We had booked the trip to Pompeii just the afternoon before on the internet, and we weren't too sure about the details, but we turned up on a dark side street at 7.15am, and were soon joined by some other aussies. Sure enough a girl turned up soon afterwards and opened a gate in the wall, and there was a tourist office. More people arrived and a bit after 7.30 we were instructed to walk off down the street. After a few blocks we came to a bus and jumped aboard to Pompeii!
It was a comfortable and pleasant 3 hour trip, with our tour guide Fabbio (a young archeologist telling us things along the way). Unfortunately we were slowed down by a traffic accident, so we were a bit late getting there, and only had about 3and a half hours in Pompeii.
We spent all that time
wandering around the amazing city of ruins. It covers a few square kilometres and at every turn there are interesting things to explore - almost intact baths, shops, homes, temples, theatres, streets (complete with wheel ruts and stepping stones for crossing the street on wet days). It was sad to also see the plaster casts of people who had died and been buried - and their bodies had then decayed and left cavities in the volcanic ash - from which plaster moulds had been taken.
The whole site was a fantastic way to gain an insight into daily life at that time - and realise the sophistication of it -with running water to each neighbourhood and a mixture of public buildings and private homes.
We collapsed back into the bus and were whisked back to Rome - where we decided to see the Trevi fountain at night -as we hadn't got there yet. After a reasonable dinner (with a delicious tomatoe and fresh mozarella salad) we followed the tourists to the fountain. It was beautiful, but a bit overwhelmed by the masses of people there all taking photos, throwing in coins and generally hanging out. We'd had a super big day, and happily jumped on the number 46 bus home.
It was a comfortable and pleasant 3 hour trip, with our tour guide Fabbio (a young archeologist telling us things along the way). Unfortunately we were slowed down by a traffic accident, so we were a bit late getting there, and only had about 3and a half hours in Pompeii.
We spent all that time
wandering around the amazing city of ruins. It covers a few square kilometres and at every turn there are interesting things to explore - almost intact baths, shops, homes, temples, theatres, streets (complete with wheel ruts and stepping stones for crossing the street on wet days). It was sad to also see the plaster casts of people who had died and been buried - and their bodies had then decayed and left cavities in the volcanic ash - from which plaster moulds had been taken.The whole site was a fantastic way to gain an insight into daily life at that time - and realise the sophistication of it -with running water to each neighbourhood and a mixture of public buildings and private homes.
We collapsed back into the bus and were whisked back to Rome - where we decided to see the Trevi fountain at night -as we hadn't got there yet. After a reasonable dinner (with a delicious tomatoe and fresh mozarella salad) we followed the tourists to the fountain. It was beautiful, but a bit overwhelmed by the masses of people there all taking photos, throwing in coins and generally hanging out. We'd had a super big day, and happily jumped on the number 46 bus home.
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