May 27 Happy Memorial Day!
NOTE: Bad internet connect made it impossible to upload pictures, but I’ll get them up as soon as I can.
Ok, so if you got on a train that said the destination was the Naples Central Station, which of the following do you think is true:
- The last stop would be the Naples Central Station
- One of the stops would announce that it was the Naples Central Station
- Either 1 or 2 is correct
- Both 1 and 2 are correct
- None of the above
If you answered 1, 2, 3 or 4 you would be wrong….and so were we. We got on the 8:36 train at the Caserta Station for Naples and heard that exact announcement. So, we waited to either hear that we’d arrived at the Naples Central Station (where we wanted to transfer to a train for Ercolino) or that the sign on the wall would say it was the Naples Central Station.
Once we started getting out of central Naples, we thought something was wrong. The last stop was nowhere near the Naples Central Train Station. The bad news was that we’d overshot the central station by about 5 stops. We should have gotten off at the Garibaldi station and walked to the Central Station but I’m not sure how we were supposed to know.
The good news is that we could get on a train heading to Salerno that stopped in Ercolino, so all was not lost. Why did we want to go there at all, you ask? Because that’s where the ruins of the ancient town of Herculaneum are found. More on that later. So, anyway, now we’re on the correct train heading in the correct direction. We get off in Ercolino at 11:00 but by this time it was starting to rain. The forecast had said a 10% change in the early morning decreasing to 0% chance later in the day. Well, I guess we got caught in the 10% because it was raining pretty hard. We ducked into a bar so Peter could have coffee (can’t figure out how the coffee machine in our flat works) while waiting for the rain to let up a bit. It did but as we continued to walk, it really started to pour. So, we waited under a storefront canopy till it slowed a little and continued the 40-minute walk to the excavation site.
At about noon (3 hours and 25 minutes after leaving Caserta) we finally arrived! We were wet and already tired, but we made it and the rain stopped. So, now a little about Herculaneum or Scarvi di Ercolino in Italian. Like Pompeii, it was buried in the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in 79 AD. Unlike Pompeii, though, Herculaneum was hit with a pyroclastic blast which preserved organic material such a food, wood, baskets, etc. We saw at least one house that had a perfectly preserved wooden roof. Most of the residents left in advance of the blast, but 1980 about 400 well-preserved skeletons were found near the sea wall where they tried to hide.
Unlike Pompeii which has been totally excavated, Herculaneum is only partially uncovered. But since the rest of it is under the modern city, they are focusing on preserving what they’ve already uncovered. It really was fascinating, and we were glad we made the trip, even if it was quite an ordeal.
After visiting the site for a few hours, we headed back into Naples for lunch. We wanted to go to the famous Da Michele Pizzeria but there was crazy long line to get in. Since it was already almost 3:00 and we hadn’t eaten since breakfast we decided to eat somewhere else. The last time we were in Naples we ate at the DaMichele restaurant in the suburbs so we already knew what the pizza was like so we were okay with going somewhere not as crowded.
After lunch we headed to the “Nativity Street” which is famous for the nativity cribs. I included a picture of one from our visit to the Palace at Caserta. That one was gigantic and, while there are some large ones available for purchase, certainly nothing like that. I regretted not buying something the last time we were here, so I was determined to get something, but it had to be small as we don’t have a lot of room in our trunk. So, I got a small manger scene with just the Holy Family. I’ll put that out for Christmas. But then I also got a small pizzeria scene that’s motorized. It’s totally cute so I’ll find someplace in our living room for it.
Our last stop was to see the sculpture the Veiled Christ. But when we got there, we found out it wasn’t in a church like we thought but a museum. By this time, we were incredibly tired and had no desire to pay 7 euro each and walk around a museum just to see one statue. So, we took a pass and headed to the metro for a train back to Garibaldi Station where we walked to the Central Station for the 45-minute trip home.
It was about 7pm when we walked in the door, so it had been an 11-hour day. The total tally on steps was 21,000 which, according to the app, is almost 9 miles. Let me tell you, my feet (especially the right) and Peter’s ankle feel every one of those steps. But, by morning we’ll be good to go. We’re heading back into Naples to for a little while so it should be an easier day.