Under the Blue Skies of Naples
Wednesday, May Day 2013
Well, of course I could hardly sleep.
Finally managed to doze off and woke up suddenly. Checked my watch and saw that
I should have dropped off my bag at the counter half an hour earlier. Rushed to
refresh myself and went to drop off my bag. Again, I got lucky as our
destination was called to a special line. I would only realise later that had I
not woken up suddenly this morning, I might have missed my plane altogether.
Thank you, God, for waking me up when You did.
Performed morning prayers at the
multi-faith chapel before going through security check. Before long, it had
become bright.
I slept all the way and only got up
about 20 minutes before landing. Collected bag and went to the bus stop for the
bus into Napoli. The bus fare cost €3. It took maybe 15 minutes before we got
down at Piazza Garibaldi. There was a huge construction work going on at the
piazza. I asked a roadside stall for directions. Turned out my B&B was very
near the piazza and the central train station, just about 5 minutes away. I still
managed to get a taste of the crazy traffic there though, and in that short
walk too, I noticed there were a lot of South Asians and Africans in Napoli.
I couldn’t locate the building so
went to ask at Bar Roma. An elderly woman heard me and indicated she worked at
the B&B. She then gestured me to follow her. The B&B was on the second
floor and although there was a lift, she told me to follow her up the stairs. I
grumbled and mumbled and huffed and puffed and struggled with my bag up. She then called
Francesca, the girl who runs the place, and gave me the phone to speak to
Francesca. Francesca asked me to wait for her and I agreed as I could freshen
up while waiting for her.
She came along with her boyfriend and
a big black friendly dog. The dog wanted a hug or a pet from me. I was
shrieking every time it came near. Sorry, I was sure it was a friendly canine
but I didn’t want to cleanse myself unnecessarily.
After settling my bill, Francesca
showed me how to use the various keys and explained the basic rules of the
B&B. I left just after the clock struck noon and walked to the central
train station where I bought Campania Artecard for three days within the region
(it covered the public transportation too). I then went to the Circumvesuviana
platform for the train. My grand plan was to visit Herculaneum (Ercolano) and
Pompeii that day. I had the train timetables all printed out with me.
Now, just like in Rome, there are
many lodgings around the central train station and the main square. But be
careful as not everything is as what the pictures make out. Alhamdulillah, this
time around, despite having to huff and puff up the stairs, the Napoli B&B
I booked and stayed at was not only clean and comfortable but also charming and
nicely decorated like any normal apartment unit. I was very lucky I managed to
book a room there - despite changing my arrival date at least three times. The
rooms are all en-suite and there’s a long table complete with jars of cookies,
tea, coffee, hot chocolate and sugar for our consumption. There’s a small
fridge too from which we can help ourselves to juice and milk. The only thing
missing was a kettle but there was a water dispenser with hot and cold options
so it was no big deal.
It turned out that there was no train
to Sorrento that day because of the train strike, it being May Day and all.
Finally a train came bound for some destination two stations after Ercolano
Scavi. So I got on and went to Herculaneum. Well, I thought, achieve one
objective at least.
If you want to visit Herculaneum, get
down at Ercolano Scavi (Ercolano means Herculaneum and Scavi means ruins) and
walk down the hill all the way to the site. It’s a good 13-minute walk or so.
If you had bought the Campania Artecard, you’d need to show it, get it scanned
for an entrance ticket. I didn’t know this and after trying to explain it me in
Italian, the guard finally allowed me to enter.
I had a great time at Ercolano,
walking up and down, in and out, and round and round the complex. I poked my head here and there and kept humming Città
vuota to myself, never mind that I don’t know the lyrics (and I would be humming that song throughout the rest of my stay in Campania) The ruined
town had a population of some 8,000 residents or about a third of Pompeii’s. I
spent close to two hours there before returning to the station. There still
wasn’t any train to Sorrento so I decided to return to the city. As luck would
have it, I just missed the train and had to wait another 30 minutes for the
next train. Strewth!
Back at Napoli, I decided to check
out the old city so I walked all the way there. I followed Francesca’s
recommended route I sighted a tourist information office and went to ask the
opening hours of the Museo Archeologico Nazionale. She told me that there was
no admission charge on Wednesday and said I could still make it (the admission
charge is €8) as it closed at 7 pm. It was almost 6 pm then. I thought quickly
and decided to go. Well, I was already almost there so why not. And even though
I could come again the next day, I still needed to do Pompeii and God knew how
long it would take me at Pompeii. And what if there were still some problem with
the train the next day? I quickly decided that I might as well visit the museum
then so I hurried up the hill and walked as quickly as I could.
I reached the museum at 6:10 pm and
hurried through the exhibition. There were busts and statues and sculptures,
Graeco-Roman antiquities, mosaics and pottery excavated in Herculaneum and
Pompeii. There was also a room with paintings of couples copulating in various
positions. Yucks. I was thoroughly disgusted. Indeed, Muslims believe that the
inhabitants of Pompeii and Herculaneum practised unusual sexual acts and
inclinations (same-sex preference) and that the eruption of Vesuvius was God’s
way of punishing them. It’s all in the Holy Quran.
I stayed well after 7 (there were
still people inside when I left so I think it actually closed at 7:30 pm)
before walking back to the B&B.
Went out to search for dinner but
wasn’t successful. Also, it’s not advisable to venture out alone in the dark in
this city. So I returned back to the B&B and had a simple dinner. Watched
Bayern Munich destroy Barcelona. At Nou Camp. Oh, Pique helped too. Moc moc!!!
To be continued
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