POMPEII

So Kevin and I continue to be a problem here in Italy.  We’re not trying to but it just happens.  We took an excursion to Naples, Italy to see the Pompeii ruins, the Amalfi Coast and the charming town of Positano.  Our tour guide was a young college girl named Valentina.  

When we boarded the bus there were no seats left for us to sit together.  And that was ok with us because we are used to sitting separately.  We do it all the time on airplanes.  But Valentina wasn’t having it, so she nicely asked if one of the 6 or 7 singles would mind pairing up so that we could sit together.  No one spoke up.  I think (like on the airplanes) people wanted their own row.  So I said to Valentina, “it’s fine” and I sat down next to a girl that was riding single and Kevin did also.  By then Valentina was disgusted and she looked and them and said “REALLY GUYS!  Not one of you will move so this man can sit with his wife?”  Still nothing.  

So three points to make – 1-we were the oldest people on this bus trip, 2-these people were mostly, if not all, Americans and 3-aren’t people supposed to be happy and friendly on vacation?

Pompeii WOW!!  Best excursion yet!

Our Pompeii tour guide, Francesca, was amazing.  She knew so much and explained it all so well, she captivated us.  You know how Kevin likes to imagine (or make up) what happened in the very spot we are standing?  Well he was on overload!  His mind was reeling and he could actually finish Francesca’s sentences.  I was a little creeped out by it and so was Francesca 🙂

Everyone knows that Pompeii was where Mt. Vesuvius erupted a long time ago and everyone died, right?  Well, there is so much more to this story! 

Mt. Vesuvius erupted in 79 AD.  A long time ago right?  There was no lava involved, just ash and gases and the city was covered in at least 19 feet of ash, which preserved it for centuries.  Like 15 centuries until it was discovered by an archaeologist.

Francesca’s facts:

The eruption happened over three days.  The first day, the people all thought it was just a series of earthquakes because they were used to having them, so they carried on with their business as normal.  On the second day, the eruption killed just about everyone with the explosion gases and hot ash.  By the 3rd day, anyone who was still alive died of suffocation from the ash and volcanic gases.  These facts are known because one man wrote a letter to his uncle explaining what was happening and asking him to come help.

As Francesca put it, it was a tragedy for the people of Pompeii but a gift for the rest of us to have such evidence of life during that time period.  

Some of what they have learned is that Pompeii was not a resort town but a commercial town where people came to trade their goods and conduct other types of business.  There were 600 residents living in Pompeii yet they had a large theater for gladiator activity and a “red light district” 🙂  A brothel house which was well preserved with pictures, writings on the walls and phalic symbols everywhere!

The bakery was identified by the large oven that survived with 20 loaves of baked bread preserved by the ash.  Close by the bakery was a “fast food” house equipped with large pots to hold the soup and other types of food for on the go.  The residents would prepare the soups at home and bring them into the store for sale to the traders and other businessmen coming into town.

There was a bath house with a large plaza where everyone went to bathe and socialize. 

There are wagon wheel tracks on the cobblestone roads.

And there is so much more!!

We were shown a very small portion of the town and the ruins.  There was much more to see and still much more to be uncovered.  

But what a story it told!!

After a very quick lunch, it was back on the bus for us and onto Positano with views of the Amalfi Coast on the way.

Positano is a lovely city built on the side of mountains next to the sea.  Kevin and I happened upon a hotel with a nice patio overlooking a church and the sea.  We sat for a drink and took in the beauty and talked about Pompeii and all that we had seen and learned.

Just amazing!!

It was a wonderful and exhausting day!!!  Hope you enjoyed it 🙂

Vivi la vita al massimo!!  You may only have one 🙂