It’s just over a kilometer from the port of Civitavecchia to the train station but it feels longer when you’re pulling a 50-pound wheelie bag. We barely had time for a burger in Rome’s Termini before catching the train to Naples—First-Class this time—and then the Circumvesuviana to Pompeii, standing room only. We finished the day with another bag drag to B&B Casa di Plinio where we are booked for three nights.
Salvatore’s place is simple with OK wifi, a great shower and a wonderful breakfast. The B&B is less than a kilometer from the train station and just down the street from a big Deco grocery store where we stocked up on drinks and lunches. Best of all, Anna agreed to do our laundry, accumulated over nearly a month on cruise ships, for a very reasonable price.
Casa di Plinio is also close to the Pompeii ruins. While most people enter at the Porta Marina main entrance near the train station, we discovered a not-so-secret staircase that leads from the B&B to the less-crowded Piazza Anfiteatro entrance which is nearer to the areas we want to explore.
This is our third visit to Pompeii. We were just general tourists the first time, gawkers in one of the finest Roman archeological sites in the world. On our second visit we were fortunate enough to gain entrance to the newest excavations, including the inscription that re-established the date that Vesuvius blew its top. This time we hope to visit the newest discoveries that we saw recently on PBS.
Unfortunately the timing of this visit was off—the newest of the new excavations are open only on weekdays—not that we would have been able to get reservations anyway. We were among the first to enter the site today and we arrived at the more recent excavation sites while the first-timers and tour groups were still at the Forum. Despite the Pompeii map and the labels on the various buildings, it’s easy to get lost. And old legs tire quickly on the cobbled streets, rutted by thousands of iron-wheeled chariots.
We remembered the House of Leda and the Swan and the House of the Silver Wedding from our visit four years ago but somehow completely missed the spectacular House of the Veti with its wonderful murals. But the highlight of todays venture was House of the Chaste Lovers which opened just last year. It’s a one way journey on scaffolding over an entire villa. Photos are not permitted inside (to keep traffic flowing?) but Connie managed to sneak a few with her phone concealed by the map. A girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do.
