Day 4 Sorrento/Pompeii

We took the train from Rome to Napoli in the morning--about 3 hours. Then hopped on the local train from Napoli to Piano di Sorrento--a suburb of Sorrento. We got to our B&B, Casa Rachele, during "siesta time" when everyone had finished lunch and the stores and restaurants were all still closed and getting ready for evening business. Our host, Rachele, is a middle aged Italian woman who is totally dedicated to her little B&B and she took us over to a nearby restaurant, Le Tre Archate, to beg some sandwiches for us. So, trading our luggage for sandwiches we went back to the local train station and caught the train to Pompeii. (When I say "local train" I mean the Circumvesuviana line which runs every half hour between Napoli and Sorrento and everywhere in between.)

We got there at a really good time of day, the sun wasn't right above us and there weren't many tour groups. There was a Disney Cruise tour group...who knew!  I felt like we were able to really get a vision of this city that had been totally demolished.

This was apparenly a fast food joint, just down the street from the city's big stadium. Makes sense, right? Those holes in the counter held different pots full of hot foods.

We also saw the "Fugitives Garden" where 13 plaster casts were made of people trying to run out of town the back way, through some vegetable gardens.

Even the city's cemetary--which looked familiar after seeing the Roman necropolis under St. Peter's.

A lot of the homes had brightly frescoed walls in every room--some of which have survived. Also, a lot of them had atrium gardens and fountains in the center, and bedrooms were set up around it. There were plaques detailing the research they did on the plants that had once been there and their efforts to replace them as accurately as they could.

So, as the park was closing, we headed back to Le Tre Archate, and were delighted by their very extensive pizza menu! This pizza is cheese, tomato and arugula--a combination that we both totally fell in love with.

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Room @ B&B Casa Rachele		€	50
train Rome>Napoli x2		€	21
UnicaCampania tickets x2		€	21.2
panini @ 3 Arcate		€	11.1
Pompeii entrance x2		€	22
dinner @ 3 Arcate		€	22.26
gelato		€	1.5