I've Been to Pompeii - Proof Dreams Come True

A warning ahead of this post - I have dreamed all of my life of going to see the ruins of the ancient city of Pompeii and on Wednesday, November 21st - I was able to do just that. I just uploaded over 100 pictures to this post, so you've been notified that this might be my most picture heavy post. There was just too much to see and take in...to not take all the pictures!

Pompeii is about 2.5/3 hours from the city of Rome and the best choice for us was to take a tour company that offered a bus leaving out of Rome, driving through the city of Naples to see some sights of the city, stopping at a cameo factory, having a lunch in the present day city of Pompeii and then touring the ruins before making our way back to Rome. Our bus left around 7:30 (I think...) and as we made our way out of the city, we passed the original gates to the city of Rome... so cool, right?

The original city gates of Rome - awesome!

The bus took us about 1.5 hours out and then we made a quick stop at a roadside pit stop sort of area... it had a diner, bathrooms and a shop to purchase snacks and souvenirs. It was really interesting! The final hour or so took us on to the city of Naples, where we picked up our tour guide for Pompeii and made a quick circle through the city to see some of the sights.

The mountains along the roadway...

Gorgeous mountains ringed in clouds!

The Bay of Naples!

The gorgeous bay...sparkling in the sunshine...

Mountains rising in the distance...

A castle in the midst of downtown Naples!

A statue of the King of Naples in the middle of the city. 

The castle once more...

We made a sort of circular tour of the city of Naples before making our way to a cameo factory.. the artisans at this factory (which was really very small) create beautiful pieces of jewelry and art work from shells that they obtain from Madagascar and Zanzibar (among other places...). We were able to watch an artisan work on a piece of art before viewing the items in the show room and wouldn't you know, when we all joined back up with one another... my Mom had purchased a necklace, my sister had purchased earrings and I had purchased a ring...and they were all in the exact same style! Crazy!

Mount Vesuvius...ringed with clouds.

Great minds think alike - right?

Wednesday the 21st also happened to be my younger sister's 28th birthday and our final stop before we made our way to the ancient city of Pompeii was to have lunch at the Mount Vesuvius Cafe. The menu was set out in advance and you had your pick for a starter, first course and second course, with a lemon cream cake for dessert. When it came time for dessert, the waiters served Lindsey her piece of cake with a candle and sang "Happy Birthday" to her in Italian! Certainly a birthday to remember!

Singing to the birthday girl!

Surprise!

After our lunch was finished, we made our way just a quick block away to the entrance of the ruins of the ancient city of Pompeii and at this point... I was beyond hyped. I have always been completely fascinated by the city of Pompeii, the story of the eruption of Mount Vesuvius and the way the city was so perfectly preserved. I have long dreamed of one day visiting the ruins of Pompeii and to be standing outside the ancient walls... it was a definite moment for me. And when we entered the city and were immediately in the gladiatorial training grounds, with Mount Vesuvius rising above the city in the background - I may have had to blink back tears.

The city walls of ancient Pompeii...

The gladiatorial training grounds - and Mount Vesuvius in the background.

I don't know if I could have smiled any wider...ha-ha!

Columns extending along the sidewalk...

The walls of buildings & alley ways leading to the main street.

The doors lead to gladiatorial chambers along the training grounds.

An amphitheater - seats rising upward!

We viewed the gladiatorial training grounds and then around the corner, made our way into an amphitheater where our guide explained how a central point of the floor would have been where performers stood would allow their voices to project to the highest seats of the theater. Once we left the amphitheater, we turned to the right and there we were: standing on a sidewalk along one of the main streets, stepping stones making their way across the streets with building rising up on either side and Mount Vesuvius looming in the distance as a constant reminder of what happened to the ruined city you are standing in.

The streets of Pompeii!

Stepping stones in place for crossing the street without stepping in refuse...

Alleyways with artwork & color still present & preserved for all these years. 

A sidewalk leading off the main streets...

Flowers & grass growing through the rubble of all the buildings..

