We woke up to the breakfast bell of 7Hostel on our last day in the beautiful Amalfi Coast. After scrambling to pack and locating all of the key cards for check out, we grabbed a pastry and walked to the buses. After an hour of playing I Spy, I'm Going on a Picnic, and other fun car-ride games from our childhood, we arrived in Pompeii.
There is not much to Pompei (The current Italian city). The Bus2Alps guides pointed out a pizza place where we had lunch, and then we wandered around the piazza at the entrance to the ruins. There were a few rows of tents where vendors were selling souvenirs. We walked by one very Italian looking old woman who had a large display of coral necklaces.I must have lingered because within seconds she was telling me about her jewelry and pushing a small photo of the Virgin Mary into my hand. "Yes, you are so beautiful, let's find a necklace for your beautiful mother!" Well, mom would actually probably like one of these, I thought to myself. She picked one out for me, we bargained the 40-euro price down to 20, and I handed her a 50-euro bill, the only thing I had on me. Oops. She looked at the bill, looked me and said, "I have just the necklace for you, you need a beautiful necklace too because you are so nice, so beautiful." Before I could blink, I was down to 15 euro and two coral necklaces. Oh well. When in Rome, or, Pompeii. And they are very pretty necklaces.
In 79AD, Mount Vesuvius violently erupted, spewing poisonous gases into the air for 4 days. When the volcano finally calmed, Pompeii, a port town at the base of the volcano, was deserted. Most inhabitants had fled, but about 4,000 had remained and died of poisons. The city was buried by landslides and earthquakes in the years that followed.
Since 1400, excavations have cleared about 3/5 of the city. During one particular dig, an archeologist found a hollow space surrounding human bone. He discovered the space was left by decayed flesh and by injecting plaster, he could make molds of the bodies of the victims. These molds are so detailed, some even show the pained expressions on the victims faces from their final moments.
Our tour guide was Antonio, a 60-something Italian man who grew up in the area. His tour was informative and thorough, and he made sure we understood his English. We saw the markets, the forum, the baths, and the red light district, which was the aspect of the ruins that most of the sketchy street vendors seemed to focus on.It was a beautiful, informative, and fun weekend. I got home and saw "11 Days Left in Roma" on my computer. I can't believe it's almost over, but I can't wait for my last few days in this incredible city with my amazing friends. It's going to be epic!
See photos of the entire weekend HERE!
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