Summer in Italy: America to Pompeii

This Summer in Italy series starts three weeks before departure when my boyfriend and I realized we had the extremely fortunate opportunity to join his extended family on their trip to Italy. After going back and forth on the idea, the answer was a no brainer – we had to go.

So, we found last minute tickets on Norwegian Airlines for a direct flight to Rome, packed our bags (carry on only) and found ourselves on our first solo trip to another country – the land of painters, Popes and pasta. We were set to meet his family in Pompeii, as the group was headed to Capri the next day. Upon arriving in Rome, we needed to venture to the southern coast of Italy and this required taking the greatest number of modes of transportation I’ve ever taken in one day.

Starting by plane, we landed at Rome’s Fiumicino airport around 1:30 PM leaving us about 6 hours before it started to get dark. We were feeling confident and excited to have arrived, but for me, the anxiety of needing to navigate through a foreign country for the first time on a time restraint had begun set in.

We could’ve hired a car service to take us from the airport to Pompeii, but that would’ve ended up being pretty pricey for us young travelers. So, we had planned ahead of time to go with the more affordable train option. That meant we needed to get from the airport located east of Rome near the coast, to the Roma Termini train station at the center of Rome. Time for our next mode of transportation — the bus.

The bus ride into Rome was exciting and scenic. The 50-ish minute ride took us through roads lined with Cyprus trees and sweeping country views. As we arrived closer to the city, hints of Rome’s ancient architecture started to pop up.

We arrived at Roma Termini were we grabbed a snack and our first Italian espresso. We narrowly made our train after having to figure out the ticket system. Our third transportation vehicle – the Frecciarossa train – would take us on our way to Napoli Centrali in Naples. This stretch of our journey was filled mostly with picturesque countryside along the way.

After arriving at Napoli Centrali, we had one more mode of transportation to take to get to Pompeii – the Circumvesuviana. This train system is separate from other national and regional railway lines and would take us from Naples a little ways south to Pompeii. The Circumvesuviana train reminded me of the New York City subway and as a commuter who uses that system, I felt confident in navigating this one. That is, until we missed our transfer stop and found ourselves at a nearly empty station on the wrong branch of the railway line, trying to relay our situation (in English) to two men working there who only spoke (you guessed it) Italian. Suddenly, I was feeling that “out-of-my-element” anxiety again. Luckily, there was a young man who spoke some English who let us know when the next train was coming which could take us back to the previous stop so we could transfer to the right line and get to our destination.

Finally, after 8 hours of traveling in Italy (plus the 9 hour flight!), we made it to Hotel Vittoria – a lovely hotel located quite literally next to the entrance of the Pompeii Archaeological Park where we were going to do some exploring the next day.

But first, pizza! And wow was this pizza good – what else would you expect when traveling to Naples, the birthplace of pizza?! We got two pizzas (which are sized for a personal serving in Italy), two plates of buffalo mozzarella and wine for roughly 20 euros – I mean, come on. If that was the pricing in America, I’d be in trouble.

Half-devoured plate of buffalo mozzarella

After a truly satisfying meal, we got some rest for big day of sightseeing and more travel the next day. In the morning, we met up with my boyfriend’s family, had breakfast and set out for a few hours of touring the ruins of ancient Pompeii. It was an incredible and ghostly experience, particularly with Mount Vesuvius ominously looming in the background.

We saw preserved frescoes, remnants of the Pompeii baths, historic cobblestone roads with chariot tracks and fossilized bodies preserved from the ash of Vesuvius’ eruption. We didn’t stay for long, though. Before we knew it we were headed to the marina to catch our fifth form of transportation – a boat!