The Pompeii-n version of fast food...ha-ha! So say the archaeologists!

Arched entry ways...

Peering through an entry way into one of the "shops"...

Standing on the streets of ancient Pompeii!

Cheese! We are in the middle of history!

A Pompeii-n bakery - the wood fire oven in the back corner & grinding wheel in the center.

Another Pompeii-n fast food location!

The eruption of Mount Vesuvius in the Autumn of 79 AD covered the city in approximately 82 feet of ash, as it rained down on the city for at least six hours following the initial eruption. This ash, combined with the flow of extremely hot air; called a pyroclastic flow, caused the city to be almost perfectly preserved as it was on the day of the eruption. The temperature of the pyroclastic flows was about 480 degrees - and exposure to those temperatures caused instant death for the people of Pompeii, even those sheltered within buildings.

The entrance to a house on the right - the following pictures are from this house.

Colors painted on the walls - still intact to this day. 

A table in the entry way of the home...

Mosaic tile floors - still perfectly placed.

Mosaic flooring & a fresco in the distance.

A portrait in the fresco style on the wall of the house.

Hello - check out this near perfect fresco on the wall of the house!

I'm trying not to have a freak out...ha-ha!

Look. At. This. Mosaic.

The tour we took catered to both English and Spanish speaking individuals and so once our group exited the house, our guide took the Spanish speaking group into the house. While we waited, I wandered across the street and into another house that was honestly even more impressive than the first. I perused the house at my leisure and only raced out of the house when I realized that my speaker was getting more and more faint...a sure sign I was being left behind... and also because my younger sister came into the doorway and motioned for me to "COME ON!" Hahahaha!

Looking down the side street...

Arches and entry ways...

Something in the corner of the home's foyer.. I'm not sure...

Elaborate color schemes on the walls of the house.

The large garden in the back, surrounded by rooms.

Colorful frescoes on the walls of the house.

Colorful frescoes & human remains in a case. I have no idea...

Man's best friend, depicted on the wall of the homes of Pompeii.

Colorful frescoes all along the walls..

A gorgeous garden in the center of the home.

This looks like an altar of some sort - but I can't be sure. Lots of blue here...

More gorgeous mosaic tile work & colors on the wall. 

I raced my way back along the sidewalk to catch up with our group...and our tour guide with her bright coral flag. We made our way along the street to where a fountain was located at the corner of an intersection and she explained that the tower to the side of the fountain was to control the levels of the water flowing from the aqueducts and into the fountain...which, color me impressed. We also made our way to one of the spas located within the city and within the spa was the first of the plaster cast bodies that we'd see. When excavations were done, bodies were discovered with voids around them and it was discovered that by injecting plaster into the empty space, casts of the victims could be made to capture their last moments. It's... unsettling, fascinating, mind-boggling...

Making the way down the streets of Pompeii...

Columns in a courtyard...

A fountain/well and the tower that controlled the water pressure.

The ruins of shop fronts along the streets of Pompeii. 

The courtyard of the spa - one of five located in Pompeii. 

Art work & designs on the wall of the spa. 

A plaster cast of a fully grown male - found at the spa. 

Covering his nose & mouth, likely trying to escape the toxic gases from the eruption. 

The ceiling of the spa - so decorative!

Just putting my coat in the "lockers" at the spa... mind = blown. 

The baths - with warm stones to heat the water. 

Roman baths in the spa.

While there were five spas in the ancient city of Pompeii...there were twenty-seven brothels! You read that right...twenty-seven! We had a guy on our tour that must have asked every few minutes "are we going to the brothel now?"... I mean - we get it dude, you're here to see the brothel(s). Well halfway through our tour, it was time to visit one of the brothels. The women who worked in the brothels of Pompeii were called she-wolves and so the brothels were known as the "house of the she-wolf"... and once you went in, there were "menus" drawn on the walls. I'm not kidding. It was wild.

Walking along a smaller side street - only one stepping stone, see?

The walls of a house with a window...

Perhaps another fast food spot on the way to the brothel?

