28 November 2015 - Pompei for the day!!

A day trip from Rome to Pompei was by far the best option for our visit.  Whilst an overnight trip is exciting, it is disruptive and sheer hard work.  A day trip knowing that we could come back to our warm, comfortable apartment with endless cups of tea to re-hydrate at the end of the day, was the sensible option.  It did mean quite a few hours on trains but especially on our out bound journey, the scenery of rocky mountains and villages was wonderful as was the shimmering water of the Gulf of Naples.  We had chosen the day with the best weather of the week - 12 C but clear and sunny.

Roma Termini to Napoli Centrale

Pompei!

From Roma Termini we took the regional train to Napoli Centrale where we got a little confused as our next train left from Napoli Piazza Garibaldi which is just a very short walk from Centrale but we had thought it was going to be a Metro ride!  We bumped into some other confused tourists, Alison and Shaun Smith from the Isle of Wight and somehow bumbled onto the correct platform, asked a Trenitalia driver and hopped on the Pompei train with minutes to spare!  No signage to indicate we were on the right train but Karl's trusty GPS seemed to indicate we were on the right train and track and indeed we were!  With 2 Million tourists per year, one would have thought that signage to Pompei might be a little clearer!

Looking down from the road with Mt Vesuvius in the background

We got off at Pompei Station, followed the signs on a circuitous route to the "Archeological Scavi" entrance and then realised that if we'd followed our intuition, it would have been quicker!  No queue in this out of season time which was good.  I asked for 2 adults and 3 children and the ticket man told me he only saw one child and 4 adults! I said we had ID for Tim and Annika, and then they were officially declared children (under 18) and didn't have to pay.  Our adult tickets were 13 Euros which was very reasonable for a full day of amazement! 

First stop: an amphitheatre

Pompei was devastated by the volcanic eruption of Mt Vesuvius in 79 AD.  An estimated 16,000 people perished.  As they were used to rumblings and minor earthquakes, many didn't take the warning signs seriously.  66 Hectares of Pompei to explore was fun, interesting and tiring!

Next stop:  The Bodies Exhibition

 Our first stop was an amphitheatre and exhibitions of bodies from Pompei which were contorted in various positions, some with exposed teeth and skulls and all magnificently preserved.  The kids were disappointed that we couldn't climb up the amphitheatre but there were two more theatres in Pompei which we could climb on.  Once again we reflected on the absolute privilege we've had along our way to explore many ruins and ancient sites unrestricted by ropes and rules and also how, in the future, those sites will also most likely be more controlled.  None-the-less, we did find a spot to perch and eat lunch and enjoy the sunny weather.

Body with skull showing.

Skull, teeth, exposed and preserved!

Contorted with agony?!

Tunnel under the amphitheatre

Old entrance to old amphitheatre.

Rocky roads with cart grooves

Then we set off up the bumpy rocky streets with their cart tracks worn/carved into the rocks and peeked in the houses and temples, public eateries and baths, shops and fori. Some of the frescoes are simply beautiful with rich colours and Roman figures.  The floor mosaics are also quite stunning in places.  What makes Pompei a different experience from other Roman ruins is that many of the buildings are largely intact and you can get a real glimpse into their daily life.  Having said this there was scaffolding everywhere and lots of restoration, maintenance and excavations going on.  Pompei gets the visitors and the money whereas Ostia Attica which was marvellous, doesn't attract the numbers of tourists and therefore doesn't receive the revenue.  I suppose the volcano adds to the intrigue of Pompei, especially as it is still an active volcano with the last major eruption in 1944.  When I looked at the time line of eruptions, it seems overdue for one!  The Italian government has an elaborate emergency plan in place for when the inevitable happens.  I'm glad we've had our trip to Pompei and made it safely back to Rome!  Over 600,000 people now live in the "red zone" and it would take 7 days to evacuate everyone...what would happen to tourists on the day...?!

Detailed walls

As Tim pointed out, each little groove is exact, all hand chiselled.

Lovely statue!

Courtyard of Casa della nave europa - a wealthy person's house

Thermopolium - fast food outlet!

Bird fresco!

Rich wall colours - frescoed

Mosaic of chaine dog in Casa di Paquius Proculus, a baker and his wife, middle class Pompei residents

Ferocious lion tripod for?

Quite an extensive house in its day.

More frescoes.

Some streets were narrower than others.

The new game of "stone hopping"!

So much to explore!

