Blog Five - POMPEII

This trip was optional, as it took place on one of our three free days but, c'mon. It's Pompeii. Pfft to the optional, that's a "must do" for me, thanks very much. I expected killer heat, a distinct lack of shade, and probably overpriced drinks but more importantly? It's Pompeii. Pompeii! The ruins are something I've been in love with since I was little, an obsession that was not exactly helped by putting on a muscial in 6th grade all about Pompeii. As a sidenote, to this day I still get some of the songs stuck in my head. The Colosseum song is the only way I can spell that right every time I have to type it out. C-O-L-O-S-S-E-U-M YEAH! That song will be stuck in my head forever, I'm increasingly convinced of it- though now that I'm older I'll forever be baffled on why there was apparently a Colosseum in Pompeii...

BUT to return to my original point: clearly this trip was one I was going to attend, even if I had to wake up at some ridiculously early hour to do it. Before 6AM is usually a no-go for me, but hey, it's Pompeii. I might have even been willing to skip sleeping entirely for it! Super glad that I didn't, but still. Gotta be willing to do whatever it takes.

So after an adventure of trying to find our train and dodging kinda sketchy people in the train stations, we made our way into Naples and, soon, to Pompeii. I was bouncing on my feet, I was so excited- Steve was too, for the record, so I was absolutely not alone in being a total dweeb while waiting for our tickets to enter the city (sorry Steve, it's meant as a compliment deep down, I swear). Walking into Pompeii was an experience in and of itself, especially with Mount Vesuvius looming in the background. Even covered by clouds so early in the day, it was a gorgeous sight.

My favorite stops- which were thankfully open, considering how many we tried entering only to find closed and locked- were the wooden pyramid where they kept the casts of the bodies, the brothel (because, yes, I am immature enough to be deeply amused by the dirty pictures on the walls and I fully admit this), and the vineyard. Admittedly, we weren't actually able to go looking around in the vineyard, but I love that they've recreated the spacing and vines as best they can based on the root structures recovered. The wine they produce must be expensive, but how cool would it be to say that you drank wine from Pompeii?

The Temple of Mysteries (I believe it was called?) was also great fun, if only because we had to keep wandering around trying to find the frescos and were beaten to the discovery by a very smug dog. The dog was ridiculously pleased with himself for finding a nice, shady room, while we had to peer in through slats in the window- presumably an attempt to preserve the art.

Sadly, not a super special thing I'm posing with here, just a random selfie I took while we were there
I blame my mother entirely for making me take these throughout the day.

Later, the museum was also a gorgeous find to walk through. Admittedly, the special exhibit's rule about not being able to take pictures annoyed me more than a touch because I absolutely loved so much of the work in there, but it was wonderful to walk through. Not only were there things recovered from Pompeii being shown, but works from around Europe at the time, some of the reactions to the eruption.

My personal favorite painting that struck me was one of a gladiator fight during a dinner at Pompeii. In the background seemed to be a noble party, with people smiling and laughing- but the foreground almost made their merriment obscene, twisted. The foreground showed a smear of blood across the floor, stemming from the gladiator who lost being dragged off as the "winner" clutched at himself, presumably stemming his own wound. Since seeing that painting, its vivid colors and brutality in joy as well as the combat itself have really stuck with me.