Pizza, Pompeii, and photos galore!

Scott's dad arrived on the 10th of January (last Wednesday). And on Friday afternoon the three of us flew to Naples from Stanstead airport. Our hotel was very centrally located, and we had two adjoining rooms separated by a short hallway and the bathroom. On our first evening there we went for a wander around the hotel in search of dinner. Of course, being in Naples, the choice had to be pizza. We were not disappointed!!

Saturday morning we were up and out of the hotel early (said hello to Mt Vesuvius from the steps of the hotel) and walked to the train station for the Circumvesuviana to Pompeii. I was so excited to be going to see Pompeii, as it has been on my list for a while now. And I was not disappointed. We purchased a guide book and we were off to explore the ruins.

Pompeii was destroyed in 79AD by the eruption of Mt Vesuvius, which still looms over the city and is the only active volcano in Europe. The city was buried under ash and pumice for over 1700 years until a local architect accidentally discovered it after tunneling in the area and discovered some inscriptions. And in 2007, I wandered about the city, as the Pompeiians had done, although our views were quite different!!

I had mixed feelings about the place - excitement that I was finally there, sadness at the loss of all the people who disappeared one day, but above all, intrigue about how they lived, what people were thinking when the ash and lava came raining down on them on that fateful day.

The site itself is huge. We were walking practically the whole day, and we still did not see everything there. It was fascinating to discover new things about the people who lived there and the technologies they had. I found out how columns are constructed (bricks first, then the stucco), that many walls were beautifully and brightly painted, and Pompeii used to be situated 500 metres from the coast. After being buried, it was 2 kilometres from the water!

We were all completely exhausted at the end of the day, but it was certainly worth the sore feet! I had a fantastic day, as did Scott and Lindsay. And I took more that 200 pictures... not bad for one day, huh??

This is me under the Arch of Caligola, on the road leading into the Forum. Apologies for the sideways image!!

Groove marks in the stone roadway, presumably from the carts used by the inhabitants.

One of the many streets in Pompeii. The wooden barriers you can see are for conservation purposes.

The wall of a house with the shadows of the still-standing columns.

A storage area with a plaster cast of a victim.