The Purple Penguin

Up and out early to get to the Pompeii Santuario station for the train to Ercolano. Definitely not as nice as the main station and train to Naples. The trains were all running late and there was very little information available, but we got our train and headed off to Ercolano Scavi. The guidebooks all say this is an easy walk to the ruins, but what they don’t mention is it is steeply down hill. And by steeply I mean use walking sticks to help you down steep. I didn’t realise I’d be climbing Vesuvius! And mentioning the volcano, it seemed much much closer at Ercolano than it did at Pompeii.

Got to the site and again no queues for tickets. Got tickets, got our guidebooks and map. When we got to the entrance we were told we had to carry bags on our front, so we decided to leave them in the lockers provided (keys from the info desk and you return the key before leaving; lockers are free). I’d recommend leaving bags there as it’s much easier to get around!

Quite a few places in Herculaneum were closed. It’s also slighly more difficult to get around – though the entrance is now step free it’s much much lower than the modern ground level. The streets are much more steep and there aren’t the stepping stones to cross, but there are steps down every now and again. It was interesting to see the difference between Pompeii and Herculaneum.

Herculaneum has a walkway around a good bit of the site up at modern ground level and this is how you start the tour. It gives an excellent overview of the site. We started with the boat pavilion where the remains of the boat found on the beach alongside other objects found nearby are displayed and then the Antiquarium, museum of objects found in Herculaneum. Then down to the site. Again several of the places were closed and being worked on so we didn’t get to see everything. Also the wait of the mud and lava has warped the floors so the mosaics are warped, but still lovely. The layout is also harder to decipher due to how the early archaelogy was done. So while it is an outstanding site for archealogy it is much less clear than Pompeii for the general tourist. It also feels much more like visiting a ruin. Having said that, the restoration of the beach area and vaults is very moving as the skeletons have been left in place. Though there are a lot of steps down to the beach (and very steep slope down to those steps!)

There were a couple of school groups, as usual, but due to the size of the site (quite small) they were more difficult to avoid. But we were glad we went as the differences were interesting. After seeing everything that was open we headed up and had our picnic lunch at the entrance before heading back up the very steep road to the station (did I mention this was steep? Like climbing a mountain steep?)

At the Ercolano station there was no information at all. Just pure guesswork. But we ended up on the correct train, somehow, and back at Pompeii Santuario (saw lots of orange trees on the ride). Staggered back to the hotel, made reservations for the restaurant and then staggered off to rest.

Last dinner and even though we had three meals at this one place, it didn’t feel boring or that we needed to do the same thing. Our drink order however was the same – Joe had a local draft beer and I had a g&t made with Seville orange gin and Fever Tree tonic.

So Joe, having heard me say ‘this is a reproduction, the original is in the museum in Naples’ many many many times while walking around Pompeii, said we had to go to The National Archaeological Museum of Naples. So he worked out the route which went from the main Pompeii rail station to the train station close to the museum (not the metro station at the museum but it was a short walk away – Napoli Piazza Cavour). We got up a bit later and had a coffee and pastry at the cafe at the station before getting on the train to Naples. Short walk to the museum – there was a rather large crowd outside, but when we got to the door there wasn’t anyone queuing to enter. There were school groups, but like at Pompeii we could avoid those.

We mainly concentrated on the Roman bits and pieces but it was a traditional museum with things just put in according to type with a brief label. So while interesting, it lacked context. Still nice to see the originals of things, though the Mosaic from the House of the Faun (Alexander or Issus) was being restored so not really visiable – could just see it through a window.

We also went through the secret rooms (where all the phalluses from Pompeii are) and the Magna Graecia collection. I expected getting into the Magna Graecia would be difficult with a queue, but we walked up the guard said ‘do you want to go in?’ we said ‘yes’ and she said ‘put on shoe covers!’ and we were in. Quiet season is definitely quiet.

The bookshop was difficult to find – it’s rather tucked away and we’re used to them being right by the entrance/exit. But we found it; however, the good guide book is only in Italian which was disappointing. Joe said he figured I could just use translate to read it but didn’t say because it was a larger heavier book and he didn’t want to carry it. So we got the smaller English language book. I then realised we hadn’t seen the frescos so off we headed to look for those.

It was a bit less walking – four hours instead of six – but our feet were tired. We had a late lunch/early supper in Naples at La Campagnola which was good food. Joe got gnocchi which was lovely and smoky, and I got a pizza. Now all the pizzas I’d seen had been one person pizza, not too small but doable. This one was definitely a two or three person pizza! It really overhung the plate. Joe helped me with the pizza by using the crust as the bread for his gnocchi (the crust was so good!) I still had to leave some. The train back was very crowded (quiet season does not extend to non-tourist stuff).

