Arrivederchi

My suitcase is packed and waiting by the door for me to travel to the airport. I am anxious to get home at this point but there are things about Naples that I will cherish. The people are open and friendly, many offering to assist a confused tourist and point her in the right direction. I did not feel threatened, even in the ‘undesirable quarters’. However, the press of people and constant noise were not an atmosphere I could endure indefinitely.

Yesterday was my last full day and I wanted to make the most of it by taking a train to Paestum where there are the best preserved Grecian ruins outside of Greece. I had read that trains ran every hour but that was incorrect. When I arrived at the station, it was a two and half hour wait until the next train. I bought a ticket anyway and decided to explore the neighbourhood around the train station.

Luck was on my side and I happened upon a church that was holding a rehearsal. I was gifted with being able to listen to an organist and singer of quality. Sitting in a pew, I settled into the peace of the moment and did my best not to stress about the train and the fact that I was travelling alone, my husband having bowed out on this occasion. After the mini concert, I moved onto another church, San Catherina, where there was a collection of martyr’s skulls. A bit grisly for my taste so I returned to the station and was again fortunate enough to experience an impromptu concert as three men sang Funiculi, Funicula around a piano.

It was then I was told that my train was running seventy minutes late. There was no way I could get to the site and return before nightfall so I requested a refund. This must happen often as the refund service went smoothly. The afternoon free, I decided to visit the archeology museum where the treasures of Pompeii and Herculaneum are on display.

The museum was calm and cool after the hubbub outside. The smooth marble floors invited an introspective stroll around the enormous space - floors and floors of frescoes, statues and artefacts. Moving among the paintings that decorated people’s homes, examining their household utensils - cups, pots, lamps, made the people of Pompeii real to me. The tragedy of them being stopped in the middle of their lives is illustrated by all that was discovered, intact, waiting to be used again but instead buried in ash.

This is one of the most amazing museums I have visited as I spiralled from floor to floor. An added bonus was the green and pleasant courtyard where one could rest from the information input. One would need several days to take in the enormity of this collection. Perhaps it was an afternoon spent more profitably than if I had gone to Paestum.

We dined at a restaurant that offered gluten-free pasta for my husband which was a boon. It was our second time there as ‘sensa glutinate’ eating places were not easy to find. The staff treated us like old friends. The pasta was magnificent, as was the lemon spritz.

And so my last day in Naples ended and now I am ready to go home.