Today was the start of a stretch of early morning days. We had to meet out tour group at 7 AM at Piazza del Popolo, known for its two identical churches.
After meeting with our tour group, we headed two hours south towards Naples to visit Pompeii.
For background Pompeii is the famous city that was buried in 4 – 6 meters of volcanic ash when Mt. Vesuvius erupted in AD 79. This was a very advanced civilization with gymnasiums, amphitheater’s, sliding doors, and directions to the nearest happy house or prostitution establishment. It was quite amazing to see the amount of detail and planning that went into this city. For example, they had raised crosswalks so that people’s feet didn’t get went or dirty when crossing the street. It had the density of a typical New York City street, with the organization and sophistication of Tokyo. Alright, this may be overstating things, but it was certainly impressive. It really makes you think about how little we have advanced as a civilization over the last +2,000 years.
The spas here were also 5-star. They had cold water baths, steam rooms, and hot rooms. Simply amazing the engineering feats they were able to overcome so many years ago.
Pompeii is also one of the earlier sites where prostitution was found. This business was conducted at “happy houses”. There were 20 of these happy houses across Pompeii.
After our tour of Pompeii we stopped for lunch where we had tour quality pizza from Naples. Aka, it was not that great but on the upside I got some great pictures of grapes!
Next we went to go hike Mt. Vesuvius. This wasn’t too strenuous of a hike since it was only about 30 minutes, but the heat definitely made things a bit tougher.
After this long day in the heat, we were pooped. We made our two hour trip back home and got dinner at this quick pasta takeout joint that was recommended by our guide. If I lived in Rome, I would frequent this place since the price was €5 for a plate of delicious pasta. We then went to bed for another day or early rising.
Until next time…
Italy + Croatia '19 