FourFirths: Pompei

April 22, 2012

Our plans were to drive down to the Amalfi coast and stop at Mount Vesuvius on the way down and hit Pompei on the return home. However, due to the weather, we decided to change our plans on the fly. As we were driving towards Mount Vesuvius, we could see that it was shrouded in clouds, so it probably wasn’t going to be a great day to go up there. We decided to go to Pompei instead. So, we reset the GPS while on the go, and ended up in Pompei right around lunchtime J

We had a lovely lunch just before heading into the ruins. We were surrounded by lemon trees and the fragrance was amazing. Some of the lemons here grow to the size of soccer balls. The weather cleared up and it was a gorgeous day.

We found out that we happened upon a day of free admission to Pompei… that saved us 44 Euro. YES.

We began our journey through Pompei with the kids reading in their guidebooks and deciding what they wanted to see. This was the entrance into the old city. Hard to believe it is over 2000 years old!

The first stop was in a typical kitchen. The kids wanted to do a little cooking… as if they didn’t get enough lunch. I think they are always hungry here J

The rocks David and Jason are standing on were to allow pedestrians to cross the street without getting their feet wet as they crossed the roads. The gaps are for the chariot wheels. You could tell how big a street was and whether it was one way or not by how many stones were there. One stone meant it was a one-way street allowing the chariot wheels to go on either side. Two meant it was a two way street, and three meant it was a major thoroughfare.

That is Danika standing in the Forum with Mt. Vesuvius in the background. You can see that it is shrouded in clouds…

The columns show that there used to be a two story building there…

Along with our guidebooks, David had a Rick Steve’s guided tour which always has funny little anecdotes…

Danika was loving every minute of this, and both of us could have stayed for hours.

This is the Temple of Vespasian (the genius). Danika is standing in front of the alter…

The baths were amazing with ornate walls. They had separate men's and women's areas. I just wanted all the tourists to disappear and immerse myself into what it was like... and immerse myself into a nice relaxing bath too... This first picture shows the ceiling of the baths, and the blue and gold paint still there after almost 2000 years.

Seriously, how old is this stuff??? I want to be a middle class Roman... They even had a fountain where cold water bubbled up over the side and onto the hot floor below creating a steam room.

It was paid for by two rich people whose names were carved in the side of the fountain so you wouldn’t forget who paid for it.

Supposedly this was a middle-class town. It amazes me how beautiful the art was over two thousand years ago! This one house, House of the Faun, had several mosaics, wall frescos, fountains, gardens, and the walkways were gorgeous inlaid stone… just breathtaking.

The Pompeians were so advanced that they stored water in these arches so that each neighborhood had enough water pressure in their homes. You can see Mount Vesuvius again (in clouds) in the background…

There were three systems of water, one for the baths, one for private homes, and one for the public fountains. During times of water shortage, the baths were cut off first, then private homes, so that there was always water available to the general public. Danika was able to get water from the same public fountains they used over 2000 years ago! The taps are new, but even still, that is pretty cool! We saw 2000 year old lead pipes… I didn’t even know they existed back then…

One of the things that was really amazing to see were the deep ruts made in the stone from the passage of so many chariots. David is trying to measure it with his hand… I don’t know why, but it seems so incredible to me that we can be right there where the chariots were making ruts in stone…

Then it was off to the bakery… The kids loved the brick ovens...pizza anyone???

…but decided that grinding the flour was a bit too arduous when they realized that large wooden beams were placed in the square holes and you had to push it around in a circle to grind the flour. They said they would get donkeys to do it while they sat and watched.

Next Danika and Jason found out that most people didn’t often cook in their homes as there were rows and rows of fast food joints. They had counters like this to hold the hot pots and everyone gathered around. They both decided that they would have loved living in Pompei, except for the nearby volcano J

Of course we had to stop by the theatres, and Danika and Jason had to sit in the marble seats, very posh J

A parting shot of David as we left the ruins of Pompei…

Then we drove down to Maiori on the Amalfi Coast, where we were staying for the next few days… Danika is out on the balcony of our room, and looking towards the beach, you can just see the sea in the distance…