Peapod on Purpose

A combo blog written by Daddy and Middle Pea

A Day of Travel from Rome to Pompeii via Napoli

Today was a special day on our trip around the world.  Daddy and Middle Pea got to spend the day together, taking a day trip from Rome to Pompeii.  It started with an early morning, very early.  The Peapod Squad had a hard time with the time change coming from India.  Some of us, not to name names, were waking up at 4am in the morning! 

After we ate breakfast, we walked from our flat to the train station.  We got there just in time to see the train leaving for Roma Termini, so we had to wait for the next one.  It was going to be a tight connection time once we got to the central Roman train station, especially since we had no clue where we were going.  Luckily, Daddy Pea has a keen sense of direction. Ha ha.

Once we arrived at the central train terminal in Rome we looked around, and with my Spidey sense, I guided us to the express train to Naples.  We arrived at 8:02 for an 8:00am train, which left only 3 minutes after we boarded. Phew.

On the train, we listened to a couple of podcasts about Pompeii and we played chess.  Once we arrived in Naples, the plan was to switch to the train to Pompeii. But we missed it.  The new route left us with some extra time, so we got a snack, and a yummy one at that!  We shared two croissants, one with a lemon custard filling and another with a chocolate filling.  Talk about starting off the trip by first getting our clothes dirty before even arriving to a dusty ancient city!

At the end of the rails we had a long walk. Finally, we reached our destination, Pompeii.  Pompeii is a ruin of a city, which was buried in the ash of a volcanic eruption almost 2,000 years ago. We saw many things there.  Now, time to describe our highlights!

Our Favorite Highlights of Pompeii

Have you ever heard about the saying, “any way the wind blows”?  Well, wind direction really mattered on August 24th, 0079.  On this day, and the days proceeding, the wind direction was blowing south.  This meant that the cities south of this fire breathing mountain called Mt. Vesuvius would soon be covered in ultra hot ash, rocks, and even some lava.  The top quarter of the mountain was literally blown up, no longer attached to the mountain.  The city, and its remaining inhabitants, were covered in ash.  As a result, history was preserved for us to admire today. 

One of Middle Pea’s highlights was a glass case with the plaster casts of people. Archeologists poured plaster over bones found within empty cavities underground, preserving even the surprised expressions on their faces.  One of Daddy Pea’s highlights was watching Middle Pea put on a show in the middle of the Pompei Grand Theatre.  Unlike the Amphitheatre, we were able to sit in the stands of this large theatre.  Middle Pea performed while Daddy Pea watched, marvelous! 

It’s amazing how the ruins were preserved in ash and still stand strong today. Another one of Middle Pea’s highlights was the “amphitheater”.  It was actually a gladiator arena! It’s breathtaking to take in how big it is.  It is especially fun to be in the “field” (actually, the field was made up of just rocks and weeds).

Another one of Daddy Pea’s highlights was the construction of the streets.  There were raised stepping stones in the middle of the cobble stone streets.  This is because the city workers would flood the streets to clean them.  As a pedestrian, to not get your feet wet, you would cross the street by stepping on these large stones.  Also, the sidewalks were significantly raised from the base of the streets.  This was due to some clever engineering to deliver water to the residents that lived there.  Lead pipes were placed under the sidewalks, and almost every house had running water delivered directly to them.  No need to be of the high class to get this luxury, amazing!

As we were leaving the city, we stumbled upon an archaeological dig site.  There was scaffolding that we could walk on to view the restoration from above, occurring in real time.  In this area was a group of homes, where you could see exhumed kitchens, dirt filled clay pots, and fire pits.  We would have never thought that we’d have the chance to see archeology in action while being here, so cool.

Tired, with a side of Pizza!

The experience was tiring and hot, but very fun! From the trip down to Pompeii, to its smart architecture and its breath taking arena, it was just amazing. And, we got to end the day eating some pizza at a restaurant right across the street from the city entrance. (Hold the basil, please.) If you go to Rome and you’re up for a long travel day we highly recommend it.