day 22 naples

11 june 2009


today was a jam-packed adventure! catherine joined us today on our trip to vesuvius and pompeii. had google map directions to get us to the national park of vesuvius and we managed to get a little lost, having to ask for directions multiple times, without really understanding most of them. i remember some old guys playing cards around a table who were at, what looked like, a tourist office from the outside, and also a very cute old man gardening in a local restaurant, who gave us the first set of real comprehensible directions (to where we REALLY wanted to go. google maps screwed us) AND a shot of espresso!


so after a rather long ordeal, we are on our way to vesuvius only to find it is closed due to strike action. wtf? although apparantly staff have not been paid in 7 months... really? wow.


on the way up though, nusbaum managed to practice his drifting skills in the long windy road up... in our fiat panda. it is at this point that i notice the rear passenger tire is a little low in pressure. AAAAH!


kept a close eye on it though, and on our way to pompeii got more air into it. seemed ok rest of the day, but we'll see...

pompeii was hot as hell with full sun exposure. the dead people we always see in pictures are actually plaster casts of cavities left by the people who had decomposed on the ash that had fallen and then hardened. crazy. the map had some misinformation in it with temp closed streets due to research. and some signs were missing. that sucked. we parked at the amphitheatre entrance for 1e an hour. pompeii also apparently exhibits the first example of "beware of dog" sign.i think tour guide (that we listened in on... well, nusbaum and catherine did) was pulling a slumdog millionaire move :)


then after rechecking with officials and receiving conflicting info on vesuvius strike update, we decided to continue on and try... it was open! and the hike up to the crater afforded beautiful views of naples and nearby vicinities. the crater itself was awesome. such a huge volume of rock missing, sulphur signs and gaseous plumes (albeit small). we could also see here pompeii was from up top.


on hike down, nusbaum almost got bit by a lizard after trying to catch one.


after returning to hostel, we met christine and she joined us for dinner at hostel recommended "nennella" for pasta, with random food brought to us that all good, save the ass veggies in the end. got gelato, walked around, peed in metro WC that talked to me, and then we all decided to hit sorrento tomorrow.


other:
- dude threw kleenex bundle on windshield in attempt to sell
- autostradt: highway and today they were all tolled at 1.60e
- squeegee kids do not accept corn-nuts
- christine and catherine have similiar rome schedules, so we'll see how that goes