Luke particularly enjoyed playing shops in the ruins of the thermopolia, the cook shops, where "something hot is sold".  Pompei's answer to fast food or a communal kitchen where people could enjoy a hot meal.  I suppose they were like an ancient form of a Bain Marie! The wealthy would have had people to cook for them in their homes, so it is thought that these thermopolia were used by those who couldn't afford their own kitchen.  Some of the urns were also used for wine and olive oil.

Playing shops among the ruins.

 The deep indent in the road was because of the carriages. The big rock in the middle are used when they washed the streets or when its rainy and the streets are a bit flooded, the people used it as a stepping stone to cross the street. Our kids used them for acrobatics, jumps and handstands!  Maybe Pompei kids did similar!

Jumping for joy!

Catching a bit of sun!

I can't imagine a better activity for an old theatre!

Good spot for a handstand!

Theatre used for gladiators and others.

Finally, a theatre we could climb!

And there's Mt Vesuvius again - "framed"

Another use for road blocks.

The original Caesar stone!

The Forum

Me and my girl!

The Forum - Tempio di Giove

Checking out how well they were built!

Public leaning post: Edificio di Eumachia

Edificio di Eumachia - Great for a family shot!

No, they are clouds, not puffs of volcanic smoke!

 Eumachia in the veiled form of a priestess.

The day was so perfect for photos!

Another addition to the site!

Pots and amphora jars

This one, of all the bodies we saw, made the greatest impression.

Recently excavated

A child

Goat Street?

"Through the Arched window", today...."  Playschool quote from ABC Children's TV

Old meets new - electric wires in Pompei?!

Seal pose!

There were three main baths in Pompei and per chance we saw the least raunchy exhibit which was probably a good idea!  The Forum Baths were the smallest baths but had the classic lay out of the changing area, frigidarium (cold room), tepidarium (warm room ) and calidarium (hot bath) and exercise field and toilets.
 

At the Forum Baths

Lovely frescoes

Not sure what these guys represented but many of the baths were also brothels

Fantastic stucco

Rim of the brazier to heat the water in the tepidarium

 We followed the path, but couldn't do a circuit as the roads were blocked off with scaffolding and gates.  I really do appreciate so much maintenance needs to be done on such a site but there did seem to be an awful lot of gates!  Being Saturday, we saw few workers though.  

Tomb on Tomb Street - I suppose he was a sea faring fellow.

On the road of the tombs.

The Villa of Mysteries - very well preserved.

Very lovely indeed, the Villa of Mysteries

Love the 3D effect of the cornice work.

Wooden door well preserved by ash.

Long afternoon shadows!!

The House of the Faun, which we nearly missed, was well worth a look.  It was an impressive residence with wonderful mosaics and a little bronze statue of a faun. Apparently, this house was the inspiration for the song, 'House of Fun' by the British group, Madness!  The Alexander Mosaic (reproduction), depicting the battle between Alexander the Great and Darius III of Persia is so beautiful that it looks like a painting on the floor.  Much of the original artwork has been moved to the archaeological museum for safe keeping.

The House of the Faun - depicting the Battle of Issus in 333 BC between Alexander the Great and Darius III of Persia

Tired boy with "tired" (wheel) tracks!

Today, Mt Vesuvius was looking very innocent and beautiful as a backdrop to the photos of the ruins.  We started heading back to the exit at about 3PM when the shadows were long and the temperature was plummeting and it took us a full hour to retrace our steps and discover a whole Palestra Grande and Necropolis we hadn't seen on the way in.  No doubt there was more to see, but we had see so much and loved it all, so that was that.  We left the historic site, with no hint of volcanic eruption and we had all really loved it.  the kids all love this kind of open air museum with space to run and nooks and crannies to explore.

Palestra Grande

Necropolis

We walked down Pompei's streets to a piazza with the 1912 clock tower looking splendid against the sky.  We bought some disappointingly cool "hot" chips and croquettes before coming to rest at Maccas for an ice cream for the kids.  Oh  horror! They didn't do coffee, so I bought some takeaway, once again too cool and too sweet coffee to sustain us until Naples.  We caught the earlier train, which was so late that it departed 2 minutes before our scheduled train!  There was not much time to find a bite to eat and we found some sensational kebabs, hopped on the already quite crowded regional train to Rome and off we rattled.

Pompei town Clock tower - built from 1912

 The train was cold as ice for most of the journey until the heating was turned on about 30 minutes from Rome.  The toilet was "Indian" standard (i.e. awful) and we worked out that most of the time the toilets are used by people who want to smoke as smoking isn't permitted on the trains.  They take ages to finish their cigarettes and then the toilets stink.  Grrrr!  So very glad to get home to comfort!