Sex in the (Roman) City or OMG I saw Tom Hanks!

Day 84

I got up early and said goodbye to Giovanni. He gave me a hug and told me to come back any time I would like. As I was killing time waiting for my train to Rome a guy come up and told me that his wallet had been stolen and asked if I could support him. He actually said support. I told him that I had lost money in Naples as well and asked if he would like to give me some money. He looked confused and then he asked if I could at least give him a euro. I told him to get away from me and he asked why. I answered because I wasn't going to give him anything so he mind as well stop wasting both of our times. He left at this.

The train ride was really uneventful, I simply watched ANTM on my ipod. When I got to Rome Termini I was wondering if it would be the same. It did look the same, just like every other train station I have been to, just busier. There was no time to dawdle though, I was a woman on a mission.

I found my hostel very quickly and as soon as I had dropped my stuff I was back out on the town. I had to find a movie theater that played original language films. Sex and the City had been out five whole days and I had not yet been able to see it. When I found the theater I realized that it did not open until 4pm and that I had about 4 hours to kill.

In a nearby square it looked like they were filming something. I asked what it was but the answer I got was in Italian. I figured that it wasn't American and didn't matter.

I didn't want to visit something new in my distracted mood, so I simply went to the Vatican. I had been there before and figured that it would be a good way to pass the time. While I was in the very long but fast moving line an Italian couple tried to but in front of me. I wasn't having any of it and told them to back off. The woman said to me that she is Italy. I said no, not Italy very rude. After that they stopped pushing me. Who the heck buts in line at a church!

St. Peters was exactly the same as I remembered it. I took pictures of the statues and mosaics that I am pretty sure I already have. What I had not seen before was the popes crypt below the cathedral. It was pretty amazing to see graves here from about the last 1000 years. St. Peters was only built about 400 years ago, I wonder if the tombs were brought in or if they came from an older church.

One I had finished this I slowly wandered back to the theater. I took pictures of the various random ruins that I ran past, along with Augustus' mausoleum. When I got back to the theater I still had time to kill and I went back to the square I had been in before. The movie set had moved and had gotten much larger. I noticed that they were all speaking American English. Curious I spent some time trying to see if I recognized anyone. I thought that I saw Ron Howard, but didn't know his face well enough to be sure. One of the actors under a shady tent and some ways from me looked a lot like Tom Hanks, but I couldn't be sure. I asked again what they were filming. It turns out that it was Tom Hanks and that they were filming Angels and Demons. I never got a good picture of him, but I did get a few good looks before I had to leave. Even Tom Hanks couldn't keep me away from Sex in the City.

The movie was wonderful, I couldn't have asked for better, everyone should go and see it!

That night I ended up at a pub crawl with a few people from the hostel. I even got a free t-shirt. However, it wasn't that much fun. I think that I might have outgrown these things a bit. I left early and walked back to the hostel through a quiet Rome.

Nothing Naples

Day 83
I was a bum today. I really was. I was kinda tired and there wasn't much left for me to see anyway. I had laundry to do and that took up a large portion of the day. My morning was spent reading, and I wandered a bit in the afternoon.

That evening I met British Katherine and Ben and Japanese (but with a British accent) Kaori. We spent most of the night chatting. Giovanni cooked dinner again and tried to have a singalong. However, this group didn't really seem into it and soon he put away his guitar. I went to sleep early because I had an early train to catch.

Old Napoli

Day 82

When I had arrived to Naples Giovanni had outlined a walking tour that not only would take me by the best parts of Naples but also would keep me out of the dangerous areas.

I started the morning by walking the short ways to the Duomo. There was a wedding going on but tourists were still pouring in. I checked out the church for a bit but decided to skip the small museum.

After a cup of tea and breakfast I managed to find a row of really cute little shops. Most of it was wooden things and overwhelmingly chili peppers. Not really sure why.

The only actual site that I made it to was the Sansevero Chapel. The chapel was built around 1590 and has been altered drastically over time. They went crazy filling the chapel with a hodgepodge of statues and tombs. Most of the statues were ok, some really stood out. One of the ones here was the Veiled Christ, by Samartino. I have seen on mystery shows that some people think that the statue is too perfect, that it must have come from an alien or perhaps be some sort of divine miracle. This thing was perfect. Through the thin shroud I could see the dents the nails had left in the figure of Christ. Also here was a statue of a man trying to get out of a net. I don't know anything about it, but it too was stunning. Unfortunately I wasn't allowed to take pictures and the ones I have are of postcards.

For some reason in the 1700's the local prince injected something into two of his slaves that killed them. Their bodies were then preserved, sorta. Only the bones, organs, and veins could be seen. It was quite odd and I have no idea why it was in a church.

After the chapel I spent some time in a book store. I can't seem to get enough books at the moment. I also needed a new journal as my original is about full.

