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Day Three: Day Trip to Pompeii & New Year’s Eve Fireworks

Sorrento

Our third day in Rome once again had a very, very early start: we needed to be across town to catch our tour bus to Pompeii at 7 a.m. This day trip, through Walks of Italy, was the second part of my Christmas present from my mom, and it was a highlight of the entire trip.

Despite the very early start, I tried to stay awake for the majority of the drive, as the bustling city of Rome faded into picturesque countryside and green mountainsides. We watched a dazzling sunrise over the hills and stopped for a chocolate croissant at a rest area. Our tour guide was an American who had moved to Rome after getting married, and she was both historically informative and told us lots of interesting anecdotes (though she did have a habit of pronouncing Italian words only with an Italian accent and their Italian spelling, despite talking to fellow Americans—I watched one man struggle to understand that she was saying “Circo Massimo” instead of “Circus Maximus” for ten minutes).

Due to the risk of landslides during the winter season, our tour stopped first in Sorrento (rather than the more popular tour destination of Positano); however, the Amalfi Coast is beautiful no matter which town you choose to see. It was filled with giant lemon trees, breathtaking views of the Gulf of Naples and Capri, and hand-painted mosaics that made perfect souvenirs.

We also had the opportunity to try seafood (since we were on the coast) and a margherita pizza in the region in which it was invented. It was all delicious—the only thing I would watch out for is the dessert. Our tour guide was kind enough to tell us the famous foods in the region, including a dessert called babà. The only problem was that when we finally got to the restaurant, we couldn’t remember what it was, only its name and that it was the must-try dessert in Sorrento. Well, as soon as I took a bite, I remembered its defining characteristic: it was soaked in brandy. And I mean, it tasted like a sopping wet sponge. If you know me, you know I don’t like the taste of alcohol, much less brandy, so it was all I could do to squeeze out some of the liquor and swallow down a couple bites. Then, to top it off, the restaurant gave us free shots of limoncello (lemon peels or lemon zest soaked in ethyl alcohol). I sipped mine, and almost died. To me, it tasted like straight rubbing alcohol, while to Ryan, it tasted like straight lemon juice. The waiter just looked so excited to give it to us, that I couldn’t leave half the shot on the table, so Ryan took one for the team and drank the rest of mine.

Pompeii

From Sorrento, we continued on to Pompeii. This ancient Roman archaeological site sits in the shadow of Mt. Vesuvius, the volcano that erupted in 79 AD, burying the entire town in ash and preserving a snapshot of Roman life.

The eruption blanketed Pompeii in over 9 ft. of scalding hot ash and pumice, followed by pyroclastic flows that engulfed the town. Pompeii sits only 6 miles from Vesuvius, meaning the hot surges were up to 482 °F and caused instant death, even for those inside buildings. Because of the dense ash deposits, which hardened into a thick layer around the bodies, when the bodies decayed, they left hollowed spaces behind. Archaeologists were able to pour plaster into these spaces and create plaster molds of these long-dead Romans. Outside the excavated ruins of Pompeii are many casts of these bodies, impressions of real-life Romans frozen in agony, covering their faces from the heat or clinging to their loved ones. I did not take any photos of these casts out of respect for the lives they represent.

The town itself is a treasure trove of architecture, art, and pieces of daily Roman life that have been preserved, relatively unscathed, for almost the past 2,000 years. There are beautifully vibrant frescoes, mosaics made of minuscule hand-laid marble, graffiti, political candidates’ names painted on buildings, marble restaurant counters, brick ovens, and—yes—a brothel with the Roman-equivalent of the Kamasutra painted on the walls so that visiting foreigners could just point to what they wanted.

Pompeii is an awe-inspiring but overwhelming maze of archaeological wonders, and I’m thankful we had a knowledgeable tour guide to lead us through the ruins and point out the most intriguing sites. I’m sure that if we went back, we could spend another two hours wandering its streets!

New Year’s Eve Celebrations

That night, for New Year’s Eve, we went to Circus Maximus, where there was a huge concert. All of the music was really weird and European, and we’re moderately sure there was a singer wearing an astronaut helmet at some point. After an hour or so of watching an aerial acrobat suspended on a giant balloon and listening to unintelligible music, we headed to the Colosseum, where we thought the main fireworks would be. Unfortunately, they were actually back at Circus Maximus, but I’d say we still had some pretty spectacular midnight views.

Just be careful getting back on the metro after the festivities: though it runs until 3 a.m. for New Year’s Eve, it is packed. Picture those videos of people being crushed with giant paddles to fit on the trains in Japan. I thought I was going to be suffocated. Nevertheless, we survived and made it back to the B&B just a little over 18 hours after we’d left that morning…and promptly fell asleep!

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