Return to Pompei -or- Escape from Italy

Pompei tiled floor

Here I sit in Naples International Airport, waiting for the airport bus driver strike to end so that I can make it to my plane. Watching the cultural clash in the airport has been fun. My flight takes me to London first, so there were a lot of Brits at check-in and now at the gate. However, I'm still very much in Italy (and will be until the bus driver strike ends).

Pompei

Checking-in was interesting. I was able to get a business class ticket because the economy class was sold out. With the upgrade came the perk of standing in the business class line. There was a skeleton of a British woman, probably at least 143 years old, who was quite in-dignified that she had to wait for the desk clerk to get ready. The clerk was apologetic to the woman: “sir, I will be ready shortly.” On top of that, the economy class desks were ready for customers before the business class desk.

Pompei: the raised stones were so that people could cross the streets when flooded.

Then, there was the guy that looked like he was trying to be in a fashion magazine for men aged 55+ who want people to know you fly business class. He was wearing boat shoes, white pants, a pink button up shirt (with the sleeves rolled halfway up his forearms), and a lime green cashmere sweater tied around his neck. Oh, yes, he also had the coach bags at his feet and his grey hair was slicked back. All he needed was a pair of aviators sunglasses and a yacht parked in a blue lagoon with a 20 year old in a bikini sunning herself on the deck. I've seen that add. I'm hip to his ways: he's made it.

Pompei: outside the court house

The Italians are quite possibly as opposite the British you can get. Italian families of 10 were pouring into the lines, moving the ropes, standing well in front of the yellow line, and not waiting for the customer in front of them. They stand in whichever line; when they get kicked out of business class check-in, they plead a little with the attendant, who offers an apology so sincere it looks that he may cry. The Brits, meanwhile, standing ramrod tall in a perfect queue and watching the Italians getting herded away, are happy that justice has been served. Then, checking their watches, they mutter to themselves about how slowly it is all moving along.

Pompei: mosaic

Don't get me wrong, I love it. It is truly one of my favorite things; watching the interactions between people and cultures. I feel a little guilty about it, but I get secretly gleeful when I look at someone and can predict how they will act. It's probably the closest thing I have to a hobby, unless you count wasting hours on the internet as a hobby. If you do, then I have that locked up as my #1, followed closely by the people watching bit.

Naples: I was here for work and stayed on for the weekend in order to see some sights. I was originally planning to rent a moped or motorcycle and ride the Amalfi Coast, which is supposed to be some of the best riding there is, but Naples doesn't have that sort of rental service available and the weekend ended up being rainy. Riding in the rain is something I don't do.

Naples

Instead, I made my triumphant return to Pompei, my favorite tourist attraction. I should caveat this all by saying that the last time I was in Naples, about 5 years ago, I hated it. It was in a two-way tie with Singapore for my least favorite place I have ever visited. My reasoning for disliking Naples so was, in hindsight, based on the fact that my travel plans were getting altered beyond my control and I got stuck here for three days longer than I had planned. I was a bit emotional about that.

Pompei bath house

At the time, however, the reasons I had for disliking it included the fact that the people are pushy, traffic is horrendous (plus everyone uses their horn like it's their job), and things aren't set up in a logical manner. Everything is a mess; Naples is a teeming mass of cars, scooters, people, vendors, garbage, and stray dogs vying for space in the narrow streets. While I still think all of that is true, I really liked it this time around.

People in Naples remind me of people in China. Everyone lives in such close proximity that they tend to be in everyone else's business. One of the nights I was wandering through the neighborhoods it really stuck me how everyone was greeting everyone else. They all seemed to know one another and acted very familiar towards one another- it didn't matter if they were man, woman, child, young, or old. The stereotype about the Italians being very expressive is, from what I saw, very accurate. Walking around is like listening to the Super Mario Brothers movie.

Another thing that struck me is that people are very comfortable approaching anyone else. It's quite probable that the people I saw in the neighborhoods didn't really know everybody else, they just acted that way. In the train stations people would ask someone a question. It didn't start with 'mi scusi' or hesitation, but instead it sounded more like, “hey, what's what?!” Even crazier is the fact that seemingly random people would go out of their way to stop and answer the questions.