I wandered the rest of the trail that Giovanni recommended. Naples is a dirty city with loads of graffiti and crazy drivers. Still, I liked something about it. There was a certain type of beauty that I can't really describe. In the Plaza Reale there was a building that looked like the Pantheon. Someone was getting married here as well.

At this point I had been walking for about 4 hours and I figured that it was time to go back to the hostel. The sun had really sapped my strength and I was ready for a rest.

That night I talked to a few people at the hostel, but mostly just read and called it an early night.

Hidden History

Day 81

I still wasn't feeling 100 percent when I woke up this morning but I simply wasn't going to sit around and do nothing for another day. I got my act together and headed to Herculaneum. Ercolano, as it is called in Italian, was buried in 79 AD when Mt. Vesuvius erupted just as Pompeii was. Herculaneum is not as big because most of it is sitting under the present day city. I had wanted to see this since I went to Pompeii during my first trip to Europe.

The train ride was worse than any subway ride I had ever taken. It was a holiday and there were about a million teenagers all headed to the beach. Some of them were sitting on the train floor and some were even smoking. Later in the day I heard that the window's had been kicked out of some trains.

When I was at Pompeii I had been on a guided tour. I was looking forward to seeing this city at my own pace. However, I was glad to have had the guide before. The cities look quite similar and I was able to figure out on my own what most of the buildings had been.

It took some time for me to stumble upon anything more than ruined buildings. The mosaics I found were stunning, if only in pieces. Many of the buildings were completely open to exploration. It was fun trying to guess what each room was used for and who may have lived here. Still, it was sad knowing that the people who were here died pretty horrible deaths.

Apparently the early archaeologists were more focused on retrieving the most beautiful mosaics and didn't care if they destroyed the other bits around it. This left a lot of things damaged and the context of many objects difficult to understand. Some of the structures had roofs built on them to help preserve them. A lot of research and conservation is being done on the site right now. Some of the mosaics were just amazing and I wonder if they will ever be able to dig out the rest of the city. Who knows what they might find.

When I went to grab my ticket for the ride back the man behind the counter blew kisses at me. I was glad that there was glass in between us.

After having seen both Herculaneum and Pompeii I decided to visit the Archaeological Museum where all the stuff that was found at the sites is kept. This museum was something else. I had thought that the mosaics at the sites were good, but they were nothing compared to what the museum had. Most of them are thought to be copies of Greek originals. Still, I think that some of them must have been the perished Romans. I kept wondering if I had intruded on one of their homes.

In the back corner was a room called the secret room. You were meant to book ahead, but I just walked in and no one said anything. This room was filled with naughty statues, mosaics and other decorations. Most of it apparently came from brothels and taverns, but some of it was from rooms for rent and private gardens. This stuff was dirty.

Along with the mosaics I also really enjoyed the statues. Many of them were made out of the black rock from the volcano. Some of their eyes were painted blue and the stares were piercing.

In the basement was the oldest Egyptian collection in Europe. It wasn't big like the British Museum, but it was still quite nice. I especially like the mummies. They reminded me about the people of Pompeii and Herculaneum. When they were killed by the ash their decaying bodies formed a space in the rock. When these molds I guess, are found they are filled in with plaster so that the people can be studied. I asked if they were there, but apparently they are on tour someplace.

I was done at this point and headed back to the hostel. I didn't notice the setup at first, but Giovanni had cooked dinner for everyone. We even had watermelon for dessert. After we had eaten he pulled out his guitar and started singing easily recognizable songs, mostly by the Beatles. He also made the Aussies sing a song about vegimite. Giovanni tried to get someone else to play guitar but no one else could. One girl mentioned that she played the violin. Giovanni disappeared for a moment and returned with one. He even passed out lyrics to Italian songs and we did our best to not murder them. After the second round of Funiculi Funicula most people turned in for the night. This really was like visiting Giovanni and not just crashing at a hostel.

Big Pizza Pie

Day 78

I had wanted to be up stupid early to get the 5:30 am train to Naples, only the guy at the hostel told me that there was no way of getting to the train station at that time. I was forced to sleep in and take the 10 am train instead. It was a four hour long train and I had a middle seat. This made it hard to write and uncomfortable to read. It was irritating that the people who had tables were not using them but watched me try to balance everything.

The hostel that I was at in Naples was called Giovanni's Home. It was truly more like a homestay than a hostel. Giovanni gave me a map and about an hour long rundown about traveling in Naples. This included from what to see, what to not see, to what areas not to go in.

As my train had once again been late it was too late to do anything. Instead I treated myself to a pasta with seafood dish at a nearby restaurant. Either the dinner didn't agree with me or I had picked up some sort of bug because I couldn't keep anything down that night. I went to sleep early hoping that I would feel better the next day. Two days with little activity made me a bit upset.