Italy
Forum at Pompeii

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    • Day 27

      Day Twenty-Seven: Pompeii & Rome

      April 11 in Italy ⋅ ☁️ 13 °C

      Honestly, I am writing this post on the 18th of April... I have been having a blast, but it has been a long drag of getting over a sickness, moving so much, and staying up late. I'm not sure how the others do it. They are partying so much more than me! But for the next while the summaries are going to be a lot shorter. And I'm not a writer, so this all feels like flashbacks to uni ahah. It has been bumming me out. I don't have the posts up, so I'm going to comprise with smaller posts.

      To was a lot, and if I wasn't shortening it, this would be a novel. Today, we say Pompeii, the Roman forum, and the colosseum! Honestly, one of the days I was most excited for, and it did live up to the expectations. Firstly, it was weird how Pompeii was just in the middle of a city, I thought it was going to be in the middle of nowhere. But it was a surreal experience walking around something so old and lively back in the day. It was fun just imagining what it would have been like and looked like. Turns out it would have been a very colorful city that had 23 brothels, hahaha. With actually dicks as directions. Our tour guide called them GPS penis. Some of the houses were huge and weirdly shaped for sure. I couldn't imagine living in them. Our tour guide even gave us a longer tour, which was fun. And the volcano actually looks like have of it is missing! I have more fun facts, but I did write some of them down, which is good. Afterward, I had some good soup to help with the hangover, and we were off to Rome. Right when we got there, we had a coffee and went on our Roman Forum and Colosuem tour. I wasn't ready for the forum, but it was actually so cool, holding stuff from before 80 B.C. and even got to see where Julius Cesaer Dead Body was placed and then cremated! And the area where the emperor's house would be, on top of the hill, looking down of everyone. Then, the Colosseum, which I learned, was built 200 years ago and took only 8 years to build. As well as the fact every arch had a statue, so 160 statues since there were 80 archs per level. And it felt way bigger than I was ready for, probably because I saw the small version first. It was very beautiful and fun to just picture what it was like and see photos of what it was. Crazy point is that even at one time, a French family made it into their castle! But then we had an included dinner and went off to bed!
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    • Day 4

      Pompeii & Mt. Vesuvius

      May 23, 2023 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C

      Another glorious day! Went to Pompeii, had lunch with our fellow Irish group members, and climbed to the summit of Mt. Vesuvius. Today was a lot of fun, made friends with our tour guide and bus driver, we were sad to leave haha. Tomorrow, Capri!Read more

    • Day 151

      Pompei

      September 10, 2022 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C

      Beaucoup de choses à dire concernant la visite de la célèbre ville archéologique de Pompéi.

      Pour commencer, on trouve un parking pour camping-car très abordable, super bien noté et à seulement 30 minutes de pieds de la ville🥳. Donc, sans hésitation, on s'y pose la veille de la visite, d'autant plus que la météo est incertaine. On n'est pas sûr de pouvoir faire la visite le 10 septembre comme prévu, il faudra peut-être attendre 24h de plus le temps que la pluie🌩️ passe, autant être bien installés.

      La nuit est agitée😵‍💫. De 1, Rémi se réveille vers 4h au son de plastiques et de grignotements venant de derrière le van. En allant vérifier, il voit la glacière des voisins retournée et des paquets de nourriture entamés🍖, une bête devait être en train de festoyer avec leur bouffe🙀, mais s'est vite enfuit en l'entendant sortir. De 2, au réveil, on découvre une invasion de fourmis 🐜🐜🐜dans le van. Ces petites pestes se sont infiltrées par la corde à linge 🧺tendue du van à la clôture attenante. On passe donc 1h à vider tous les placards et tout nettoyer pour mettre ces indésirables à la porte🧹. En fin de compte, même si on a retrouvé des irréductibles pendant plus d'une semaine, l'invasion a vite été repoussée.

      Finalement, on a pu visiter Pompéi dès le 10 septembre. Il y a eu de grosses averses comme prévu, mais jusque 14h seulement, donc on se bouge après pour commencer à découvrir la ville dès 15h😀. Avant d'arriver aux portes de la ville antique, on passe devant de nombreux faux offices de tourisme, tous plus insistant les unes que les autres pour nous vendre des tickets, plans et guides hors de prix🫰, mais on fait nos bon français : on tire la gueule 😠et on est désagréable, ça les éloigne vite !

