Villa dei Misteri

Pompeii, with its Villa dei Misteri (villa of mysteries - or is that miseries?), is where our travels took us yesterday.  Aside from the miseries that took place there in 79 AD killing over 5000 people, we had plenty of our own misery, on a much lesser scale, trying to get there and back.  We caught the 8:30 bus to Sorrento.  Actually, the bonus was that we got a seat which is much needed on this winding coastline (as I have mentioned already but cannot emphasize enough).  At Sorrento, we crossed the road from the bus stop to the train station where we purchased a guided tour for Pompeii from a guy who assured us we would not have to wait, and then got the train to Pompeii Scavi (excavations).  I guess the Italians have a different definition the word "wait" than I do!  So, we reached the destination where we were told we now had to wait for the next train to come in because there were people on it who had also purchased tickets.  That took 1/2 hour!  Then, with the guide we walked to the ticket booth where we waited in line for another 20 minutes.  I asked the guide why we had to stay in line when we had  been told we'd be given priority.  She replied we only get that when the line is long.  Not sure what her definition of "long" is - but then again, the Italians aren't really good at lines either!

Okay, on to the more serious business of the Pompeii excavation site.  Pompeii was an ancient Roman town-city near modern Naples.  Pompeii, along with Hurculaneum and many villas in the surrounding area, was mostly destroyed and buried under 4 to 6 m of volcanic ash and pumice in the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD.  Researchers believe that the town was founded in the seventh or sixth century BC by the Osci or Oscans.  It became a Roman colony in 80 BC after it joined an unsuccessful rebellion against the Romans.  By the time of its destruction, 160 years later, its population was estimated at 11,000 people.  The eruption destroyed the city, killing its inhabitants and burying it under tons of ash. Evidence for the destruction originally came from a surviving letter by Pliny the Younger, who saw the eruption from a distance and described the death of his uncle. The site was then lost until 1748.  The objects that lay beneath the city were preserved for centuries because of the lack of air and moisture. These artifacts provide an extraordinarily detailed insight into the life of a city during the Pax Romana.  During the excavation, plaster was used to fill in the voids in the ash layers that once held human bodies. This allowed one to see the exact position the person was in when he or she died.  Pompeii has been a tourist destination for over 250 years. Today it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is one of the most popular tourist attractions in Italy, with approximately 2.5 million visitors every year (from Wikipedia).

Unfortunately, my camera "died" about 1/3 of the way through our tour but here are a few photos I did manage to take and, besides, I didn't really want a photo of the cast of a dead child, a terrorized dog, and a pregnant woman trying to protect her unborn child from the ashes anyway!

The amphitheatre - when we arrived here someone from
another tour group was singing something from opera
and the acoustics were perfect.

Stepping stones across a main road spaced so chariot wheels could go between them

The atrium in one of the well-preserved villas

Later, we had more frustration on our return journey - waited an hour for a train then later, back in Sorrento, found we were at the wrong bus stop even though our morning bus driver told us that was where to stand for the "rittorno" (at least we got a seat in the second row of the bus after much pushing and shoving).  Back in Praiano, after a short rest, we treated ourselves to a taxi (sort of a golf cart actually) ride with Paolo (our second favourite guy in this village) to and from Vivaro, the restaurant where we ate a couple of nights ago.  It was a much quieter evening there even though it was a Friday.  Genarro, the guy who runs it talked to us quite a lot and this time he cooked me a steak and, for Nawal, ravioli with beef and a salad.  We had wine and dessert as well.  So, here is the question:  when you are at a restaurant with a set price for food of 30 Euros per person, not including wine, why is the bill for two at the end of the evening 54 Euros when you've had Prosecco plus wine?  I have come to the conclusion that Genarro charges according to how much he likes you - and, thankfully, he seemed to like us!  Anyway, for our last evening here, it was fun.