Buongiorno, dear readers! I’m back so quickly with a new chapter! I had heard somewhere along our travels that Pompeii deserved longer than the typical two hour visit. So while we are in Europe, we decided to come spend the weekend and find out if it’s true. What the heck, why not a quick jaunt over from Spain?
After our perfectly functional RyanAir flight from Madrid to Naples, we were met by our wonderful prearranged driver Danilo who drove us to our perfectly functional VRBO directly across the street from the back entrance to the ruins. We spent a few minutes feeling the stress of abandonment, sitting outside the gate to our apartment unable to reach our host for entry. Fortunately, the stress did not last long, it only took about twenty minutes, and then our VERY Italian hosts arrived and showed us around. We finally had to breakout the Translate app to make sure we were fully paid up for our three night stay, and they left us with the only direction to “leave the keys on the table as we leave”.
Not knowing what to expect, I went online and bought us entry tickets for the next day. Having walked the evening before and stopping for a less than satisfactory dinner (didn’t know that was possible in Italy!) we found the entrance surprisingly close. Of course, the online tickets I bought said to redeem them at the main entrance, a fifteen minute walk from our apartment. But being the rebels that we are, we went to back gate just after 10 am. A very relaxed start time for us. We seriously can’t say enough about off season travel. We walked right to the gate, they didn’t blink twice at the tickets being redeemable at a different entrance, we rented a couple of audio guides and in We went! The positives: we are visiting during off season so the crowds were very small and the temperatures were perfect! The negatives: many of the homes were not open for touring! Definitely took advantage of the few that were and it is true, it IS much easier to picture Roman life here than in the ruins of Rome. Although we weren’t leaving until we found the body casts, we were hoping we’d see them in the places they fell. Our ignorance I guess. Beyond that, we could listen to descriptions of frescos and rooms within a house, but staring in from the gated front door wasn’t even as interesting as reading a book with pictures of the ruins. So, in conclusion, unless you are visiting during the hot crowded season, Pompeii was worth a half day visit.
So, for day two, rather than return to the ruins, we booked an impromptu day tour of the Amalfi coast. It was far too cold for any boat tours, but the crowds were so small we ended up on a private tour in a van. With stops in Sorrento, Positano, Amalfi and Ravello, it turned out to be a pretty wonderful day. That coastline road is something else! We were VERY grateful to be there in low season. Passing primarily cars, vans and crazy motorcycles was heart stopping enough, adding tour buses into the mix would have made me a very unpleasant passenger! We enjoyed each stop, with its mix of incredible views, fun tourist shopping, and awesome food. Italians do have a knack for making beautiful things!
We were back at the apartment in time to pack a little before finding a wonderful pizza dinner at the restaurant right next door. Good food and great service, it was so nice to skip a big walk across town for a meal! Then, at 8:30 the next morning, Danilo was waiting to take us back to the airport and just like that, our weekend in Italy was over. After another perfectly functional flight, this time on EasyJet, we landed at Gatwick, for the last leg of our European adventure, London.
We have a full agenda for our week, but, Dear Readers, more on that next time. For now it’s time to explore this city that inspired me. Till then, Ciao! Lady Wanderingwise
Weise's Wanderings 
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