Day 21: Pompeii

Pompeii
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Today we set off initially for Pompeii. The journey from Amantea was very uneventful. We drove on the Autostrada which meant we went about 160kms per hour most of the way, apart from a few slow spots At certain points we thought we were in a truck parking bay and marked time with Queen. blaring full ball; Billy fell in love with songs like Bicycle, and Flash.

Pompeii was interesting and hot (35c); the remnants of the 6 century BC ancient city are smack bang in the middle of “modern’ Pompeii, very large and you really do get a feel for what it was like living there. In some respects however the Ancient Romans were more intelligent than the modern Italians, as the Ancient Romans had water stations regularly throughout Pompeii, however, only one we found was in operation meaning an exceptionally hot journey on foot around Pompeii.

The Fiat got a fair ding in a car park way back so we sculked into Avis in the dark and waited until the guy happily did our paperwork

Pompeii
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This also showed the chalk and cheese between Kim and I as we would reach some very old statues, and I would point out how worn they were, and Kim would comment how amazing that two of them still had heads. It is unfortunate that Pompeii had been raided of its treasures over the years, has survived two volcanoes erupting and wiping out the city and an earthquake, so in reality what is remaining is the structures themselves and very few statues. Still you can see common things such as what appear to be ice-cream stalls (or at least food stalls) in a similar fashion for travelers to now.

Pompeii Street
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After Pompeii and a lunch at McDonalds (Billy had been hanging for McDonalds since London) and was exceptionally pleased as they had a sonic toy with a Happy Meal. Most shops close between 2 and 5 pm so the towns are quiet except for tourists.

Our deal with the rental car saw us getting to Rome, and dropping our car off early….easy..nah…it’s Italy! First a hotel room with quotes from $330 -$120. So once settled for the cheaper, we went in search of a good Italian pizza. Chips were great…we still hunt for a good pizza in Italy. Chelsea Pizza are winning to date. Then drive out to Avis at Leonardo Di Vinci Airport. The Fiat got a fair ding in a car park way back so we sculked into Avis in the dark and waited until the guy happily did our paperwork. No excess charge!!! Phew. All we needed was a taxi back to the hotel as it was 11.30pm. AHHH…a taxi strike. The taxis and government are at a stalemate over who does what. Ok…we walked around until we found a limousine/shuttle service with a head honcho offering to drive us 5 minutes back for $30E bucks. Finally arrived at our hotel $20E poorer. Great doonas and mini bar/continental breakfast for a football team included. Goodnight Fiumucini.