Pompeii: Preserved in its Prime

Early ish start to get to Pompeii. Took a train to the less popular entrance (anfiteatro). Had a scare not getting to validate our tickets but conductor was nice so no problems.

Met a Slovakian girl who didn't know where to go so walked and chatted with her (15min from train station to ruins). Ran into her 3 other times and had nice chats.

Went into Pompei itself and walked around. Saw heaps of things and used an app to find out more when we were particularly interested. Amphitheatre was cool - not giant but interesting (Pink Floyd recorded an album/song there once).

Definitely helped having more information, but a good guide book or app or audio guide would do the same. Unsure whether a tour would've helped. The bits we overheard weren't amazing although some sections were intriguing. One guide explained about how the middle of the street would have basically been sewage so animals would go there but people would walk on the raised sidewalks.

Pottered around by ourselves and really enjoyed it. Found a bakery which was interesting - you could still see the ovens and mill stones. Also walked through a brothel with some small rooms and rather explicit frescoes on the walls! Although rather unexpectedly the most explicit freco we saw wasn't at the brothel... but at the house of some rich merchants. Odd.

Grabbed a bite to eat (took ages, should've brought a packed lunch). Wandered some more. Plenty of tourists but still had some bits to ourselves. And quite hot though nice when sun was behind clouds. Would not want to go on a hot and busy day - would be too many people and too much heat we suspect.

Ended up at the other end (a very large site overall), to finish at the Villa of Mysteries - thankfully had it almost to ourselves. The villa is famous for its beautiful frescoes, which are exceptionally well preserved. Crazy to think that they've lasted this long.

Exited the site and walked the 40min back to the station. Went past the main, more touristy station and was glad we missed it. Way pricier. And super touristy.

Had a gelato (2 flavours on a cone and just €1 each - a steal). Yum. Got a magnet, got a coffee, got train tickets (and validated them this time) and back to Salerno. A fun day all in all.Read more