We drove about 3.5 hours to Pompeii. Once we arrived, we took a 2 hour walking tour of the ruins of old Pompeii. It is actually only ruins and still takes up all the room it once did. It is unreal to see what was left behind and what they are still discovering.
Our local guide did a wonderful job painting a picture of life in Pompeii before the eruption. It was a city on a hill with a beautiful view of the Mediterranean Sea. The people seemed fairly advanced - some even had running water in their homes - in 79AD!!
When Mount Vesuvio erupted in 79 A.D., the people were unprepared. Most of them died by inhaling the combination of gases and smoke. When the two combined with stomach liquids, it formed a rock which killed them instantly. As the ashes blew over the city, it covered the people just as they died! Because of this, there are now "body casts," which were made as the city was dug up, of all sorts of poses....a man sitting, a dog, children, a baby sleeping, etc. We were able to see a few of these. The casts were actually made by pouring plaster into the "cavity" made once the skin and organs disintegrated leaving only the bones.
Titus and the emperors did not rebuild the city because they thought it was destroyed by the gods because of the sins of the people. That is why it is still in ruins today! Only 2/3 of the city has been excavated. There are no plans to uncover the other third because of the expense of keeping up what has already been uncovered!
After a little shopping, we had lunch in a nice restaurant recommended by Simone. We have enjoyed pizza, lasagna and spaghetti in Italy!!
After lunch, we drove in to Sorrento. There is water all around -beautiful blues and aquas! We took some pictures by the sea, shopped for a few minutes and then got back on the bus to drive to our hotel.
The hotel is beautiful with a view of both the Amalfi Coast and the Sorrento Coast - depending on which side of the building you are on!! We just finished dinner looking over the water and are now hanging out in the hotel until bedtime!
Tomorrow, we take a ferry to the Isle of Capri! We're still exploring, but home is looking nicer, and we are longing for our own beds and families!
No comments:
Post a Comment