This Was Pompeii

Day two in Rome was not actually in Rome, as we spent the day in the AMAZING AMAZING AMAZING archeological site that is Pompeii!!! Note for this post: there will be a lot of pictures of ancient buildings and very few people pictures. I apologize for nothing! :D We rode the Metro very early that morning to the Piazza de Popalo. The Piazza itself has historical significance, as for centuries (starting during the Roman period!) it was a main entrance into the city. It now holds a giant obelisk, two fountains, some weird lion statues, and pigeons. J

We met up with our group and started driving to our first stop: the infamous Mount Vesuvius.

Our guide had told us that the trail up the volcano was only steep for a little bit. She lied.

Imagine this, for 30 minutes with no lessening of the incline, in the sun, and in my case, with a cold picked up in Florence. Yeah. Thank goodness for our shade umbrellas and water bottles! However, it was totally worth it! Not only did we have great views of the bay of Naples:

But we also got to peer into the caldera of the great volcano itself!

After descending the mountain and having a quick lunch, we arrived at a place I’ve been dreaming of for YEARS- Pompeii!

We had a wonderful guide to take us through the city’s sights, including gladiator barracks

Residential areas

Amphitheaters which are still used to this day

Ancient Roman graffiti

Walked the streets (wagon wheel ruts still visible!)

Bakeries with perfectly preserved ovens (fun fact: when this portion of the site was excavated, bread was found in the ovens!)

Great examples of Roman plumbing and roadwork

Bathhouses with perfectly preserved frescoes

Walked the ancient red light district

Saw still functional fountains

The temple and forum of the city

And, of course, the famous plaster casts of those who died during the eruption in 79 AD.

One last picture: a statue from the temple to Apollo with Mt. Vesuvius in the background.

All in all, the site was extremely interesting, and a dream come true for me!!!! If you ever find yourself in Italy, I heartily recommend you go see it for yourself!