We then walked to the supermarket to pick up lunch stuff for tomorrow as we’re off to Ecrolano. I like supermarkets in other countries as it’s interesting to see what is available – different and the same as at home.

Up, breakfast, and off to the city again. This day’s ticket had the Cave Canem mosaic on it. This time we went down to the path that goes around the city walls to see the Porta di Stabia and the mausoleums along that road. Then to see the small theatre and areas of the city we’d missed the day before. So another 6 hours of walking along those uneven streets. The street surface is way below the pavement, so there was a bit of climbing to get up and down.

There was one area completely covered off by hoardings while work was going on, but we noticed a walkway went around the top and a sign said it opened at 10:30. So we stayed in the area looking at several areas and then headed up to the walkway. There is a lift and as Joe was limping and had his walking stick they let us use the lift – luckily because it’s about three levels up. The walkway goes all over the area that is being worked on and you can watch archaelogy – they were using a digger to uncover a roof next to the building which was fascinating but Joe only let me stay there for a bit. The exit put us at the cafe which is at modern level so high above the ruins. We then had to climb back down to Pompeii.

We also saw the small theatre – again lovely building – and then the botanical garden. This is a project to grow the plants that would have been in Roman Pompeii and is interesting. And we went through the Venus Marina villa on the way out, with very sore feet.

We tried a new place for dinner, which was in the guidebook as good. It was ok, very much set up for tourists and tour groups, and we’ve been spoiled by the food at Varnelli. So while the food was good and we enjoyed dinner, it wasn’t Varnelli!

Up early to head into Pompeii. Had breakfast at the hotel; the view from that cafe is amazing over the ruins and Vesuvius, especially in the morning with the sun rising onto the mountain. The hotel is right at the Amphitheatre entrance so we were early to the gate, but it wasn’t a long wait. We did learn however, that with a My Pompeii ticket you still need to go to the ticket office and pick up your ticket for the day.

We went into the amphitheatre, you can go in the ground level but not into the audience stands, then headed into the city. Around the amphitheatre the street/walking areas are flat and gravel, but into the city proper and it’s large stones and very uneven. A bit difficult to walk (https://seepompeii.com/en/the-characteristic-streets-of-ancient-pompeii/) and we were glad we had walking sticks.

Of course I headed for the theatre area (we were sort of heading that way to see if we could get to the forum early, but decided to slow down). The large theatre is spectacular, though we didn’t see the small one, instead continuing on to the forum. We walked all over seeing lots of frescos and mosaics (including the Cave Canem) and out to the Villa of Mysteries (that room is amazing and the rest of the villa is lovely). However, it is a slope down to the villas along the old Roman road and the mausoleums, so it was a climb back up to the Porta Ecrolano (and you have to show your ticket to go through the gate down to see the villas).

We then went to one of the main streets through Pompeii (Via Dell’Abbondanza) stopping at the shops and Joe was checking the light to see if the sun would set shining down the street. It seemed to be slightly off though and we were tired with very sore feet so headed back to the hotel. That was about 6 hours of walking though! I had also noticed a lot of people walking around with maps of the city and was wondering where they got them as I hadn’t seen one at the entrance. I was worried we’d have to go to the main entrance to find one, but nope, they were at the Amphitheatre entrance, just hidden back at the guard hut just past the turnstile entrance. So I grabbed one for the following day.

December is the quiet season and they do mean quiet. There were several large school groups, but for the most part it wasn’t crowded at all. When the school groups went through we could avoid them pretty much (it is a city) and we didn’t have any queues. Well, at most one person in front of us? But on the down side, it’s also when a lot of work is being done so things are closed, both in the ruins and the town. There was also roadworks and work being done on the hotel.

We were so tired we had dinner at the hotel again and it was excellent but still too full for pudding!

Stayed at Gatwick again as the flight was very very early morning (06:40). We did the twilight bag drop, you can drop your bag between 20:00 and 22:00 if you have a flight before 8:30 which is very helpful. We still had to get up early, but could just go straight through security rather than faffing with bags. We still managed to be far too early. But the flight was fine, though it was one of those have to get a bus from the plane to the terminal. And then we had trouble at passport control – Joe’s threw up errors that everyone was taking photos of, including the supervisor! Which was a bit worrying, but they did let us in so not sure what happened. Possibly leaving the EU and only being in the UK for a few days before heading out again?

There is a bus that will take you directly from Naples Airport to Pompeii, but it runs on a reduced schedule in the off season, so Joe and I had several hours at the airport (landed around 10:00 and the bus didn’t go until 13:00). We ended up just staying around the airport where we had coffee and a toasted sandwich and watched people until time to get the bus. Smaller bus than we expected, but nice ride to Pompeii with a good view of Vesuvius. The bus drops off at the main entrance to the ruins which is about a 15 minute walk to our hotel (Hotel del Sole), but I first went up to get our My Pompeii tickets, then off to the hotel.