      On parcourt ensuite Pompéi, et il y a de nombreuses choses à découvrir🏚️🏛️. Entre le Colisée, la caserne des gladiateurs (lieux où ils s'entraînent), les amphithéâtres, les maisons de maître, la maison de passe, la boulangerie, les thermes, la place du marché, les temples,... Il y a de quoi faire ! Tous ces endroits nous font voyager dans le temps⏳😉, mais ça manque quand même d'explications (ba oui, si on envoie balader ceux qui vendent des guides, on se retrouve sans guide, c'est logique). Heureusement, Jamy🧙‍♂️ et Sabine🧙 sont là pour nous éclairer. Sur la route du retour on se regarde l'épisode de C'est pas Sorcier consacré à Pompéi, ça répond à toutes nos questions et même plus !

      De retour au camp, on doit se dépêcher, notre emplacement est réservé jusque 18h, et il est déjà 17h50 ^^'. Donc on prend rapidement une douche🚿 (on profite au max d'avoir de vrais douches à disposition🦨) et on décolle.
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    • Day 20 - Pompeii

      July 29, 2023 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C

      Today we had breakfast at the hotel, checked out and got given two lemons to take with us from the owner (apparently good with salt & Vinegar)
      We then made our way to the ferry to catch it to Salerno to catch our train to Pompeii.

      Once in Pompeii, I had forgot to ask about the bus ticket for transfer to Pompeii site, so instead of dealing with everyone asking if we wanted a taxi or a good deal, we opted to walk 16 minutes.

      Once at Pompeii site, we grabbed a quick lunch and then headed in. We didn’t want to get to in-depth with it so I had downloaded the Rick Steve’s podcast tour of Pompeii.
      This took us to the highlights of Pompeii.
      When walking around it is amazing to see the stepping rocks they used when the streets flooded & that the stepping stones still fitted a cart through them when not flooded. I was expecting Mt Vesuvius to be a lot bigger seeing the destruction it caused, It was pointed out in the tour that if you draw a triangle between the two points left now, this would of been height of it before the eruption. The people of Pompeii had 7 days of grumbling from the mountain before it erupted but they were still shocked what was happening!

      It was fascinating to see the flour mills, paintings, mosaic tiles and plenty of other areas so intact after such eruption. One thing I found hilarious that was still in tact, was the paintings on the brothel walls that acted as a menu for the patrons back in the day! Also a guide explaining to another person outside what the building was was hilarious to listen into.

      We spent nearly 4 hours there and we were done from walking so much in the stone & the heat!

      We then caught the train to Naples.
      Once at our BnB, this is the only city so far we have second guessed all decisions of coming to such a city. A lot of rubbish in the streets and it was busy! We both just couldn’t get into the vibe of it.
      We had dinner close to the BnB & headed back and watched some Netflix for the evening instead of venturing out.
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    • Day 35

      Tag 34 | Napoli (Pompeji)

      August 3, 2023 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 30 °C

      Besuch in Pompeji 🗿

      Die 79 n. Chr. unter den Aschewolken des Vesuvs begrabene Stadt ist heute aber noch erstaunlich gut erhalten.

      Was uns während unseres Besuches auffällt: ein Audioguide lohnt sich zur Besichtigung definitiv, jedoch kann man sich stunden- oder gar tagelang mit dessen Inhalt beschäftigen. Daher haben wir es nach einer Weile aufgegeben, jede einzelne Station zu suchen und ließen uns stattdessen einfach durch die Stadt treiben - und hörten uns diejenigen Stationen an, die uns auf dem Weg als besonders interessant erschienen. 🙂
      Am hinteren Rand der Stadt befindet sich eine Parkanlage, die auch sehr schön ist! Genauso wie ein Aussichtspunkt am anderen Randpunkt der Stadt - hier hat man den gesamthaften Blick auf Pompeji. Sehr beeindruckend.

