After two very long days, we have arrived in Pompeii. The trip was mostly uneventful. We even got our luggage this time. We made a quick connection at Fiumicino to the Leonardo Express, with the added bonus that I had a left over train ticket from last year. And we happily munched our prosciutto sandwiches as we rode into Rome.
We were lucky to find Termini well-equipped with all three of the major Italian cellular service providers. We were able to get Aud a SIM card quite easily, and I didn't even need to use my new codice fiscale. In fact, the staff at the TIM store were surprised that their counterparts in the Abruzzo were requiring a codice for foreigners last summer.
Then things started to go down hill. First Lex misremembered the departure time for the train to Naples. We missed our 2:45 train, while Aud napped, head pillowed on a table at the Autogrill. Fortunately, we made the next train at 3:45.
The final leg of our trip was perhaps both the most annoying and the most entertaining. Once in Naples we hopped onto the Circumvesuviana to get to Pompeii. It was crowded. There was an annoying woman with a homemade cart obstructing things. There was a man with a baby stroller. We had to stand most of the way. And then things got imterestng. We were at the penultimate stop before ours at Pompei Santuario. We stayed at the stop. People started getting off the train, but only in our car. There was lots of standing around. Finally, we learn that the window in the door in the middle of our car had broken. Various train employees and carabinieri came and went, several times. People get on the train. They get back off. This happens several times. Then, a herd of ca. 20 ragazzi come pushing through our car, one asks for a pen. As they leave the train, we see the conductors coming down the car and checking that people had validated their tickets before getting on the train. The boys flee and I flash our tickets at a conductor. Just when we think we are going to start moving again, a ragazzo hops through the broken window and sits down. The conductor heads his way and the boy hops back through the window as a group of teenaged girls laughed hysterically. Did I mention this all happened one stop before ours???
We were extremely glad to find our hotel, shower, and head for some pizza. Aud was even too tired to take a picture of Mt. Vesuvius. No transportation beyond our own feet is involved in tomorrow's trip to the ancient city of Pompeii.
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