One of the 27 brothels located in the ancient city of Pompeii. 

A menu for your selection(s)...

The god Priapus - he's a fertility god...

More options on the menu...ha-ha!

Another fountain/well located along the streets of Pompeii. 

Lead pipes used to carry water through the city - sure lead isn't great, but still - the advancement!

Another oven for cooking perhaps?

The gorgeous streets of Pompeii!

A literal street sign - I bet you'll never guess what it's pointing toward...

All smiles in the city of Pompeii!

Fountains everywhere - and all intricately designed.

Still so freaking excited to be in Pompeii!

Can you believe how perfect this tile mosaic still is?!?

The final portion of our tour led us into the center of the city, the forum of Pompeii - a wide open central space with columns flanking the sides, leading up to a central focal point where a temple once stood and behind it...almost dead center, Mount Vesuvius. It was an amazing sight to see! Along the left side of the forum was a storage area filled with all sorts of artifacts that have been unearthed during the excavations of the city, as well as some other plaster casts of bodies found in the city.

The forum of Pompeii!

Columns in the Pompeii Forum

The sun beginning to set over the forum of Pompeii. 

The central focus point of the forum of Pompeii. 

The forum as viewed from the center - mountains all around.

Walkways along the forum of Pompeii.

Arches and columns throughout the forum. 

A plaster cast - this man likely died in his sleep. 

Pottery & other artifacts 

A dog - still wearing his collar; he likely died because he was chained & could not run away. 

A body huddling down, likely to avoid the ash & gas...

A child - so sad y'all. 

Statues & art work found in the homes.

How green is that grass? The soil is very fertile due to volcanic ash!

An alley way extending to more artifact storage. 

The artifacts (these aren't nearly all of them) go on for days...

Walking toward the exit of the forum of Pompeii. 

A quick selfie in the forum of Pompeii - Mount Vesuvius is in the background.

Smile! You're in the center of Pompeii!

Do you see the rainbow in the sky?

The final stop before we made our way out of the city was at the Temple to Apollo and Diana - the god of the sun and the goddess of the moon. The temple was situated to the side of the forum of Pompeii and had a large altar where numerous animal sacrifices were completed...eek! We made our way past the temple and around to the edge of the city walls, overlooking the modern day city of Pompei - it's spelled with just one "i" as opposed to the two in the ancient city's spelling.

The altar of the Temple of Apollo & Diana.

Pretty large altar...huh?

The sun setting over the ancient city of Pompeii.

One last look at the city streets.

The modern city of Pompei in the distance - the statue is not authentic to the city.

Taking some final pictures in Pompeii!

You can't take this one anywhere... ha-ha!

Walls & doorways of ancient homes & shops...

The city walls...

A final picture with Pompeii!

The final portion of the afternoon was the twenty minute break that we had before boarding the bus for the ride back to Rome. We made sure to get some gelato - our second serving while we were in Italy - and we also took the recommendation to try the fresh squeezed orange juice. While I can't say that the food I ate in Italy ruined me for all brands of Italian food... the orange juice I drank in Pompeii/Pompei has ruined me for orange juice. It was quite literally squeezed when you ordered it and was the most fresh, delightful and wonderful orange juice I have ever eaten!

Gelato is the bomb y'all!

We boarded the bus and as we made our way out of Pompei, the rain started to fall. I snapped a final picture of the Bay of Naples as we made our way out of the city and then it was onward to the rest stop where; unfortunately, the smell of cigarette smoke intensified the headache I was getting to epic proportions... *sigh* By the time we returned to Rome, my head was hurting so badly that we returned to the apartment and I spent the rest of the evening lying on the bed trying to get my headache under control.

The Bay of Naples at sunset.

Regardless of the headache that tinged the end of the day - our trip to Pompeii was absolutely my favorite portion of the trip and is something I will always remember. I would return to Pompeii tomorrow because while we saw so much of the ancient city, I'd love the chance to be let loose in the city for the entire day on my own... although Lord knows how many pictures you'd have to put up with if that happened, ha-ha!