From Pompeii to the Bay of Naples (Part 3)

For some reason, I have been distracted from writing this third part. It’s been a few months already and well, it’s due time I completed this. Think about it...it’s almost been a year since I actually went to Rome. I dare say though, that the memories are still fresh in my mind. I will attempt to recall them as accurately as possible…and well, I do have my journal to assist me in this recovery process. Well, sit back and enjoy; here’s Part 3 – The conclusion.

If you remember, Part 2 ended on my second day in Rome (From Downtown Rome to the Via Appia Antica –Archives: September). My first two days were spent in Rome but the third day promised to be something different.

Once again I woke up to a dark room, but a beautiful sunny day outside – surprisingly pleasant weather. I must have brought the sun from Malaysia with me because it was winter in Italy and the weather had been cloudy and rainy the last few days before I had arrived. Datuk Lily woke me up at 6.30 because we had to leave by 7.45 as we were going to meet up with this team from Malaysia – basically a bunch of people from the defense ministry – and then we were going to drive down to Naples and the bay, overlooking the island of Capri. Along the way, we were going to stop at the city of Pompeii.

Anyway, after bidding farewell to dad (he was going to Marseilles), Daniello (Daniel) drove Datuk Lily and I over to a hotel in Rome where we would be meeting the rest of the team, which consisted of around 10 really nice people. Four of the men were dad’s friends, including the VIP guy. There were about 12 of us all together, including the tour guide, a very knowledgeable lady who was very friendly and Vinchesca (Vincent) who was the representative from the Italian side. This whole trip was organized because of some work that Malaysia and Italy were doing together (I won’t go into detail). We also had two bodyguards along with us as due to the presence of the government officials. It was rather amusing thinking that I was with a bunch of important people, being escorted around Italy...it was almost like royal treatment.

The two bodygurads were actually plainclothes policemen – they looked more like bouncers though. Well, let’s just call them agent J and agent K since they were all dressed up in black suits with white shirts and black ties, leather dress shoes and black shades. *Cute!* We got onto the bus (a really nice tour bus) which was just big enough for the 12 of us and then we left; escorted from behind by agent J and K in their bright red Alpha Romeo. And so the fun begins...

We drove through Rome to get to the highway, and our tour guide gave us outstanding information on anything and everything that we could possibly want to know about Italy. She pointed out the Parliament building, and told us how the hospital is conveniently placed next to the graveyard. We got onto the highway and began our two hour journey. Our guide started explaining the history of Pompeii, as that was where we were headed. We were off to see the ruins of the city of Pompeii. Basically, Mount Vesuvius, a volcano (still active) had erupted in 79 AD and covered the whole of Pompeii with ash. Thousands of people died and the whole city was gone – covered by lava and ash. The 79 A.D. eruption of Vesuvius was the first volcanic eruption ever to be described in detail. From 18 miles (30 km) west of the volcano, Pliny the Younger, witnessed the eruption and later recorded his observations in two letters. He described the earthquakes before the eruption, the eruption column, air fall, the effects of the eruption on people, pyroclastic flows, and even tsunami. Volcanologists now use the term "plinian" to refer to sustained explosive eruptions which generate high-altitude eruption columns and blanket large areas with ash. It is estimated that at times during the eruption the column of ash was 20 miles (32 km) tall. About 1 cubic mile (4 cubic kilometers) of ash was erupted in about 19 hours.About 10 feet (3 m) of tephra fell on Pompeii, burying everything except the roofs of some buildings. The city was abandoned and its location forgotten. Pompeii was lost and at times when people attempted to go there to do research, they died because of the poisenous gases and fumes released when they dug. This too took many lives. Over the years, people gradually started coming back and the city of Pompeii was discovered...well, actually, it was recovered. Now, much of Pompeii has been excavated and it has revealed much about how people lived during that time (and died during the eruption). There are numerous molds of people in their final moments. That is the significance behind the city of Pompeii. The lava and ash had preserved many parts of the city over the years.

