20 October 2024: Sunday—SUNNY—YAY! Not as decided a sun as I know is possible, but we were happy to see it! No complementary breakfast today because it is Sunday, a day of rest; so we paid for cofffee andd a croissant. Fine with us! We took the train from Sorrento to Naples for a Pompeii Stop. All trains to Naples stop in Pompeii. This was not a bullet train. It was more like an elevated train in Chicago, decorated with all sorts of colorful patterns. There were lines everywhere, lines to get the train tickets and SRO on the train itself for a one-hour ride. Lines in Pompeii, also, for tickets to get in, but Pompeii was right where we got off the train, so this could not have been more convenient! The sun warmed everything up so that we easily sweated most of the afternoon. The terrain was VERY rocky and uneven, LOTS of steep steps up and down, and plenty of uphill/downhill walking. But basically, Pompeii is an excavated city composed of a marketplace, forums, shops, public baths, villas, poor houses, temples, and so on. The Pompeii disaster happened in 79 A.D., and the city and its inhabitants lay beneath rubble for about 1400 years before the ancient city was discovered. What is visible so far are ruins, yes, but some things, frescos, mosaic floors, marble counter tops, and so on, are incredibly preserved such that archaeologists are able to slowly reconstruct the everyday lives of this community. There are no human bodies visible any longer. They have since disintegrated. However, the bodies, while there and over time, made deep impressions in the ash debris and rubble. Scientists have poured plaster in those impressions, resulting in physical forms of the bodies of people, including children, who perished there, as they were during the ring final moments. Even animals perished, of course. We saw the form of a horse, for example. All along, in the not-so-distant view, Mt. Vesuvius appeared to have been spewing black smoke into the blue horizon, although I am not certain that’s what it was. It sure did look like it! This was a stark reminder to all of us of this volcano’s potentially obstructive might. The train back to Sorrento was to have departed at 5:01 P.M. It never came, nor did we know that it would not come. Passengers did continue to come to wait for it and ultimately for the subsequent train, as it t urned. Out. LOTS of people were waiting for this ride one-half-hour later! We waited and got somewhat aggravated because it was hot, we were tired after walking so many steps, and there really was relatively little space to sit while waiting. But—it’s Naples—it’s Sorrento—a group of people who were waiting just started a-cappella-ing on the train platform! It managed to distract us from the wait and brought smiles to those who were singing and others who were video-ing this strange phenomenon among people whose cultures might not have found this behavior to be the norm. I thought it was delightful and indicative of the spirit of the people here, who in face of hardship, are able to turn the difficulty into an opportunity to laugh and overcome together through the power of music/song! What a beautiful thing! We got a seat on this train this time, but it, too, was SRO very quickly. Pizza breath, some sweat odor, very close proximity among people…some were getting aggravated.. But…it’s Na[les…it’s Sorrento…all of a sudden, loud, fun music was broadcast in our train car, along with drum accompaniment, and so on. People smiled—what else would they ever want to do? A few stops later, the music stopped. A street performer, carrying two d rums and an amplifier got off at that stop! Aww…. The power of music! The power of positivity and simple levity! Dinner was interesting again and very “Sorrento”/regional: Lemoncello sprits for Dad, Ugg (Hugo) spritz for me, fried mixed pasta and dipping sauces, spaghettini al Nerano for me, Carbonara for Dad, and a Raviolo with custard, powdered sugar, and dark cherry for Dad’s dessert! All except the black fried pasts (which, I learned after I ate one piece, was darkened by octopus ink) was delicious!!!! The people here (and throughout all of Italy so far) could not be nicer! All of the people we’ve met on this trip so far have been courteous, helpful, generous, kind, hospitable…. All it takes is a genuine smile and an attempt to speak their native language. Such an inspiration for how to get along among people who’ve never ever met/or not met for a long, long time!
Our Travels 