Pompei September 16 2018

Sunday September 16 - Today is the day we venture to Pompei. We have heard so many bad things about the Circumvesuviana (the local train between Sorrento and Naples) that we were skeptical about taking it to Pompei. It is a local train that carries commuters. but today being Sunday we figured it would not be as crowded. It was crowded, but not really too bad. There was a man on the train playing his accordian. It was fun.

Pompei was crowded, but it was a lot less than what we expected.. When we got off the train we were shepherded up some stairs to a travel agency. We had thought we would do the audio tour so we could spend more time at the ruins, but we decided to do a tour with a guide. That was a good decision. The guide buys the tickets for the group so there was no standing in line to get tickets. Our guide, Marina, was fantastic. I think she may be a drama major, because she was so animated in her descriptions of life in Pompei before Vesuvius erupted in 79AD. After having visited so many small towns in Italy and along the Amalfi coast , you get the sense that if Pompei had not been destroyed, you would find a cruise ship pulling into the harbor to drop off visitors today!

Mount Vesuvias

Our guide Marina explaining some of the history of Pompei.

One of the shops in Pompei

One of the streets in Pompei. Notice the stone blocks that run across the road. The wheels on carts in Pompei were just the right width to pass those blocks, however, the carts from other cities could not. Those out of town merchants were forced to rent carts from Pompei merchants.

A bakery in Pompei. Notice the phallic symbol above the oven. It symbolizes success, good fortune and good luck.

These urns would hold the grains for the bakery.

Another street in Pompei. You can see how high the curbs are. That is because the rain would flood the streets and the residents didn’t want their homes to flood.

On this street the large stone in the middle was a stepping stone for residents to cross when their streets were flooded.

Another really cool street in Pompei.

The foyer to a wealthy merchants home. This marble basin originally was used to collect rainwater to be stored in cisterns below, however when the Romans installed aqueducts, the basins were converted to fountains and decorative entry way pieces.

One of the sculptures on the wall in the men’s bath house.

The central square of Pompei.

Concrete columns encircling the training field of the gladiators.

In the men’s bath house.

Some of the artifacts in the storage area of Pompei.

A plaster cast of one of the deceased residents of Pompei.

A plaster cast of a child killed during the eruption of Mount Vesuvias.

On the Circumvesuviana train to Pompei