Where are we now?
Pompeii
Ahead of our long anticipated day trip to Pompeii we'd taken in both ends of the research spectrum. We watched the daft, but entertaining Netflix drama Pompeii and also a BBC documentary series on the historical site.
We'd left no ancient stone unturned!
Arrive in Pompeii by train and the archaeological site is just a 5 minute walk from the station, you can't miss it. Our early start guaranteed being in as soon as the doors opened, which meant we got to see some of the streets and main squares before too many people arrived.
We didn't go for a guided tour, but instead downloaded one of the many available podcast tours and used that to navigate around the city. It was very useful and pretty essential to pick off the main sights and points of reference in a couple of hours without getting too lost.
But another option on another day would be to just wander around and soak up the atmosphere!
It is a vast place and can quickly get busy, so if ambling isn't for you it's worth having a plan of action to keep yourself on track. The main sites include the Forum and the baths at the Forum, the House of the Faun, Garden of the Fugitives, the Stabian Baths, and of course the most popular house on the site, the famous brothel. The cramped stone beds that fill this tiny house and walls adorned with frescoes of sex acts (not a menu accordingly to archaeologists) make for an unlikely attraction, given it's squalid nature.
The House of a Venus in a Shell is another popular site and the fresco is wonderful.
Our particular podcast tour didn't include the huge amphitheater and gardens, or even the open air theatre, so we wandered there under our own steam using the useful site map you'll receive on entering. There is so much to see and take in!
My own particular favourites were the stunning rooms at the Villa dei Misteri (the House of Mysteries) - It's well worth the slight detour to the different exit from the site, to visit that house.
Pompeii is an astonishing place. You are literally there 2,000 years ago. Walking along streets scarred with grooves from chariot wheels, visiting bakeries, wineries and shops and even adhering to Roman traffic calming measures. Some of the homes of the Roman elite are quite stunning and it doesn't take much imagination to visualise them in their heyday, such is the incredible preservation and condition of some parts of the city.
We did a reasonable tour in three hours in very hot temperatures. By midday the place was becoming very busy, so progress up and down the cobbled streets was becoming a little irksome.
As I mentioned in my recent blog about Naples if you want to understand how the Romans lived 2000 years ago in Pompeii then you don't have to venture further than Naples itself. Loud, lewd, busy and chaotic in intense temperatures.
Replace scooters with chariots and you've pretty much got it.
Ahead of our long anticipated day trip to Pompeii we'd taken in both ends of the research spectrum. We watched the daft, but entertaining Netflix drama Pompeii and also a BBC documentary series on the historical site.
We'd left no ancient stone unturned!
Arrive in Pompeii by train and the archaeological site is just a 5 minute walk from the station, you can't miss it. Our early start guaranteed being in as soon as the doors opened, which meant we got to see some of the streets and main squares before too many people arrived.
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| The Forum, Pompeii, Italy |
We didn't go for a guided tour, but instead downloaded one of the many available podcast tours and used that to navigate around the city. It was very useful and pretty essential to pick off the main sights and points of reference in a couple of hours without getting too lost.
But another option on another day would be to just wander around and soak up the atmosphere!
 |
| The cobbled streets of Pompeii, Italy |
It is a vast place and can quickly get busy, so if ambling isn't for you it's worth having a plan of action to keep yourself on track. The main sites include the Forum and the baths at the Forum, the House of the Faun, Garden of the Fugitives, the Stabian Baths, and of course the most popular house on the site, the famous brothel. The cramped stone beds that fill this tiny house and walls adorned with frescoes of sex acts (not a menu accordingly to archaeologists) make for an unlikely attraction, given it's squalid nature.
 |
| Pompeii and Versuvius, Italy |
The House of a Venus in a Shell is another popular site and the fresco is wonderful.
Our particular podcast tour didn't include the huge amphitheater and gardens, or even the open air theatre, so we wandered there under our own steam using the useful site map you'll receive on entering. There is so much to see and take in!
My own particular favourites were the stunning rooms at the Villa dei Misteri (the House of Mysteries) - It's well worth the slight detour to the different exit from the site, to visit that house.
 |
| Gardens and Ampitheatre, Pompeii |
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| Villa dei Misteri (the House of Mysteries), Pompeii, Italy |
We did a reasonable tour in three hours in very hot temperatures. By midday the place was becoming very busy, so progress up and down the cobbled streets was becoming a little irksome.
 |
| Pompeii, Italy |
Replace scooters with chariots and you've pretty much got it.
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