Pompei and Herculaneum

I made it to Pompei around 1:30 in the afternoon. I will not go into some of the trouble I had getting there, you can ask me if you really want to know, since at this point I am very certain I do not have good luck like some people! I bought an audioguide, as I was fairly certain I did not want to pay €50 to be in a guided tour. This was €6, and I could do whatever the heck I wanted to. If you want more information on this site and Herculaneum, this site is pretty good. http://www2.pompeiisites.org/database/pompei/pompei2.nsf/pagine/E4172F44E89C81F1C1256AB6002DBFE9?OpenDocument

If you ever plan to visit here, DEFINITELY get either the audio guide or a tour guide, as this archaeological site is very, very large, and easy to miss things unless you know they are there. You will also learn a lot more. Also easy to get lost! Bring good walking shoes, as the roads you will be walking on are uneven.

After this, my feet were killing me, but, I still had one last stop to make! Also, funny story, while I was in the bookstore buying some stuff, a British kid comes up to the cashier and asks what is here. She said the ruins, and he said well what is in there, shops? It was...kinda funny.

Hopped on the train, and got to Ercolano to pay a visit to Herculaneum (also referred to as Ercolano) before it closed, I got there just in time. This site is much closer to Mt. Vesuvius, but the people here didn't actually feel the full force of the eruption until much later in the day of the eruption. Initially the volcanic material fell primarily on Pompei, and Herculaneum was only mildly affected with only a few centimeters of ash. This caused people here to flee the city nonetheless. It was long thought that nearly all of the inhabitants managed to escape because initial excavations revealed only a few skeletons. It wasn't until later when excavations reached boat houses on the beach area, that this changed. In the boat houses, archaeologists discovered 250 skeletons huddled close together. During the night, the column of volcanic debris which had risen into the sky began falling back down onto Mt. Vesuvius. A pyroclastic flow formed that sent a mixture of 400°C (750°F) gas, ash, and rock racing down at 100 mph toward Herculaneum. At about 1 AM it reached the boat houses, where those waiting for rescue were killed instantly by the intense heat. This flow and several more following it slowly filled the city's buildings from the bottom up, causing them little damage. As for Pompei, dense rain of ash and pumice pounded Pompeii following the first stage of the eruption. Rocks piled up rapidly in the streets, in open spaces and on rooftops. Within four or five hours, the roofs began to collapse under the weight of the accumulating pumice, killing those who had remained indoors. The same event happened later in the night at Pompei as occurred in Herculaneum, where the second stage of the eruption (the pyroclastic flow) ripped through Pompei killing the remaining survivors. Herculaneum is a fraction the size of Pompei, as it was a small fishing village. I left when they closed, at 7pm, making my way back to Napoli to have some more traveling problems, and eventually arrive at my hostel by 1am. I was so very tired, but I got to see so much, even if my feet did hate me afterwards.

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