We woke up to overcast skies, the sound of waves crashing to the shore, and Day Light Savings Time. Miles and I headed down to the sea before breakfast to take some photos and watch the stormy waters.
Captain Miles
After breakfast we piled into the 9 passenger van that Jeff & Holly had rented, and drove in to Pompeii to go to church. Due to the heavy rains in the area, we encountered some spectacular flooding. This was my first time attending a Mormon service. Jeff & Holly explained their practices to me, but the entire service was in Italian, so even they had a difficult time following along. A young missionary translated most of the talks into English. The branch, as it is known, was quite small, approximately 50 people. We were one of three North American families visiting the branch that Sunday. Another was also vacationing in Italy during the Eid holiday from Saudi Arabia. The third was on a cruise and were coming from Vancouver, BC. The Italian children were quite distracting and noisy during the service. Chairs scraping on the tile floor, talking, arguing with one another and fussing throughout the service. I was surprised at how busy and distracting they were considering what a small space we were all in.
Quick shot taken out the car window
When the service concluded, we changed from our church clothes into our walking wear and got back in the car to head for the ruins of Pompeii. We had a difficult time finding it, and ended up parking at the Pompei train station and walking from there. The walk took us through a fairly run down part of the city. At one point, as we walked along looking for a sign to direct us toward the ruins, Holly noticed a long brick wall set back among the trees on the right hand side. It was an impressive structure and we wondered "what that building used to be" as we kept looking for our sign. Guess what it "used to be"?
The walk from the train station to the ruins
Pompeii was impressive, stunning really, to imagine that all of it was buried beneath 30m of volcanic ash. I can only imagine what it must have been like to be a part of the team that unearthed its remains. I was surprised to see the vibrant colors that remained painted on the walls of some of the homes and rooms. Several of the orchards and vineyards had been replanted and were growing well amidst the ruins. The streets in the city were paved with large, smooth, flat stones with one stone raised up higher than the rest periodically down the center of the street. Ancient speed bump ?
I climbed up on the top of a wall to try to get an "aerial" view
Look at the colors still vibrant since 79AD
Look down the road and you will see the "speed bump" stones.
I was expecting to see rooms with the well known Pompei mummies curled in the positions in which they died lying on the ground, but this was not the case. There were a few of the mummies on display, 2 in cases in the bath house, a few in the granary, but otherwise out of sight.
Why do people throw pennies at the mummies' feet?
For me, the most striking image was turning the corner at one intersection to find myself looking up at Mt. Vesuvious. To see this notorious volcano with the ruins of Pompei in the foreground inspired pause. I cannot imagine what it must have been like to be standing on that corner looking up at a towering cloud of ash and knowing that there was no where to go.
Speechless
As the sun set, we headed back to the car and began the drive to Maiori. Holly and I set out in search of a bus ticket for me the following morning and something to bring back for dinner. Three pizzas did the trick. We hit the sack for our early morning wake ups and the beginning of a long day of travel back to Cairo.
I will leave you with a few more photos from Pompeii.
Captain Miles
After breakfast we piled into the 9 passenger van that Jeff & Holly had rented, and drove in to Pompeii to go to church. Due to the heavy rains in the area, we encountered some spectacular flooding. This was my first time attending a Mormon service. Jeff & Holly explained their practices to me, but the entire service was in Italian, so even they had a difficult time following along. A young missionary translated most of the talks into English. The branch, as it is known, was quite small, approximately 50 people. We were one of three North American families visiting the branch that Sunday. Another was also vacationing in Italy during the Eid holiday from Saudi Arabia. The third was on a cruise and were coming from Vancouver, BC. The Italian children were quite distracting and noisy during the service. Chairs scraping on the tile floor, talking, arguing with one another and fussing throughout the service. I was surprised at how busy and distracting they were considering what a small space we were all in.
Quick shot taken out the car window
When the service concluded, we changed from our church clothes into our walking wear and got back in the car to head for the ruins of Pompeii. We had a difficult time finding it, and ended up parking at the Pompei train station and walking from there. The walk took us through a fairly run down part of the city. At one point, as we walked along looking for a sign to direct us toward the ruins, Holly noticed a long brick wall set back among the trees on the right hand side. It was an impressive structure and we wondered "what that building used to be" as we kept looking for our sign. Guess what it "used to be"?
The walk from the train station to the ruins
Pompeii was impressive, stunning really, to imagine that all of it was buried beneath 30m of volcanic ash. I can only imagine what it must have been like to be a part of the team that unearthed its remains. I was surprised to see the vibrant colors that remained painted on the walls of some of the homes and rooms. Several of the orchards and vineyards had been replanted and were growing well amidst the ruins. The streets in the city were paved with large, smooth, flat stones with one stone raised up higher than the rest periodically down the center of the street. Ancient speed bump ?
I climbed up on the top of a wall to try to get an "aerial" view
Look at the colors still vibrant since 79AD
Look down the road and you will see the "speed bump" stones.
I was expecting to see rooms with the well known Pompei mummies curled in the positions in which they died lying on the ground, but this was not the case. There were a few of the mummies on display, 2 in cases in the bath house, a few in the granary, but otherwise out of sight.
Why do people throw pennies at the mummies' feet?
For me, the most striking image was turning the corner at one intersection to find myself looking up at Mt. Vesuvious. To see this notorious volcano with the ruins of Pompei in the foreground inspired pause. I cannot imagine what it must have been like to be standing on that corner looking up at a towering cloud of ash and knowing that there was no where to go.
Speechless
As the sun set, we headed back to the car and began the drive to Maiori. Holly and I set out in search of a bus ticket for me the following morning and something to bring back for dinner. Three pizzas did the trick. We hit the sack for our early morning wake ups and the beginning of a long day of travel back to Cairo.
I will leave you with a few more photos from Pompeii.
Tile counter top
Old ruins, new life. Stunning images.
Amphitheater
Amphitheater interior
Steps in the amphitheater
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