June 18, 2022

We are very happy to have another hostel that includes breakfast which made this morning much easier to get ourselves up and ready to go. After eating, we hopped in a taxi (buses weren’t running yet) to the train station and got a train to Pompeii. We felt like we won the lottery when the train door stopped right in front of us letting us get on first so that we had seats. The views from the train were gorgeous with Vesuvius on one side and the ocean on the other and it was a relaxing ride along the coast. As we got closer, we even got glimpses of Capri (tomorrow’s expedition)! 

The station at Pompeii was very small but was also very ready for the crowd of people rushing off the train. They directed everyone into the ticket office where they were selling tickets and exchanging online purchases for tickets before sending everyone on their way. We had booked a guide so we waited for our guide who led us through the restaurant to pick up headsets. 

Throughout the tour, we learned a lot about the history of Pompeii and what we were seeing. The first thing to note was that our tour guide described Pompeii as “basically a big mall” because most of the buildings were actually shops owned by middle class workers who lived above their store. He also pointed out that even though Vesuvius erupted and destroyed Pompeii in 79AD, only about 70% of it has been uncovered. Part of that is because the archeologists built a research lab on top of some of the ruins. 

We also learned that the roads all had to have high curbs and stepping stones across them because it was unhealthy to step in the streets which were covered in sewage. The market place had no roads through it and was only for pedestrians to keep the waste out. It also was originally made with marble floors, but the Romans were said to have stolen most of it after the eruption. It is also possible that the stolen marble was used to help finish the Colosseum which was opened about a year after the eruption. Now, the former market’s floor is mostly gravel with some small patches of marble. 

In addition to the marble on the floor of the market place, the rich also liked to have fancy floors in their homes. One of the upper class homes we visited had a lot of colorful tiles on their floors and even included lots of precious gemstones. Most were stolen (either by the Roman’s or archeologists), but the guide did show us one amethyst stone that is still there. Apparently the gems would glisten in the light and create cool light shows. 

Throughout the tour, we went into some former houses, but we also went into lots of shops. Some were fairly nondescript, but it was really cool to see the others. For example, the bakery had a very obvious stone oven and wheat grinder. The guide mentioned that they had found more than 40 bread ovens throughout Pompeii so far which shows that bread was an important part of their life and they are it a lot. Also, at the time, bread was made of flour and lava dust. When they are the bread, the lava dust would wear down their teeth until they had very short teeth. This, along with the fact that their water what lead in it contributed to the fact that their life expectancy was only about 40. The water fountains were, in fact, a big part of their life (even if the water killed them) because each was designed with its own carving. The streets didn’t have names so people used the water fountains as landmarks to find each other’s houses or stores. 

Toward the end of the tour, we learned that as far as they can tell, most of the citizens of Pompeii did in fact leave before Vesuvius erupted, likely because the earthquakes scared people and they feared something bad was coming. Based on what they’ve found, they believe the population was about 15,000-20,000 but they only found about 1600 bodies, some of which were covered in plaster and preserved. 

After the tour was over, we wandered around some more and saw the amphitheater (where the gladiators fought) and some more of the shops, houses, and gardens before heading out. We stopped at a restaurant right outside the ruins for sandwiches and cold drinks before catching the train back to Naples. 

By the time we got back, we were exhausted so we took a short break at the hostel before heading back out. Our first stop was to the grocery store before heading to dinner. We went to an amazing pizza place suggested by someone from the hostel and we loved every bite. One pizza was shaped like a star and had ricotta stuffed in the crust and the other was half margarita and half tomato sauce with garlic and basil. All three pizzas were delicious and we were so happy we went there. Definitely better than the ones we made yesterday. After dinner, we wandered some more in the direction of the hostel before going back and getting ready for bed.