We were able to check in when we arrived which was nice. Our room was also nice, we got the Suite Amorini. So we admired the view (overlooking the ruins which is why I got the room!) and then then headed out to see the bookshop at the site and get a guide. Then we stopped at a small cafe (Victoria café & bistrot) and got coffees and pastries (well, Joe got a rum baba which was lovely). We then went back to the hotel to relax as we were really tired from the early start, travelling, and hanging around.

Ended up having dinner at the hotel – Varnelli – which is excellent. We went down early and had a drink before dinner and then had a cheese and meat platter, then shared a large steak. The puddings looked excellent as well but far too full to manage one!

Got up way too early, packed too early, down to check out too early. Got the hotel to get us a taxi, too early, so were at the airport far too early. The ride back to the airport was interesting – none of the tiny little roads, just the main roads, more harrowing as we flew down thre road in the rain.

When the bag drop opened we got our bags sorted then got through security, saw where our gate was beyond the passport control, and found lunch at a little kiosk. Our last Spanish meal. After eating went to the gate and right into the queue for boarding. Had to stand in the queue for a while – the plane had just come in and we were watching people disembark. We were let onto the gate bridge, while the passengers were still coming off the plane so that was interesting. As before the plane wasn’t that full so Joe and I had three seats to ourselves. And as before we left in cloudy chilly rain and arrived to bright sunshine (though still chilly!)

When I booked tickets for the Real Alcázar, there were several options including Cuarto Real Alto and la Cripta Arqueológica. I could not get the site in English, but it looks like the Arqueológica is only available to people living in Seville. However, I could get tickets for the Royal rooms. I assumed it was just smaller appartments set up. The tickets were a bit unclear so I checked – they had a large 11:00 on them but said we could get in the monument up to 60 minutes or 30 minutes after, but had to be there 15 minutes before. So I thought it meant we could enter the Alcázar at 10:00 and had to be at the Royal Rooms fifteen minutes before 11. I was correct so we headed off for the Alcázar, with a stop by the post office.

There was a huge queue for the 9:30 entry and the 10:00 entry was growing so we joined the 10:00 one figuring that’s what time we’d get to the entrance. We actually got to the entrance about 9 minutes early so they asked us to step to one side until 10:00. At 10:00 we were allowed in and the guide gave us information on how to find the royal rooms. To get into the Alcázar you have to go through security – bag check and metal detectors like an airport.

So we looked at the courtyards and rooms while going toward the royal rooms – the guide was so strict about the time we had to be there we were a bit stressed about time. I was expecting a smaller set of rooms, with a queue, and timed entry. It wasn’t like that at all. We headed up and got a stern lecture about how we were not allowed to take anything into the rooms – everything had to be left in lockers and absolutely no photos. After being scanned again! I got told off because I headed straight for the lockers. So got bags scanned and everything secured in lockers, then through a metal dectector again, then grouped in front of a door – there were around 10 to 15 of us in a group. We were all given audioguides and told to start them at the same time. The first bit of the guide was the rules and that’s when I found out we were going into the rooms currently used by the royal family when they are in Seville. I’m so used to current royal accommodation not being open for tourism that it was a surprise. So our little group was accompanied by two guards who directed us through the rooms, led by the audioguide. The best bits were the balconies and walkways overlooking areas of the palace – the gardens, the Courtyard of the Maidens, and the Ambassadors’ Hall. We really only saw the public royal rooms, but the views were lovely.

We then spent the rest of the morning wandering around the building and gardens. It gets quite crowded! By lunchtime our feet were hurting so we headed off, stopping at the gift shop, to search for lunch.

We ended up in a small Mexican restaurant – Sede Mexico – where we had a brilliant lunch. Margaritas to start (Hibiscus for me and chillimango for Joe) both had chilli salt which was spicy. Then a huge salad to share and main courses. It was a really lovely meal and the staff were very nice. In fact, all the staff in Seville were nice, even the stern guards at the Alcázar. We then had a slow walk back to the hotel where we ended up just watching bad films (in Spanish/Spanish dubbed) and packing.

So when I was booking things for Seville I couldn’t get any tickets for today, either it was all booked up or there were no options for anything. Turns out this festival is very very big in Seville and is the start of the Christmas celebrations. But our dates were set by when we could get holiday and the nature tour so we did what we could.