Sorrento

Last night, while waiting over an hour to get into a famous pizzeria (pizza was invented in Naples), there was a crash between a moped and car. The way they drive here, it seems that at any given time roughly 60% of all two wheeled vehicles in the city should be getting crushed by a four-wheeled vehicle. However, that was the only accident I saw (although every car and moped looks like it took part in a demolition derby, so if I was more attentive I may have seen more crashes). Maybe it's just human nature, but the way everyone reacted to the crash gave me a flashback to China. There was a loud crunching sound of breaking plastic, a big thud, and tires screeching (in that order; if the tires came first, there may not have been the other two sounds). Immediately, about 100 people started running to the scene. Not to help, mind you, just to watch. They formed a big circle and everyone was giving their input. It was interesting to watch the watchers.

Sorrento

Getting back to my trip: The first five days were for work, but I got out early on Friday and was able to take a boat to Sorrento. It was a neat town, but a total tourist trap (despite the fact that I'm a tourist, I tend to stay away from the trinkets and 'authentic' garbage that is hawked everywhere). There were two cruise ships moored just outside the city and a lot of people speaking English. Still, it was a place worth seeing.

Pompei

On Saturday I went to Pompei. Last time here I must have had less time to see it because I didn't remember a lot of the sections, only the area by the stadiums. First, a little history of the city. It was established around 300 BC by the Greeks as a trade port. It eventually made it to the hands of the Romans and received a lot of funding for renewal and upkeep from the Empire. In AD 62, there was major earthquake that damaged much of the city. It was being rebuilt, but earthquakes continued to be common and in AD 79 the city still looked like a giant construction site. In that year Mt Vesuvius erupted. The eruption happened in phases. On the first day, about 2m of volcanic stones and pebbles covered the city. Some people were killed and some roofs collapsed, but for the most part everyone was okay. The next day, it was a very fine ash that fell on the city; another 2m or so. If you are counting that's 12 feet of volcano guts covering the city, which protected the buildings. As the fine ash was still falling, Vesuvius released a poisonous gas that killed all animals and people in the area. The ash continued to fall and perfectly preserved the shapes of the bodies (after the flesh rotted, there were hollows in the ash layer) and buried the city completely. The city was lost for centuries. It was re-discovered in the 1500s and excavation began in the 1850s. They are still excavating to this day.

Pompei

If you've never been to Pompei, I would have to describe it to you as just plain awesome. It is so well preserved that pots and pans were left in place and in tact, some with food still in them. The paint remains on the walls, columns remained standing, and tile mosaics can still be seen in the floors. The streets still have the rut marks from chariots. Walking in Pompei is like walking in an abandoned city, not a town or small 'historic site,' but a no kidding, full-sized city. Also, it doesn't have the dead feeling that ruins have. The better preserved houses look like they could have been lived in 10 years ago. The fact that it didn't die a slow death of desertion, but instead was preserved in a vibrant, rich state makes a big difference. They had houses with bedrooms, kitchens, dining rooms, gardens, bathrooms, and running water. The city had restaurants, markets, temples, banks, recreation areas, and businesses large and small. On a basic level, life 2000 years ago wasn't all that much different from today. I just really like thinking about that. So, in conclusion: if you find yourself in Italy, go to Pompei. You won't be sorry.

Pompei: rut marks from carts still visible in road.

Pompei: largest of 3 stadiums; gladiator battles were popular.

That was the most exciting part of the trip. Other than that, it was lot of walking around the city and eating pizza. Now, I'm in the airport waiting to find out if I will be able to get home. The volcanic ash is apparently causing issues. Getting to London shouldn't be a problem, but going north to Manchester may be.

In the end, I made it to London, but my Manchester flight was cancelled. Thanks to Kate working online in the background, I found my way to the trains bound for Manchester airport in order to pick up my car. When all was said and done, I was only 3 hours behind schedule.

Other than that, the last month has included hiking, a trip to Chester, eating outdoors when it's warm (enough), and preparations for an impending visit from my boss. Kate cleaned the flat this weekend (no coercion on my end, I swear), which is awesome. Now all I have to do is catch up on the work I meant to do this week and I will be ready for the visit next week, including a trip to Germany and France. Good times will be had by all.

Hiking alongside the lambs

Dinners in the garden.