Pompeii

For some inexplicable reason, I had an alarm set on my phone for 8:30pm on a Saturday. So, here I am, wide awake at 4:30am on a Sunday. I can't go back to sleep because we have to get up at 5:15 anyway to head to the airport for the next leg of our journey.

Visiting Pompeii was fulfilling the dream of a lifetime. I have always had a passion for ancient history, mythology and archeology. To see any kind of ancient ruins is a thrill, to see Pompeii is next level! I'm not sure I will even be able to find the words to adequately describe the experience.

I'm really glad that we chose to do a tour for this. We were all given little bluetooth speakers that hooked on our ear so that we could hear our guide without straining and easily block out all the other guides and their groups.

To walk along 2000 year old streets and see ruts in the cobblestones from thousands of cart wheels and the pottery soup vats in shops for ancient "take away" really brought home the sense of a busy, thriving city that had no idea they were on the edge of destruction.

The sidewalks are raised above the level of the street with periodic crosswalks of three stones, so citizens could cross the street without stepping in muck. Shops are all connected together in long rows, with the family home at the back of the shop. 

Pompeii was a place of culture as well. There were two theater areas, one for music and one for drama, with amazing acoustics and backstage areas.

Of course, we all know that Roman society was known for their baths. A courtyard in the middle provided a space for sport and exercise. Men and women have separate changing areas and baths and they are available to all strata of society (at your appropriate time of course - they want clean servants, but don't want to literally rub elbows with them!) The baths were a social center as well. A place for gossip, business, politics and matchmaking.

The trolls enjoying the baths. Don't tell anyone, Saga is in the men's baths. The women's is closed for restoration!

Pompeii had been destroyed and rebuilt after an earthquake a few years before Mount Vesuvius blew. So the day of the fatal event, the initial explosion was assumed to be another earthquake. Tragically, many people thought it was over, and went back to their homes. Everything we know about that fatal day is from the observances of Pliny the Elder who wrote a letter to his nephew about his view from a boat. Ironically, he concluded the letter with a statement to the effect, "I don't know why I'm telling you this, it can't be of any interest to anyone. I'm only writing this letter because you asked about it." (my paraphrasing)

This young woman was found in the baths

The more contemporary bit of history that really hit me, was when our guide told us about Pompeii being hit by 100 bombs during WWII. It took me a second to realize, that since we are in Italy, that means our side bombed this historic treasure. I was appalled and horrified. It was poignant reminder that people are the same everywhere. The good and the bad,