Pompeii

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March 5th 2009

Published: April 3rd 2009

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bally10

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Mt Vesuvius is in the background if it wasn't for the clouds

Pompeii was pretty high on our list of sights for this trip, so we were looking forward to the trip. Unfortunately the weather did not appear to want to cooperate with us today. We got up fairly early, and due to the pouring rain outside, decided to take a cab to Termini station, where we could catch our train. We chose to take the 2.5 hour regional train for about 14 Euro, rather than the 1.5 hour Eurostar for like 35 Euro, so it was a bit of a slower trip. To get to the actual ruins of Pompeii site, you have to switch trains at Napoli Centrale station, and go to a different level to catch the Cirumvesuvia line. Now we had all read the guidebook and had a rough idea of what to do, so I wasn't concerned.

When we got off the train in Naples though, we had a guy who claimed to work for the train station target us and guide us through the station. First off, he told me to go to 2 wrong tracks, and when I didn't listen, he then said I had to buy tickets for the different line downstairs, which we

Pompeii

The remaining columns indicate the two story buildings that once lined both sides of the forum

knew. He tried to get me to go to a little shop in the train station to buy the tickets, I walked by and went to the ticket window, and he followed. He followed us all the way down to the track, then had the nerve to ask for a tip. Well, at this point of course, Mom, Dad, and Melissa have all turned their back to me to let me deal with the guy. Since we were still used to this from Egypt, I had no problems telling the guy that since he worked for the train station, and I bought a train ticket, that he'd been fairly compensated. Apparently he didn't agree, called me something in Italian, and walked off. I thought it added a little flavour to the start of the day, but I think it bothered Mom a little bit.

When we got to the Pompeii Scavii stop around noon, it was still pouring rain, cold, and windy... So we sat down at a little restaurant right by the train station, and had a bite to eat. As we finished eating the rain stopped, so we headed to the ticket gate and made our way

The Basilica

Not a church, actually a courthouse, but has the same floor plan used by churches later on

into the site. We chose not to get an audioguide, so I would act as tour guide today, with the help of the Rick Steve's walking tour. Mom and Dad made it for about 15 minutes on my tour before she had to go find a bathroom, so I immediately lost 2 of my customers.

Pompeii is the best preserved ruins of an ancient Roman town because it was completed buried in ash from the eruption of nearby Mt Vesuvius in AD 79. It was not rediscovered until 1748, and today's provides a real insight to what a typican Roman town looks like. It has some really well preserved houses, both of a regular citizen, as well as the homes of the wealthier families. You can also see the town forum, bathhouse, restaurants, a bar, amphitheatres, and of course, the brothel.

The town of Pompeii had actually suffered a huge earthquake in 62 AD, so some of the town was still in a state of repair, which gives an idea of the Roman building practices. There are also some plaster casts of people who did not make it and were buried in the ash. When excavating, they noticed

A market

these air pockets with human remains in them, so they injected a plaster to see the shape of the people and how they died.

The site was pretty amazing, and had the weather been nicer we could have spent a lot of time there. We did manage to get about 2 hours without rain, so it was a whirlwind tour, but still very impressive and we were glad we went. We took the train back, and stopped for dinner at the little pizzeria by our hotel, this time avoiding the service charge. It was a long day, and we were pretty beat, so we even skipped out on the gelato.

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