wanted to. As it turns out, the bus was great! There is no traffic on Saturday so it was quicker than the train. But what I didn't know - until later when I got on the local regional train - was how dirty, crowded, bumpy and loud the train would be, making the smooth, empty, air-conditioned bus ride (which was actually a nice coach) even better! On the bus ride, while we were all napping, Giuseppe found Jeremy 3 wives!
Arriving to Pompeii with our full bellies and its intense sun (though refreshing afternoon breeze) is when we started losing steam. But Giuseppe literally came to life, with animated descriptions of everything we were seeing! "Ok fam-i-ly" he said over and over again as he whisked us off to the next place to see.
Pompeii's forum with Vesuvius in the background
I can't imagine curling up in a ball to die!
I am baffled that although it was a long day, with the exception of a sudden outburst from Kate (during the city tour - she could not understand our guide), no one complained all day!
Distance walked: 10.7 miles
Logistics
- Our guide was Giuseppe Galano. Contact him at info@visitpompeii.it (www.visitpompeii.it)
- At Pompeii, to receive free tickets under 18, you must show ID with a date of birth
- I didn't know when I created our itinerary that there are no cruise ships here on Saturdays. On Sundays there are four - which means 20,000 people will be invading Pompeii tomorrow!
- Giuseppe carried an umbrella around all day. He said it rains in Pompeii every afternoon. He was right.