We headed out to the Plaza de España which is actually better than hyped. It is huge and every time I thought I’d seen it, there would be something else or a new detail. You can also go up in parts of the building and overlook the plaza from the balconies. We were there for around an hour with Joe taking loads of photos. We then headed into the park opposite the plaza for a sit and a check of the map. We saw there was an Isleta de los Pájaros and a Fuente de las Ranas (small bird island and frog fountain). Well I had to see the frog fountain and you have to go past the island to get to the fountain so off we went. The frog fountain was worth it. We again headed down toward the river, but stayed up at street level while walking along it. Passed the Seville School of Art which is a really nice building, then went past the Palacio de San Telmo, which had a huge light navity scene in front of it. Joe was determined to come back to see it.

We ended up walking through an art market with lots of lovely things. It was mainly ceremic and jewellry but also had some woodworking and fabrics. There were huge queues outside the cathedral, but it looked like special entry for the festival as the signs were different. We had a lunch of tapas before heading back to the hotel.

As it was getting dark we headed out again, going for the navity scene we’d seen earlier. When we got down there it wasn’t lit up, so we sat on a bench to check our map for a restaurant. As we were poking at the phone suddenly everything lit up – we think it was the main lighting event as it was the start of the season and people were out in hordes. So many people in front of that navity scene all taking photos – it was wild. We then went to the main road to see those lights and again hordes, so crowded you could barely move. So we gave up and headed down quieter streets. Joe did take several photos and at one point we were by the river for photos.

Our guide had recommended a tapas place and we managed to find it quite by accident! And we got in just before the crowds (it filled up fast) – La Bodega de la Alfalfa. We had a selection of tapas and they were excellent. Then a slow walk back to the hotel.

We ended up sleeping for nearly 12 hours and then took a long slow start to the day. We had tickets for the Cathedral for 14:35 so had plenty of time. We had coffee in the room, sorted our bags and clothes, put stuff in the safe, and gathered together what we’d need for the day.

Headed out and followed the street that took us to the Cathedral. We stumbled upon a De Nata ‘factory’ which made the Portguese custard tarts we got two and coffee. While we ate we could watch more tarts being made. They were excellent. Then more walking and back along the river, then back to the cathedral area where we found a small cafe. The waiter saw Joe’s camera and sent us up to the roof, which had a wonderful view of the cathedral and Alcazar. We could also hear all the music at street level but without the begging that accompanies it. For some of it calling it music is a bit of a stretch – there were a load of groups that were just a bunch of men yelling ‘ole’ somewhat together and to some sort of tune – they were ones who would also go table to table demanding money for the ‘music’. Then you’d get the ones who would put out a case and play quietly – really good music for the most part. And we were seeing a lot of musicians in medievel style outfits – more on them later. The music we were hearing up on the roof was actually a bit better than what we were hearing yesterday. Lunch was shared platters and again too much food! But really really good – we had aubergine in an orange batter served with a Seville orange sauce that was lovely, but we couldn’t finish it!

We then headed for the Cathedral, still a bit early and the queues hadn’t been set up so we sat and watched people. When they started setting up we got in the queue, but turned out we were behind a group that should have been in the group queue and they were trying to sort out their tickets, so we ended up first in. Headed straight for the Giralda to find the door wasn’t open. A bit of back and forth and we ended up waiting by the door until they came to open it. Then up the tower. It is 34 rather steep ramps up (and they do not seem wide enough to allow two horses to go side by side as claimed) then a short flight of stairs to the bells where there are lovely views out over the city. Marred slightly by the netting everywhere. When we got down (the ramps are steeper coming down even though they are the same ramps, they are definitely steeper) and went back into the cathedral the queue for the tower was long, so we did that correctly! Walked all over the cathedral – they were preparing for the Fiesta de la Virgen de la Inmaculada, so lots of setting up and closed areas. The virgin statue was all dressed in white and lit up. Which brings us back to those musicians we were seeing – the Tunas. Not fish, but university faculties who would be singing to the virgin statue in the square outside the cathedral (though we didn’t go watch). The Seville Cathedral is the largest gothic cathedral in Europe and by the time we’d seen it we felt it was the largest. You exit through a courtyard of orange trees (by the way there are orange trees everywhere, down every street in every courtyard, every bit of garden has an orange tree and the air even smells of orange or does at the time of year they are ripening).

We tried to walk a bit more but our feet had enough so we headed back to the hotel to sit at the rooftop bar with drinks, doing the journal and sorting photos. Later we headed out for supper and ended up at Restaurante El 3 de Oro where we got the rice with partridge. It was more like a risotto and excellent with a lovely rich broth and tender pieces of partridge. As we were eating we watched a large group of the Tunas (purple sash) go by.

When we left the restaurant the purple sashes were at the bar over the road. We walked to the main road then started back to the hotel, when we saw a group of yellow sash musicans coming down the street playing. They stopped outside the restaurant where we had eaten and played for a bit, then went in and upstairs for their meal. So we did actually get to hear at one group play even if we didn’t go to the plaza to watch the spectacle.