Well, we’re back (and as is the way with all holidays, it already feels as if it was a long time ago, especially as I made the decision to travel without my laptop so came back to All the Work I’d postponed until after the holiday – which is an improvement on past holidays when I’ve spent a goodly part of the time actually working).
It was a fantastic trip, and I have to say that Pompeii was everything I’d hoped for and more, while Herculaneum was a little gem and I wish we’d allowed more time for it (if I was doing it over, I wouldn’t bother with going up Vesuvius but have more time in Herculaneum instead). There’s not much I can say about either that will add to what the real experts will tell you. If you’re thinking of going, all I can say read up beforehand, pace yourself (especially Pompeii, it’s enormous), and the later in the day you can stay, the better (the site stays open for an hour or so after official closing time and the worst of the crowds quickly evaporate once the gates close).
I’m glad we went in April and not high summer (it was already hot enough, and very crowded – I can’t imagine what high season might be like) especially as the wild flowers were blooming everywhere. I hadn’t realised that as well as the houses, you can get a sense of what the gardens might have been like, and some of them are wonderful (the other half was getting a bit alarmed at my finding garden inspiration from grand Roman villas … possibly not the most achievable of goals in our damp climate).
And it was nice to be touristing in a place where you knew you weren’t ruining the lives of the locals, if only because their lives had already been fairly comprehensively ruined almost 2000 years ago (with the exception of the inevitable – and magnificently indifferent – feline residents)
As for the travel – and I know most of you are only here for the detailed train timetables, if you’re on Twitter, you may have already followed along on our adventures
We took three days each way to do the travelling – Train to Carlisle, train to Newcastle, overnight ferry to Amsterdam, overnight sleeper to Innsbruck, train to Bologna, train to Naples, and then local trains to and from our accommodation (a wonderful room in an old house in an incredible garden – more gardening goals, see below) and the various sites of interest. I’m pleased to have done the whole trip by sustainable modes of transport apart from driving to and from the station from home, and one emergency taxi to Naples on our way back, after the train we were on broke down and apparently took the entire local line with it.
The way out was completely straightforward and almost uncannily trouble free. The way back – well, let’s just say I was glad I’d built a lot of contingency into our schedule, aforementioned emergency taxi journyes included. Unfortunately no amount of planning could do anything about the ferry crossing home, which was a bit blowy.
I think it says more about my social media circles than society more widely that quite a few people had either recently completed a similar train journey or were in the middle of one during our trip. For everyone else – well, I think we’ve shown that it’s possible to do quite significant journeys by train in Europe if you want to, but, sadly, it would be disingenuous to suggest that it’s as easy, affordable or convenient as flying. There were an awful lot of moving parts involved and it was not a cheap holiday. On the other hand, we had the bonus of discovering Bologna and Innsbruck, and a chance to catch up with a pal in Amsterdam.
For me, because I no longer want to fly except for unavoidable family reasons, it was the only way I was going to get to Pompeii and it was worth it for the experience. And if you’re someone who likes travelling, likes trains and ferries, and likes stopping off and wandering around in random cities on the way, you’ll have a ball. As long as you’re all about the journey over the destination, it’s the way to go.
(and of course I couldn’t post this without a sop to my fellow kerb nerds, who I’m sure will appreciate this early Roman incarnation of a low-traffic neighbourhood).
Town Mouse 
Sounds like a great adventure! BTW There’s a documentary on BBC at the mo called “Pompeii: The New Dig” which is worth catching.
Thank you! Managed to record some of it, so will be catching up later.