The weather is as promised – cold, bleak, rainy.  We decided to just go ahead and take the tour today, even though we know it will be soggy.  We just don’t relish sitting on the ship for another day – especially since we decided to cancel the Florence tour for tomorrow and take it on the originally scheduled date next week.

So……off we go to the tour scrum.  We sit in our strategic front row seats, and wait…and wait…only because we get there so early.  Our timing, not the tour folks.  When our tour is called, we hop up to get our bus stickers only to be almost bowled down by this obnoxious New Yorker guy who’s been sitting next to us talking non-stop (not to us – to somebody else).  The people behind start laughing and talking about “survival of the fittest”!  It was that bad!  We’re like, whatever buddy – go for it.  It’s not that important to be first.

Stickered up, we head down the steps, only to find NY guy trying to figure out what floor to go to – on the elevator.  Really?  You run us over but can’t walk DOWN 2 flights.  Sigh.  Ok, drama over, we are out into the pouring rain and hop on our bus with the really sweet Paolo, our “escort.”  This isn’t a guided tour of Pompeii, just escorted (since we aren’t allowed off on our own).  We have to buy our own tickets to the site, and then we’ll have 2 ½ hours to explore the archeological park on our own (go figure) before meeting back for the bus at 11:30.  We’re free!!!!

Amazingly there is no traffic on the way to Pompeii.  There is always traffic here!  Actually there is a huge back up going into town, but not going out, which means we arrive at the park 15 minutes before they even open.  Queue time.  There are guides outside the gates who are very helpful in directing us to the correct line.  We end up standing with a couple who were on the Taormina tour with us, just waiting in the rain for the gates to open.  As more busses arrive, the line gets longer and the comedy begins – people not understanding we are in line, not understanding which line to use (there is one to buy tickets and one for online tickets, which we thought about, but then figured why bother since we’ll be so early, we shouldn’t get closed out).  Definitely keeps us entertained. 

Finally the gates open and we walk in.  We managed somehow to get in first because we had our COVID cards ready and the other couple didn’t.  As we are paying, suddenly someone throws down an umbrella on the counter next to me, and it is NY guy.  He’s busted right through the entire line and walks right up like he owns the place to butt in line next claiming they “changed the lines” out front. Um. No.  You just got in the wrong line and now you think you can just waltz over here.  Again.  No.  You’ve irritated me enough already, and that’s not happening!  We’re done with our tickets, and I manage to block him out so the other couple can at least buy their tickets first.  The nerve! 

Ok – deep breaths – we’re in, literally first, and literally have the place to ourselves.  We head off into the depths of the archeological digs, marveling at all they have managed to find and preserve.  The theaters, frescoes, the mosaics, the altars, columns, baths, it is all pretty much as we remember from years ago…just a lot wetter.  Haha.  But really?  It sort of adds a mystique to the whole place, plus let’s face it, it keeps a lot of folks away so the emptiness also makes it totally special. 

The Teatro Piccolo and different “Houses” on our exploration route….

Empty Streets…

Mystical fog draped mountains in the distance, frescoes, mosaics (including the dog mosaic), altars, columns…

We manage to evade the people behind us and make it all the way to the far end of the park, near the Villa di Misteris, which is where I wanted to go. But a sign says there is an obligatory exit from the Villa and it is most definitely NOT the exit we need, so we back track our way toward the front of the city, now picking our way through the busloads of guided tours that have arrived.

Villa di Misteris area…

Definitely the right choice being “escorted” and first.  At the exit, we find the path to the Antiquarium, a new building (at least new to us) where they now display all the artifacts and petrified bodies, that have currently been excavated.  We’d been looking for this as we wandered, remembering that it used to be outside with a little shed like roof.  This facility is so much better – it is an actual museum – inside with proper walls and roof, a very nice respite from the weather.  Although, toward the end of our explorations the rain had lessened to little more than a sprinkle, so much so we weren’t even using our umbrellas or rain jacket hoods.

Statue of Daedalus….

Finishing our visit, we head out into the main square to the café for a cappuccino.  It’s too early to eat, even though they have pizza, which of course is the traditional Napolitano version and looks yummy.  We settle for 2 cappuccino each (we had time and it was chilly) and a really good (really bad!!) cornetto filled with crema.  That will tide us over until we get back for our salads as lunch!

Meeting time arrives and most of us show up.  Paola tells us we can go straight to the bus if we remember where it is, so we lead off the pack and head back. There are already people on the bus when we get there and the stragglers keep coming.  A few people got takeaway pizzas and are trying to bring them on the bus – but that is a definite no no.  One guy even tried to bribe the driver with a US$20 to let he and his wife bring the pizza on – but to no avail.  So here are these people, standing outside in the parking lot, in the drizzle trying to stuff a whole pizza down their throat so they can get back on the bus and we can leave.  There is nothing more to say really.  Nothing.

After that comedic (and slightly nauseating) episode, we are finally loaded and on our way back to the ship.  It was actually a great little half day (rain aside) and well worth the effort.  Now, we get to sit on the ship for the rest of the day with Naples just off our balcony and completely inaccessible to us.  Frustrating.  The price of travel during COVID.  Hopefully our visit next year will be more…shall we say…free wheeling.

The rest of the day progresses as normal, reading, walking (deck 8 is a great place to walk), gym, dinner at Ocean Blue, then the comedy movie skits show which is absolutely hysterical.   We hope they do different movies on the crossing (probably not) but it will still be worth it to see it again.  It was that funny.

And that is the end of a very successful day. Tomorrow a “sea day” at dock in Livorno.