The drive was otherwise uneventful and it was kind of like a drive through the countryside...reminded me of the U.S. with the exception that the terrain was much hillier. We passed through the final toll and suddenly I heard a siren. A carabinieri (1 of the 4 defense sections in Italy – marines, air force, army and the carabinieris) pulled out in front of the bus and guess what...yeap, we had another escort. These newcomers were our front escorts and behind us were agent J and K. Really interesting. Now keep in mind, we’re getting royal treatement, which means that we can’t afford to be stuck in a traffic jam, even if we happen to be on the road during lunch hour. Although it was Sunday, the jam was quite bad because everyone was going to Naples for the weekend – the first sunny, warm weekend since winter. So you can imagine the traffic condition. Roads in Rome are generally very narrow (worse than in Malaysia!) and most are two lane roads with buildings on the sides that come right up to the road. In addition to that, it is very normal to find cars parked on the shoulder of the road which means half of one lane is blocked. Anyway, imagine a traffic jam on our side of the road and cars coming relatively fast on the other side of the road. Our dear carabinieri pulls out onto the other lane – switches on it’s siren, puts out THE 'lollypop' and motiones for the cars to move over and yield. He was really fierce about it and i gotta say it was so weird having everyone glare at us and then quickly pull off to the side. I’m sure they were cursing us. I felt bad. The road was already so narrow without 3 lanes of cars. Now, I’ve been through a lot of Malaysian driving and so I thought that I would be able to handle almost anything. But this was beyond me.

Anyway, it was like an adrenaline rush, very entertaining...like a video game. Well, we arrived outside Pompeii in style. I was astonished at the size of the site. It was seriously big. I was so interested in intently studying this ancient Roman city that is surprisingly in quite good condition. The Romans were brilliant and I simply admire their intelligence.

Each house had a pool type structure which would collect rainwater. They even had a way to heat and cool water so they had access to both hot and cold water. For the poorer ones who didn’t have these pools, there was a town pump where they could get their water. While walking around, I noticed these strange big stones that are placed in the middle of the roads. I enquired with the tour guide as to what these things were and she began to explain how when it rains there, it floods. So those stone things actually functioned as stepping stones to cross the road from one sidewalk to the other. When it flooded, the roads served as ‘drains’ and there was a way to cross these ‘drains’. At the same time, the stepping stones were placed so that carriages drawn by horses could still pass in between them. It really was quite brilliant!

I went inside some of the houses that were still standing and it was remarkable how each one had walls covered with paintings and floors with mosaic patterns, the complexity of it depending on the wealth of the owner. After walking around here for a while, we went out into the sun. I had a pleasant time observing agent J and K as they didn’t talk to anyone but maintained their straight faces and were constantly within a fixed distance of the VIP. It was totally cool observing bodyguards in action.

We exited these antediluvian remains and just across the road was a drink stall. There, in front of my eyes were the biggest lemons I had ever seen. The oranges were unusually humongous too. We got a cold, fresh lemon orange juice drink there and my mouth still waters just thinking about it. It was so delicious and refreshing after a long, hot walk in the sun. It was pure, fresh orange and lemon juice – no water or sugar added. After fully enjoyed drinking the pulpy, thirst-quencher, we boarded the bus again and prepared to make our way down to the Bay of Naples.

Once again, the carabinieri went back to their job, which they did superbly. Like two positive poles of magnets put together, the cars simply avoided us. It was amazing! The lollypop was so effective. Talk about culture shock...hehe. I think the carabinieri’s with their lollypop’s were one of the highlights of my trip to Italy. Anyway, we continued on to Naples.

The road there was quite like the road to Cameron Highlands, except instead of having rainforest trees on both sides, there are houses and orchards on one side and a steep drop to the sparkling blue sea on the other side. Now imagine that and a bus speeding down between two lanes of cars, going about 50 or 60 kmph with this great drop on one side and rock on the other. Yikes, but fun at the same time as I do like speed. When the other drivers heard the siren, they must have thought it was an ambulance coming through...then suddenly they see this tourist bus with all these people rushing for LUNCH!!! Sheesh...the important things in life huh... Fortunately it didn’t have anything to do with the fact that we were Malaysians – that would have been hilarious. Oh, and along the way, there were 3 long tunnels – easily half a km long, but would that stop us? Nope. The lollypop guy continued. Some of the people on the bus with me were already freaking out but I found it all amusing. I should point out now that I am not able to fully capture this whole experience in words, because it’s simply beyond that. I don’t think it can really be described.

Although we were speeding away, I managed to drink in the the view which was simply spectacular – just like something out of an Enid Blyton book...sparkling blue sea, bright hot sun, white fluffy clouds, pure white sand, and it goes on. Simply breathtaking and dazzling. I can see why people have to book a hotel room in Capri one year before hand. This had to be one of the most beautiful places on the face of the earth. We finally reached the restaurant and as if the view wasn’t beautiful enough, the restaurant was more like a paradise garden. Lemon trees, orange trees, flowers of all sorts, vines and rich, brown soil.

