Our Trip to Pompeii, Italy

Prior to the Peace Conference that we attended in Rome, we went with Bob & Janice Newell to the city of Pompeii. I have included pictures of the city, as well as, the ancient ruins at the base of Mount Vesuvius.

It was a beautiful, sunny day -- one of the few that we had while we were in Italy in February. We were so glad to be able to take some good pictures. We had a wonderful guide who added so much information to our walk through ancient Pompeii.

We arrived at the train station on Sunday afternoon, and then we visited the ruins on Monday. So it is possible to see Pompeii in less than a day.

Mount Vesuvius - seen from downtown Pompeii.

Here is our hotel - Hotel Amleto - right in the center of town - just off the main square.

The downtown area:

They were having a "flea market" on the square when we arrived. No! I didn't buy anything - just took pictures. HA!

We did stop at a sidewalk cafe and have a great cappucinno. I can't say that it tasted any different than the cappucinnos we get here in Macedonia --- it just costs a lot more.

This was a beautiful sidewalk all the way around the square.

So on Monday, we headed for the runis.

Excavation of Pompeei

The following photos are from inside the walls of the ancient city. It is amazing how much is preserved because no one was actually buried in the lava -- it was the ashes that fell on the city that killed people. So the ashes acted as a barrier, preserving the ruins.

Even the paintings on the walls are intact. Our guide kept referring to this color of red as "Pompeii Red".

Columns in one of the courtyards.

More columns in the open spaces of the town center.

Another courtyard. I liked the colors in this one.

The local pub.

These are burial sites.

The streets of Pomeii.

This was the local bakery - and pizza ovens - or so our guide told us. I don't know -- Did they eat pizza ??? He seemed to think that if they were Italian -- they ate pizza. HA!

The arena of Pompeii. They were working on this part of the ruins so we were not able to go inside. I was disappointed, but we walked ALL the way around to the other side -- no easy chore-- so that I could at least get a picture.

Mount Vesuvius from inside the ruins.

We kept seeing these unusual trees that looked like umbrellas. Janice and I asked our guide what they were called - and he said, "In English, we call them Umbrella Trees"!!!

Bob & Janice Newell and Arville & I -- February 2009

Pompeii, Italy