Day Eight (Saturday)

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It was a good thing I got loaded the night before or I wouldn't have had any sleep. Once again I had to sleep naked on top of my sheets because my room was so uncomfotable. My room faced out on a courtyard but thanks to the cheap wine I didn't hear anything.

I won't mention breakfast.

When it was time to board the bus we again had to lug our bags 1/4 mile to the bus. This time it was downhill and at 8:00 in the morning the sun was beating down on our heads. It was supposed to be another hot one and I wasn't looking forward to being in Pompeii in the mid-day sun.

We drove along the coastline again on our way to Pompeii. The view was even more amazing than the previous day. There were small boats of every description cruising around Naples Bay.

Almost as soon as we got off the bus in Pompeii we were greeted by a family of stray German Shepherd-like mutts. They attached themselves to our group and followed us most of the tour. At the bottom of the hill on which Pompeii rests we met our tour guide. (None of us remember his name now) He was dressed in perfectly pressed tan slacks with Prada shoes and a Paul & Shark polo shirt accessorized with all kinds of expensive looking jewelry.

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Photos

A Look back at Meta di Sorrento
I wasn't going to miss the Panorama Palace but Meta was a pretty cool little town. Had I known at the time that Sorrento was only a ten minute bus ride away I might've taken a short trip over there.

Entrance to Pompeii
We had visited Pompeii four years ago and although I found it immensely interesting I also remember desperately wanting to get out of there because it was so darn hot. I was concerned today might be even worse. Luckily we were starting our tour early in the morning before the heat really started.

Our friends for the day
This family of mutts followed us most of the tour. When the eventually left us near one of the old ruins, I saw them behind an old wall drinking out of a bowl and eating scraps left by someone working at Pompeii.

The city wall
We entered Pompeii through the gate that originally bordered the sea, called the Porta Marina. It was through this entrance that goods from all over the Roman Empire were halled uphill into the city.

Temple of Apollo
This is only one of many temple ruins found within the city. It had been damaged by an earthquake 17 years before and was still under reconstruction when the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 AD buried the entire region. Pompeii remained preserved under thirty feet of volcanic ash for 1800 years. Archaeologists are still excavating parts of the old city.

Gail's view on the Temple of Apollo
Sometimes Gail and I think it's stupid that we both bring identical cameras and take shots of the same things. But in this case it's interesting to see her view of things on the tour. She usually stays with the main group while I lag at the back making sure stragglers keep up. Sometimes I miss part of the commentary but many times I get to take clear, unobstructed photos.

Pot luck
This pavilion in the center of the administrative section of Pompeii houses aisles upon aisles of pottery and smaller statues. If you look at the bottom of the photo you can see a plaster cast that was made of the remains of one of the victims.

City street
This gate divided the administrative and religious section of Pompeii from the commercial/residential zone. Those round blocks in the middle were stepping stones placed there so that the citizens didn't have to walk through the garbage and running water laying in the street. They were spaced far enough apart so that a chariot's wheels could pass through. An interesting fact I learned on this tour was that the width of a Roman chariot's wheels is what we still use as the gauge on our railroads today.

A Dieing Pompeiian
This is only one example in a series of photos Gail took of the plaster casts of dead victims (sick woman). This person is believed to have been a pregnant teenager. She took her last breaths trying to form a cup of air with her hands.

Our buddies are still with us
They may have been a bit mangy and dirty but almost everyone in the group soiled their hands petting these guys. Even the tour guide called to them to keep up with the group.

Take a guess at what these are...
If you guessed "toilets", good guess but wrong. They are actually recessed receptacles for cooking/warming food at a food stall. Boiled hummingbird tongues, lark baked in aspic or warmed she-wolf milk cocktails were kept in these holes then scooped out to the waiting customers. In the background are ovens for cooking bread.

Road to the residential area of Pompeii
You can still see the ruts left in the road by carts and chariots.

Inside one of the many villas of Pompeii
Perhaps the things that best survived the devastation of the eruption were the homes of the rich people. Very little of the shops, government buildings and temples still stand but the homes of the patricians often have all the walls intact as well as the indoor fountains and wall paintings.

A small bedroom in the villa
The villas we saw were all built with the same plan we still see in present day hot/humid countries: A central courtyard open to the elements, usually with a pool or fountain in the center. The rooms of the house radiate off from the center with colonnades holding up a portico, much like a cloister.

Art from the Villa
The thing that most amazed me about Pompeii was how well the art in these homes survived. Even more interesting to me was just how competent these artists were. I am no art aficionado, but even I can appreciate the realism of the pictures. The colors were almost perfect and the symmetry of everything is exact. And this was almost two thousand years ago.

Another painting in the villa
The thing that most amazed me about Pompeii was how well the art in these homes survived. Even more interesting to me was just how competent these artists were. I am no art aficionado, but even I can appreciate the realism of the pictures. The colors were almost perfect and the symmetry of everything is exact. And this was almost two thousand years ago.

Leaving Pompeii
Because of very strict time constraints we had to leave Pompeii long before I would have liked. We really saw only one and a half of the 9 regions the city is divided into. Had we spent any more time in that heat I think some of us would've been getting sick. It was so hot that even our canine friends ran off to find some shade.

The family in front of the Pompeiian Forum
It's hard to tell just how hot and humid it was looking at this photo, but by 11:00am the temperature was approaching 100 degrees. I would really love to come back here on my own sometime in less uncomfortable weather.

Leaving Pompeii
Because of very strict time constraints we had to leave Pompeii long before I would have liked. We really saw only one and a half of the 9 regions the city is divided into. Had we spent any more time in that heat I think some of us would've been getting sick. It was so hot that even our canine friends ran off to find some shade.

A marvelous lunch
Our bus driver Salvatore recommended getting lunch at the Hotel Vittoria, just outside the ruins. For about $10 we would get salad, soda, a pizza and ice cream. Amazingly, every single person in our group opted for this lunch