Okay, I have to admit that the food I had at this restaurant was probably the most exotic food I have ever dealt with in my life. Well first of all, since the restaurant was beside the sea, the menu was mainly seafood. First, they served a few different types of bread, like all Italian restaurants. Then our first course came. It was seafood. Now, I’m not big into seafood so this was kind of a bummer for me because I was famished. There were three huge shells, lined with lemon leaf on my plate and in each shell there was a different type of seafood. The first was cuttlefish, the second was some sort of fish I couldn't recognize and the third was baby eels. They were white, long, slightly slimy things with eyes...yes...with eyes! My appetite diminished at an amazing rate. But then, mind over matter, and I was like ok, whatever, let’s do this! I saw my fork spear some of the white slimy eyes and shove them down my throat. I almost gagged...but then I couldn’t let that happen because I was seated at a table with a whole bunch of VIP’s. *Chew, chew, chew...swallow* Hmmm…well, it was ok...if you ignore the eyes. Then Datuk Lily casually mentioned that the eels were raw. Double yikes! Raw??? I returned to the comfort of the cuttlefish, but finally challenged myself to finish the eels and well, I did. Yay for me.

The second course was much less eventful and instead, it brought hope. Spaghetti with clams. That was actually the first time I had clams...yeah, yeah, I know. The third course was a gorgeous garden salad with olive oil on it. Finally, my type of food. Fourth course, some type of fish and finally dessert was something like sponge cake, covered with white lemon sauce. That was scrumptious and a very pleasant way to end my spectacular lunch. In the weirdest way, I was proud of myself for finishing lunch.

After that, we went up to the ‘Garden of Eden’ and enjoyed the beauty of the place. Oh, keep in mind, the whole time we were having lunch, I was sitting with a whole bunch of important people from the Malaysian government. Although they were respectable individuals, they were really cool people and we had a fun time talking about everything under the sun. It’s interesting how being in a foreign country brings people together.

After lunch, we gathered our stuffed selves together and decided to walk around for a bit. We were once again graced by agent K’s presence, but agent J was nowhere in sight. As we came to the main road, I saw the carabinieri’s with their car and decided to ask them if I could take a picture with them. I wanted a picture with the lollypop guy. (Note: I have the picture in case you want to see it). These guys were brilliant drivers and lollypop men. Well, after that we walked through a few more beautiful gardens and came to a balcony, which was the property of a hotel. From there, the view was magnificent! I stood at the railing and looked down about 100 meters at the shore and the blue sky. In the distance to my left, I could see the island of Capri and directly opposite that, to my right, was Mount Vesuvius.

All too soon, it was time to go because Vinchesca had to catch a flight back to Florence. We got into the bus and prepared to depart. The rest of my bus mates were saying that they hoped we didn’t have to go through anymore kamikaze driving because we had just had lunch. Fortunately, our escorts guided us on a very gentle trip back. We were all really tired but managed to stay awake till we got to the airport to drop Vinchesca off. Unfortunately, this is where we parted with my faithful lollypop men too...but I did get to say ‘grazcia’ and shake their hands before we parted. The rest of the trip back to Roma was uneventful. Most of the people were sleeping in the bus, but I stayed awake and tried to learn some Italian from Datuk Lily, who was also awake.

As we drove into Rome, the city was really quiet as there was a game going on between Juventus and AC Milan...thus the silence. Italians are generally very into soccer, so when there’s a game; everything else is put on pause. We drove straight to the Captain’s house (he’s Malaysian) for dinner. I have to say I felt like a walking zombie. Jet lag was finally getting the better of me.

Everyone was so exhausted after the long day; but we were instantly more alert the moment we were welcomed at the door of the captain's house, with so many beaming faces. It was very nice to see a whole bunch of Malaysians again. In a way, it felt like home. I really felt blessed. After some small talk, we sat down for dinner – Malaysian food. I can’t say that I was overly excited about this as I was looking forward to Italian cuisine, but the atmosphere was so nice that it really didn’t matter. I ate just a bit because I was still really full from lunch.

Almost everyone left by 9.15 pm. Just Datuk Lily and I were left, so we talked with the Captain and his family a while longer and you know, I really didn’t want to leave there. It was probably because I knew that this meant the end of Roma for me as I would be leaving the country. I didn't like the thought of that. I wanted to stay!!!

I was almost falling asleep on the way back to Datuk Lily's place. I was as exhausted as one could possibly be. I went back bathed, packed and crashed. The next morning, I was up early as it was time to leave. The hour had finally come. There was a great mix of emotions within me the whole way to the airport. On one hand, I was happy to be going home, but on the other, I already missed Rome so much. I loved the city! I really missed mom, dad and the boys but I felt that it was really too soon to be going back home. I wanted more time there. Just a little more time. It was then that I realized that I had truly fallen in love with Italy.