I have ALWAYS wanted to visit Pompeii! It certainly did not disappoint. From Rome, it's very easy to get there. Just hop on the high speed train to Naples, and then take the Circumvesuviana train to Pompeii Scavi (make sure it's this train and this stop... otherwise, you will end up elsewhere!) and voila! Pompeii!
Per usual for this trip, we got a late start and didn't get to Naples until 10:30. But that's still plenty of time to see Pompeii, especially with kids.
Walking in the entrance, you first see this. It's already impressive, and so is the walk up that hill on the right! Back before Vesuvius erupted, the Mediterranean came all the way up to here. Now it's about 3 kilometers away! That much ash and rock flowed down the mountain to not only cover Pompeii, but to create a new shoreline. This is where they docked the boats and hauled in their fish and other trade.
The streets of Pompeii were purposely and often flooded to clean away dust, dirty and other debris. So these paving stones were set up so that people could walk across the flooding without getting wet. It also serves as an excellent jumping stone for a little jumping bean. These people do not seem amused!
We enjoyed listening to Rick Steves podcasts about the different places we visited. Todd is letting the kids listen in as we stood in the Pompeii Forum (kind of the like the Town Square).
My cuties at Pompeii. This was, back in the day, a sort of pedestrian only walk way. Hence the large "teeth" which would prevent carts and chariots from driving down the road.
Bodies. This was in the Macellum, which was an indoor market that mainly sold fruits and vegetables.
I guess that excavation is just an ongoing thing here. I don't really know that that is what he was doing, but I liked to imagine that he was discovering new things here!
Next, we visited the baths. Women bathed separately from men, and interestingly, they even had heated floors! Hot water flowed beneath the floor to warm them up, much like how they are today. They had hot, warm and cold baths, and women bathed in the morning, while men bathed in the afternoon. Check out Mr. Creepy Face up by where the sunlight is coming in!
I'm strong. I've got this. Kinda like these guys.
Pomepii and other towns of that time also had little fast food restaurants! Grant is in the back, cooking up some fried chicken for mommy, who is ordering from the clerk, Natalie.
Pompeii Gangstas.
Cave Canem. Beware of the Dog! All done in little tile mosaic work.
All over the streets are deep grooves such as the one above where the carts and chariots had, over time, ground down the pavement and made a kind-of permanent wheel ruts.
It ain't a party until Grumpy Grant arrives!
This is the entrance to the House of the Faun. It was owned by a very wealthy man (family?) and was over 3000 square meters! It even had it's own plumbing system!
Here is the cutest little Faun imitating the Dancing Faun. This statue is just a replica of what was once there.
The Alexander Mosaic is a popular stop in the House of the Faun. It shows Alexander the Great battling Darius III of Persia. The mosaic tile work would have likely been destroyed by time and elements, except that the ash from the eruption of Mount Vesuvius was actually able to preserve it.
In the Forum Granary, there's a large, cordoned off warehouse like area that contains not only the plaster casts of the humans who died in Pompeii with the 79AD eruption of Mount Vesuvius, but also what seemed to be hundreds and hundreds of clay pots and other relics and artifacts.
Plaster cast of a person who died. Many of them were found with their hands covering their faces because it was likely that the heat and ash were burning their eyes.
A smaller person. This made me sad. He or she looked smaller than Grant!
Doorways of homes. Usually the front of the house was used for commerce, and the back or upper floors were the proprietor's home. Talk about mixed use development!
Mount Vesuvius, lurking in the distance, partially covered in clouds.
They did not even care that we were doing 185 mph! They were so happy to be on their tablets. I guess that's okay after a day of learning about Pompeii!
It's blurry, but I managed to capture one time when we hit 299 kph!
We started a tradition when we were on our honeymoon in Spain that we like to randomly stop at Irish pubs at least once on our trip. So we stopped at this place, and not only did they have Makers Mark, but Grant drew a picture while we were there that the waitress loved and they hung it up in the bar (conveniently next to the Makers Mark, which is to the left of the picture). My son, the only 6-year-old with artwork hanging in an Italian bar!
How do we end ALL of our days? With gelato, of course! YUM!
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