Finally, Pompeii

---

Geo: 40.84, 14.2529

We arrived in Naples this morning later than expected. After breakfast in our cabin we went to join our tour to the Ruins of Pompeii. I had been looking forward to this for ages having read so much about it.
We eventually (nearly an hour late) got onto our tour bus and were driven to Pompeii at the foot of Mount Vesuvius.This certainly was a bustling tourist attraction with several tour ships in harbour and lots of bus loads here. Our guide was Wanda (nothing like the fish) and she was excellent, entertaining and informative.
Our first stop inside the city was the Odeon, a small amphitheatre, beautifully preserved. It was not as large as the one in Jerash but still proportionately interesting. The complex here is amazing with so many small streets and houses still visible. We went to the house of Menander which has been roofed and reconstructed. This gave us an idea of a Roman Villa belonging to the wealthy. It has a central courtyard and its own bath house as well as many beautiful frescoes still visible on the walls. Again we traversed rows of houses and went up a narrow lane which was clogged with tourists. We inched our way into a 5 roomed brothel which still has the beautiful but "shocking" frescoes on the walls appropriate for the purpose of the house. The stone beds did not look all that inviting though.
Our final stop was the Forum where there were the remains of the main public buildings, a temple to Apollo, one for Jupiter and the Basilica. On our way there we had passed many other residences including one which had more frescoes and plaster casts of the bodies found there in their death throes.We also saw the shops and the tavern with the small wells into which various receptacles were placed to hold the food and wine. We also passed by a well with its carving surrounding the water spout. In the Forum were also large warehouses now displaying many amphora which were found on the site.
There is still plenty to see there so a return visit, with a self guided tour is on the list for sometime in the future. I did enjoy what we saw though.
In the afternoon, Fletcher's knees had had enough of walking for the day so we found a wifi cafe within a short distance of the ship to sit at for a while, so the delights of the city of Naples must wait for a further visit. However, main mission accomplished!

---