      Wir beide stufen den Besuch in Pompeji bereits als Highlight ein. Wirklich spannend, sich auf die Spuren einer der der größten Naturkatastrophen der Antike zu begeben. ✨
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    • Day 21

      Laundry Basins in Pompeii

      January 10, 2023 in Italy ⋅ 🌧 52 °F

      Pretty sure both of these are laundry basins, although I fell behind the group at this point and didn’t hear the full explanation! Interesting that both feature women’s mouths for the water to come out. I’ll have to look this up when I get back home.Read more

    • Day 41

      Crispy like a pizza pie

      October 14, 2023 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C

      Today we headed to the city of Pompeii to check out the city which was frozen (boiled?) In time.

      We didn't do much research or look into it at all, but it was so much bigger then we expected as Phill said "it's almost like this was a full city" we ended up walking around for 4 hours and didn't see all of the area, it was insanity.

      Pompeii and the ruins ranked up to both our favourite archeological sites and just the sheer size and scale of what was maintained. Although seeing the plaster casts of the bodies was a bit more confronting then anticipated, especially being able to see skulls, teeth and children.

      After this we jumped back on the train, travelled an hour back to Naples and went in search of dinner - spoiler, it ended up being pizza again (no fruit or vegetables have been consumed this week)

      To conclude the evening we had some Italian desserts (couldn't tell you the names) with tea while Phill played Ceasar 3.

      Step count: 24.5k
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    • Day 7

      Pompeji

      July 8, 2022 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C

      Bei günstigen Wetterverhältnissen haben wir uns aufgemacht das antike Pompeji zu entdecken. Im Schatten der durch Regen vom Vortag leicht abgekühlten Mauern ließ es sich gut für einige Stunden aushalten. Nachdem wir die Stadt auf eigene Faust erkundet haben, machten wir uns auf den Weg zu unserer Bleibe für die Nacht.Read more

    • Day 72

      Pompeii

      November 1, 2022 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 73 °F

      Sorrento is a great base for exploring the area. We hit the Amalfi coast yesterday and today, we took the circumvesuviana train to Pompeii. I gotta admit, I kinda like saying circumvesuviana. It's the private train line that links Sorrento with Pompeii and then onto Naples. There's a few tunnels between here and there and a few bridges with views of the Gulf of Naples. There were quite a lot of tourists on our trains since this is All Saints Day and the end of a 4 day weekend for Italians. The vast majority of tourists I heard were Italian.

      What's there to say about Pompeii? You probably know the gist, but in 79 CE Vesuvius blew its top. The nearby port city of Pompeii held about 20,000 people and they think about 2,000 were killed by the gas or ash. The few bodies that were found left a perfect cavity in the ash that hardened and starting in the 1700's people poured plaster in the cavity and that's what you see in the pictures here. The bodies disintegrated into ashes after the volcanic ashes hardened. Ashes to ashes.....

      It took 45 minutes or so to take the train near our apartment right to the ruins gate. The ruins are huge and there are lots of places to visit where there are hardly any people. We met an American physician named Tom who works for the State Department in Eastern and Southern Europe. He provides medical care for State Dept. staff and US citizens when needed. Not a bad gig. We had a lot in common as he was an avid traveler also, so we hung out together as we explored the sites. It was yet another great day.

      Tomorrow, we check out of this amazing apartment. We've noticed the pollution getting worse in Sorrento over our stay. Today, we could barely see Vesuvius from our balcony, when the other day it was crystal clear. We have been smelling burning wood and plastic for 2 days. I'm not sure what that's all about, but it's time to move on. We'll take the circumvesuviana (I did it again) to Naples and then change to a high speed train to Rome, where we'll spend the last 4 days and nights of this amazing journey.

      More photo and videos are here.
      https://photos.app.goo.gl/wsKxaH5zRaeYhdRV8
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    • Day 44

      Auf Entdeckungstour

      November 4, 2022 in Italy ⋅ 🌧 17 °C

      Die Größe des Areal (insgesamt 60 Hektar, 12 Hektar zugänglich für Touristen) und die vielen Zeitzeugen sind unwahrscheinlich beeindruckend.
      Das Gelände war unter 25m Vulkanasche und Bimsstein verschüttet und wurde im 18. Jahrhundert wiederentdeckt.Read more

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    Forum at Pompeii

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