Pompeii

Thursday was Pompeii Day. We got up early, rode to the train station (not so early this time) and hopped on the train. This was a regional train, not a fancy one, so we didn't have assigned seats as we had on the way to and from Florence. We had to go to Naples and find the Circumvesuviana train to get to Pompeii. . So, we found a set of four seats across from a set of three. We stuck the kids in two of the three, and the adults took three of the four. All was grand until a woman sat next to me. OMG, she smelled so incredibly bad. It was really horrible. I had to switch seats with mom, because she has no sense of smell.

All went well until the ticket guy came around. Turns out, this was a different kind of ticket, and we were supposed to have validated it on the platform before we got on the train. Damn. So, we paid a 50€ fine. At the same time, though, there was something wrong with Signorina Stinky's ticket, so she got off the train altogether. Score!

I had thought the train ride was supposed to be like 3 hours long, but it was only a bit over 2, so that rocked. I had to pee so badly, but we weren't sure how often the Circumvesuviana train ran, so we booked it over there. We got there 10- minutes before the train got there. It sounds fancy, but it's pretty much just a metro. Pompeii was 20 stops down the line. So, we stood. Then we sat. And we traveled. It only took like 30 minutes, but it felt like longer with my full bladder.

Vesuvius

We hopped off the train, and the site is right down the road. The road was lined with food vendors telling us that there is nothing inside. We found the nicest one and got some lunch. Thank the lord, there was a bathroom. It had a rickrty little door on one side, a plastic accordion sort of door on the other (the side that led to the kitchen), and very little in between. You couldn't flush any paper - it all had to go in the trash. Ew. So, I shook off as best I could before wiping, so I didn't leave a bunch of pee in the trash. Anyway, better than no bathroom! Lunch was very yummy, and then we headed into Pompeii.

Pompeii was all I had been hoping Rome would be. You could see actual buildings. Yes, they were in ruins mostly, but you could see actual walls and pathways. You could see the tracks in the streets from the wagon wheels.  Some of the buildings were so well preserved, though, that you could walk through the rooms and see what they must have looked like when people were actually living in them. Several courtyards have been replanted, and the mosaics and paintings were preserved in many places. It was super cool.

 It was also really hot. I ended up rolling up my pants and showing off my Chewbacca legs because I was sweating like a pig. Luckily, there were enough shady spots that I could sit and take a break every once in a while. I was still pretty sick, and I needed breaks.

One of the neatest parts, and the one that most people associate with Pompeii, was all of the plaster casts of the people that perished in the volcano. When the archaeologists were excavating, they discovered people-shaped voids in the ash layers. So, they started filling them with plaster, and that's how we got the casts of the people that are there now. There's also a dog, and you can actually see where he was chained up as he died. Some of the people were covering their faces, some looked as if they had been holding on to something, some look like they were writhing. In a few, you can see bones where the plaster either didn't get all the way in or maybe wore away.

The best preserved place in Pompeii is a villa just outside the main part of town. Here is the dining room. Rich people would have lived here.

On our way back into town, Em discovered that she didn't have the camera that the kids had been using. So, Mom & the kids went to go retrace our steps while Max & I headed to the brothel, since we figured the kids didn't need to see that anyway. It was the most busy part of town.

WARNING, THE NEXT PARAGRAPH SPEAKS OF BROTHELS
There were two or three tour groups waiting in line to get in, but Max & I joined the group that was going in when we got there. The stone beds were pretty small, and the paintings over the doors were definitely graphic. I'm not sure if they were a menu or just decoration, but it was pretty funny to hear some of the comments made by the tour groups. I won't repeat them or share pictures here, in the family-friendly interest of the blog.

ALL DONE

We met Mom & the kids back at one of the houses we had seen earlier, but they hadn't had any luck with the camera. Ah, well. We decided to go back to the house and have a late dinner rather than trying to find food out that way (all of the small places along the road were closed by then), so we hopped the Circumvesuviana back to Naples and got the train back to Rome. This time, we had a ticket with seat numbers, so we didn't have to worry about getting it validated. The train was the kind with little compartments, it was so cool!

Emma says - Pompeii was great, and there were lots of fountains, so Steven and I didn't get thirsty, even when we passed by one 7 times in a row, we would still get sips. It was awesome that we got to go to Pompeii because it was so, so pretty. One time, Dad asked me to watch the door for him so  he could go get a picture behind a rope. I did not agree, and tugged him back. I'm so glad that the train was so nice, because Stevie and I played some game and I slept.