Pompeii

Today we had the option of a day trip to Pompeii. Since it was a great opportunity to get to Pompeii we decided to take it.

It was a 3.5 hour bus ride to Pompeii. Mt Vesuvius was covered in cloud (a lot like Mt Ruapehu in NZ). Martin our bus driver explained some Italian culture on the way. Things like the "Pizza Control ????" which dictates what defines a pizza. Apparently if a pizza has pineapple on it (for example) then it is not allowed to be called a pizza but is actually a cake!



We had a local guide for 2 hours showing us around the remains of the city buried in volcanic ash years ago. The main sights were shops, homes, bars and brothels. There are still many mosaics and paintings on these buildings which are in surprisingly good condition. These also help historians determine what buildings were used for (so you can imagine what was drawn on the walls of the brothel). Where people were trapped in the volcanic ash, their bodies decomposed but a cavity was left in the hard rock that formed. Plaster has been poured into the cavities and
plaster casts of bodies seconds before they died are placed around the city. Some people are seen with there hands to their mouths which indicates that they were suffocating (from gas) at the time.



After the tour we had an hour or so to explore for ourselves. We checked out the amphitheatre (where Pink Floyd once recorded a concert) and nearby the small and large theatres. The large theatre was being set up for a rock concert as we walked through it.

Then we had the 3.5 hour bus ride back to Rome, and a good meal at a restaurant near the hotel. There was a gelato shop next door which was really good. Very tempting was the 1 litre container of gelato for Eu10.