Pompeii

---

I have slept for 12 hours, I feel much better!

Honey Nut Cheerios for breakfast, a taste of home.

We drive to Pompeii, it’s only about 45 minutes away. As I am now awake, I notice more about Italy as we are driving. The houses tend to be two or more stories tall. The cars are small, apparently a side effect of the high price of gas. Part of this is from the taxes on the gas.

I saw an Italian Pine, and Pliny was right, it does look like a mushroom cloud.

We park at the back of a restaurant and walk to the site, passing a group of multilingual street vendors. I try not to make eye contact.

We are at Pompeii! I have wanted to be here since elementary school, an interest which was only strengthened by Latin class in high School.

ACTUAL ROMANS HAVE WALKED WHERE I AM NOW WALKING. MIND. BLOWN.

We walk the cobbled streets, peer into the empty shops, and wonder through the houses.

I see a ton of mosaics, some lovely frescos and Ancient Roman graffiti. Something surprising was all of the lovely brickwork, my Art History textbooks never mentioned that.

I think my favorite section of the city is the Necropolis. I only saw petrified six human bodies and one dog body. Not gonna lie, I was expecting more bodies.

There are also living dogs here. One has taken to following us and be christened ‘Short and Round.’

I also ate pizza, and gelato. It was quite yummy in my tummy.

It is kinda hot, but not humid for being relatively close to the coast. It’s a bit dusty too, my brown Toms now have a layer of Pompeii on them.

We visited the coliseum, two theaters, a bathhouse, a bakery, the necropolis, some temples, a forum and a number of residences.

Enjoy the many pictures!

---

Photos

Bath House
Once a festering den of athlete's foot.

Mosaics
A mosaic copy of a famous Greek painting of Alexander the Great's victory over the Persian king Darius. We studied this in Art History.

Roman Street
Notice the raised crosswalk and ruts from carts.

Graffiti
Ancient Roman Style

Coliseum Part I
It's big.

Coliseum Part II
It's really big.

Coliseum Part III
From the inside.

Coliseum Part IV
This is where the lion comes out to eat you.

Plaque
From a crypt in the Necropolis.

Necropolis
Dead people live here.

Short and Round
This dog started following us around after I almost tripped over him.

...Duh!
Mt. Vesuvius

Temple of Apollo
Fluted Ionic columns!

Statue in the Temple of Apollo
Notice a shell inserted for the eyes.

Pompeii
Perfectly sized for people of my height.

Bakery
Notice the grain grinder and oven.

Cactus
Even present in Italy.

Cave Canem
Beware of Dog! From the House of the Tragic Poet!