Adventures in Training

One of our favorite things about spending time in Italy is being able to take friends and family around to spots we love, or to use them as an excuse to visit new sites.  Today, I was lucky enough to take daughter Maria Elena and her hubby Josh out to Herculaneum, a site very similar to Pompeii, but smaller and more manageable.  Maria had been there about 15 years ago, but I had never been to these excavations, always opting for the more well known Pompeii.  Today I was thrilled with what I saw and don't think Pompeii will be on my radar in the future!

As always, the best way to get into Naples is on our little train.  Our ticket agent was on the job and suggested we buy a TIC (Ticket Integrato Campania).  Turns out for under 5E per person we could get from Cervinara to Naples and from Naples to Herculaneum on one ticket.  What a deal!  Of course our train was 15 minutes late and quite crowded, but we were able to find seats right next to the bathroom....fun.  Seats on our old little train our pretty tight, and not meant for anyone over 4'10 or 80 pounds, both benchmarks I passed at about six years of age...but I digress.

We arrived at Napoli Centrale and went immediately down to the lower level to pick up the Circumvesuviano train that takes you out past Herculaneum, Pompeii, and all the way to Sorrento.  The line at the ticket window was very long but we scooted right through the gate with our prepaid ticket.  Felt very smug!  The platform was teeming with people, both natives and tourists alike and we were shocked when our train arrived already filled to overflowing.  But we jammed in and managed to find a spot where we could grab onto a handhold.  Seriously, I haven't been this close to strange men in many a moon!  No secrets between us, believe you me!  But 15 minutes later and we were set free to start our explorations. 

A pleasant 10 minute walk down Via IV Novembre (with a quick stop for a sfogliatella!) and we were in line at the scavi di Ercolano.  This is an amazing site, much more manageable than Pompeii.  It doesn't extend for miles, but it gives the visitor every bit of what Pompeii offers, minus the arenas.  There are the taverns, luxurious homes, brothels, and tragic remains of the victims of Vesuvius' wrath.  This is all easily accessible in a visit of 2 hours or so.  It's now my place of choice for Roman excavations!

On our return trip, again the craziness of southern Italy and its train system came to the surface.  First, as I was putting my return ticket into the slot and waiting for the gates to open, I was pushed from behind by a group of three teenage boys.  They successfully managed to push me and the three of them through the gates on my one ticket!  They were so proud of their ability to game the system that I had to chuckle, but I did want to give them a swift kick in the behind too!

Then, we climb up three flights of stairs to get to the binario where the train to Naples was scheduled to leave in 15 minutes.  An announcement comes on, and suddenly there's movement among all those waiting on the platform.  People are leaping over the fence separating the platform from the rails, jumping onto the tracks and running across three sets of tracks to get to binario 3.  That announcement that we missed had just said that there was a change in program and the train would no longer leave from binario 1 but would now leave from binario 3.  So....do we schlep down three flights of stairs, do the underground tunnel to cross under the tracks and then schlep up three more flights to get to the correct binario....or do we jump the tracks like everyone else?  We jump the tracks, of course!

Somehow I manage to squeeze myself through the fence, jump down onto the tracks, stumble across the gravel and rails, and then pull myself up onto the platform, just in time to get on the train.  I must say, this was not one of my finer moments of grace and coordination, but thanks to Maria and Josh I made it in one piece and we were all on our way back to Cervinara, via Naples. 

The rest of the trip was quite uneventful and we were even lucky enough to find a train with air conditioning for the last leg of our trip, but I don't think any of us will forget our laughing in the face of danger and becoming railroad scofflaws!  It's all in a day's life here in southern Italy!