Our trip to Pompeii, Naples.

Ok, ok, I know I’ve been MIA for some time. I’m really sorry. HB and I are working on a secret project, “Project H”, and we’ve been quite tied up with that lately. It requires a lot of research, homework and going out of the house. When the time is right, I will reveal Project H to you guys. In the meantime, keep on guessing! 😉

 

So, on Boxing Day 2008, we left for HBs friend’s place in a town called Latina. It is about 45 minutes or so south of Rome. I don’t think I’ve ever spent THAT long in a car before. It took us about 7 hours to get from Modena to Latina. We did stop for toilet breaks and lunch at the rest area too, so that took up some time.

 

At one area, we had to drive through the mountains, and there was snow everywhere. It was really pretty. We were kinda worried that the roads would be slippery though, coz HB doesn’t have snow tires. We stopped to take some pictures coz the view was really pretty. Some families even stopped and let their dogs play in the snow, their kids threw snowballs around.

 

Here’s how it looked like:

 

Picture perfect

 

We reached HBs colleague’s (henceforth referred to as “L”) house at about 6.45 pm. It was really dark by then, and we were really knackered. However, because they were so nice to invite us to their house, I made dinner that night. Yup, I lugged my rice cooker, spices etc from Modena to Latina to cook 😀 Kiasu ok?

 

That night after dinner and chit chatting with L and A (his wife), we went to bed at almost 3am. I was horrified when L said that we would have to leave the next day to Pompeii at 7am! Luckily, A didn’t agree, and we settled for 8am. In the end, we left at about 9am the next day 😀

 

Some of the roads were really windy. Coupled with a breakfast-less tummy, I was feeling reallllllly sleep and even a little nauseous. I slept for about and hour in the car while L who drove explained everything to HB 😛  Thank God we stopped at a bar for a quick breakfast. I felt muchhh better after that.

 

It took us about 3 hours (if I remember correctly) to reach Naples. You may be interested to know that the ever famous pizza originated from Naples. When we finally arrived, L pointed out Mount Vesuvius to us.

 

Mount Vesuvius (in Italian Monte Vesuvio and in Latin Mons Vesuvius) is an active stratovolcano east of Naples, Italy. It is the only volcano on the European mainland to have erupted within the last hundred years, although it is not currently erupting. The two other volcanoes in Italy, (Etna and Stromboli) are located on islands.

Mount Vesuvius is on the coast of the Bay of Naples, about nine kilometres (six miles) east of Naples and a short distance from the shore. It is conspicuous in the beautiful landscape presented by that bay, when seen from the sea, with Naples in the foreground. Mount Vesuvius is best known for its eruption in AD 79 that led to the destruction of the Roman cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum. It has erupted many times since and is today regarded as one of the most dangerous volcanoes in the world because of the population of 3,000,000 people now living close to it and its tendency towards explosive eruptions. It is the most densely populated volcanic region in the world.

Source: Wikipedia

 

So yes, I was excited to see one of the most dangerous, LIVE volcanoes in the world. Here’s how it looked like from a distance:

 

Mount Vesuvius

 

The eruption of Vesuvius in 79AD caused the city of Pompeii to be destroyed and completely buried. The volcano’s eruption buried Pompeii under many metres of ash and was lost for about 1700 years before it was accidentally rediscovered in 1748. It’s excavation and ruins were what we visited.

 

Entrance to Pompeii Ruins

 

Ok. In a nutshell, I was awed by the Pompeii ruins. The Romans who lived more than 2000 years ago were really advanced in their technology, their architecture ….everything. There were SO.MANY.AMAZING.DETAILS of the city of Pompeii that I cannot possibly explain here. We walked for about 4 hours straight, and even then, only covered about a quarter of the entire ruins. I will only highlight those that were really interesting (to me anyway). Apart from that, just enjoy the pictures ok? 😉

 

 

 

Tribunal/courthouse

 

The picture above is of the tribunal or courthouse of Pompeii back then. Imagine it in it’s full glory 2000 years ago.

 

Part of the forum

 

These pillars were everywhere in Pompeii. The amazing thing is that it is made of MARBLE! I never thought marble was THAT durable.

 

 

 

Water fountain/tap

 

And to think that in this day and age, people still use wells for water!

 

 

Mosaic decoration at the entrance of some dude's house 😛

 

Deli/restaurant/coffeeshop

 

Ahh, this one is interesting. This supposedly was a deli/restaurant kinda place. You see the raised platform with the hollow circles? Well, thats where they sold food! Pots of hot food was placed in the holes to keep them warm, and if I remember correctly, the bottom had a hollow space where you put in firewood to keep the food warm. So people would come in, pick what food they wanted and leave. Dunno if you could dine in though 😛

 

The bath/sauna

 

Ahh, I liked this one too. It was sorta like a bath/sauna thing where people came to bathe/relax(???). I tell you, the sculptures and frescoes are so ornate, they made me feel…stupid 😛 Don’t ask me why. Coz I don’t know.

 

Look carefully, each of these little men are different 😛

 

In someone's house

 

In someone’s house. This guy must’ve been a rich dude. He had a big water feature at the front, and another one right at the back. Plus, this house was relatively big.

 

In the same house

 

Intricate mosaic flooring

 

And ohh, the most INTERESTING place of all would be ………….

 

The Brothel. (Lupanare)

 

Yupp, they even had a brothel, complete with frescoes of erotic figures that was supposedly meant to “inspire” customers in there and suggesting a prostitute’s “specialty”.

 

Fresco in the Lupanare

 

And since I know your interest has (finally?) been piqued, here’s another picture 😛

 

Another fresco in the Lupanare

 

Ok. No more pictures of those types. Don’t get too excited.

 

Wheat grinder?

 

You put in grain at the top, have a servant or a donkey push the thing around, and out comes flour? That’s how I imagine it to be anyway 😛

 

Oven

 

And right next to the grinder thingy, theres a HUGE oven, it can fit like, 5 grown men in there methinks.

 

Ampitheater

 

This is where they had the gladiator fights methinks, ala The Colosseum in Rome. 

 

 

View near the exit

 

And of course, one last irrelevant picture 😛

 

Nice or not!!!

 

I got all excited when I saw this stall just outside the exit of the Pompeii ruins. Doesn’t it look soooo tempting?? And in case you’re wondering, “granite” isn’t of the stone variety, but it’s sort of like a slushie drink. Look at that blue machine. Thats what granite is. 🙂

 

Ok, I spent nearly three hours typing this and uploading all the pictures. And I’ve not even completed an entire day’s account! Coz later in the evening, we drove to the AMALFI COAST!!! 😀

 

Stay tuned for another post on the Amalfi coast, and the rest of our trip.

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