pompei.

I have wanted to go to Pompei since I first learned about it in TAG in 3rd or 4th grade. I have been fascinated by the history of the place. I was super excited to finally get to go, and it was really cool.

This is one of the streets in Pompei. The sidewalks are really high because there was a lot of rain drainage and the streets often flooded. The large rocks across the road were used to walk across when the streets were high and flooded. The audioguide taught me lots of cool facts like this one. I was totally amazed at the sheer size of the ruins. It was MASSIVE. If I hadn't gotten an audioguide I wouldn't have had a map, and I probably would have gotten lost wandering around the area.

Many of the homes and living areas had pieces of art displayed.  Most of them, however, were recreations, as the originals are kept in the history museum in Naples. Some of the frescoes were originals, because it can be difficult to move them, but most of the art was not original. I guess I understand the need to move and preserve the art, but it was kind of a let down to be repeatedly told by my audioguide that the work wasn't original.

 

This is the Colosseum in Pompei. It was one of the largest amphitheaters in the area. At one point it was closed, because riots broke out during the games, but it was reopened years later. The whole idea of gladiators is kind of strange to me. I guess it is good that I was not alive in ancient Roman times.

The ancient ruins were really impressive. I was quite amazed at the scale and level of preservation of the ruins. And it was neat to think of them as a current archeological site. Excavations are still being done, and pieces are still being discovered. The modern town of Pompei isn't so nice, but the ruins were really cool to see, and I'm glad I went. And I'm learning that audioguides aren't so bad after all.