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Coming hard on the heels of my 2 days of walking in Israel & Petra, wasn't my brightest moment to have scheduled 3 back to back walking tours in Rome.
Not going to try to put up pictures of the Vatican or Colosseum since most people have seen plenty of them. Honestly, loved the Colosseum & Forum tour, hated the Vatican tour. You can skip the Vatican tour. They cram everyone they can into tiny rooms, you miss most of the fantastic artwork because you have to move along or you just can't turn around to see it. Too many people, too many selfies, it's hot, it smells & it's just not worth it. Buy the pop up book instead, take a few outside pix of the square & do something else.
I did do a tour of Pompeii & Vesuvius. I mean, Mount Agung missed me, let's give another volcano a chance.
Sadly, it was cold, rainy & windy but got just enough clear weather from time to time to make it worthwhile.
Another one of those 3 hour one way trips.
Entrance to Pompeii
Vesuvius in the background
Lots of marble, mostly imported. Italian marble is only white, so when you see color marble, it was brought in from another country.
Originally Pompeii was right on the sea & often flooded, plus the filth in the streets from manure & people. They put in stepping stones to cross the streets so you didn't have to get dirty. Quite clever.
More of that color marble but this is actually an outdoor fast food restaurant. Not many people cooked at home, so meals would be prepared & sold & these were the fire pits where the heated food was cooked & served.
One of the few ceilings to survive & the color on the walls as well.
Communal bath area. The servants would heat the water which would be poured into the floor. The tiles held a floor where you could get into the bath. Nice concept except they rarely changed the water. A bit of a yuck factor.
Being a seaport, it was also visited by many sailors. There were thriving brothels businesses. To keep things moving, so to speak, there was basically a menu painted on the wall & they'd point to the "act" they'd like to buy. Interestingly, the ceiling of this brothel survived intact, along with the "menu".
Of course, we know of the thousands that died when Vesuvius erupted, many where they fell. They were covered in the lava & ash flows. When excavated, there were often only the bones & outline left. Plaster was poured into the outline, then chipped out with the bones in the plaster.
It was heartbreaking to see many of these, especially the children still holding their favorite pet. I've got pictures but not putting them up. It's just too sad.
Another of the victims
After a lunch of the worst pizza I've ever tasted (Naples think their pizza is the best), we headed up to Vesuvius. The weather turned on us & it was raining, cold & windy. We could barely see feet in front of us. A few took the walk to the top & saw...more clouds. Most of us hung back, searched the lava flows for anything interesting & tried to stay dry.
Then back to Rome where it was cold & rainy.
The next day was the Vatican tour, followed the final day by nice weather & the Colosseum tour. I took the special underground tour there & we went from the sub-basement to the nose bleed seats. It was worth the tour. Up the hill to the Forum, then climbed to Palatine hill, considered the birthplace of Rome & home of the Emperors.
Finally jumped on a 5 am flight to London, caught my flatbed seat to Philly (slept like the dead, didn't even wake up for lunch), then back home. 2 1/2 months from when I left.
It had great moments, it had really sucky ones. My second, but most likely, last round the world. Just too much wear & tear on my old bones.
But i hope some of you have seen something which might inspire you to get out of the chair & get out on the road. There's an amazing world out there, below the water & on the surface.
Not going to try to put up pictures of the Vatican or Colosseum since most people have seen plenty of them. Honestly, loved the Colosseum & Forum tour, hated the Vatican tour. You can skip the Vatican tour. They cram everyone they can into tiny rooms, you miss most of the fantastic artwork because you have to move along or you just can't turn around to see it. Too many people, too many selfies, it's hot, it smells & it's just not worth it. Buy the pop up book instead, take a few outside pix of the square & do something else.
I did do a tour of Pompeii & Vesuvius. I mean, Mount Agung missed me, let's give another volcano a chance.
Sadly, it was cold, rainy & windy but got just enough clear weather from time to time to make it worthwhile.
Another one of those 3 hour one way trips.
Entrance to Pompeii
Vesuvius in the background
Lots of marble, mostly imported. Italian marble is only white, so when you see color marble, it was brought in from another country.
Originally Pompeii was right on the sea & often flooded, plus the filth in the streets from manure & people. They put in stepping stones to cross the streets so you didn't have to get dirty. Quite clever.
More of that color marble but this is actually an outdoor fast food restaurant. Not many people cooked at home, so meals would be prepared & sold & these were the fire pits where the heated food was cooked & served.
One of the few ceilings to survive & the color on the walls as well.
Communal bath area. The servants would heat the water which would be poured into the floor. The tiles held a floor where you could get into the bath. Nice concept except they rarely changed the water. A bit of a yuck factor.
Being a seaport, it was also visited by many sailors. There were thriving brothels businesses. To keep things moving, so to speak, there was basically a menu painted on the wall & they'd point to the "act" they'd like to buy. Interestingly, the ceiling of this brothel survived intact, along with the "menu".
Of course, we know of the thousands that died when Vesuvius erupted, many where they fell. They were covered in the lava & ash flows. When excavated, there were often only the bones & outline left. Plaster was poured into the outline, then chipped out with the bones in the plaster.
It was heartbreaking to see many of these, especially the children still holding their favorite pet. I've got pictures but not putting them up. It's just too sad.
Another of the victims
After a lunch of the worst pizza I've ever tasted (Naples think their pizza is the best), we headed up to Vesuvius. The weather turned on us & it was raining, cold & windy. We could barely see feet in front of us. A few took the walk to the top & saw...more clouds. Most of us hung back, searched the lava flows for anything interesting & tried to stay dry.
Then back to Rome where it was cold & rainy.
The next day was the Vatican tour, followed the final day by nice weather & the Colosseum tour. I took the special underground tour there & we went from the sub-basement to the nose bleed seats. It was worth the tour. Up the hill to the Forum, then climbed to Palatine hill, considered the birthplace of Rome & home of the Emperors.
Finally jumped on a 5 am flight to London, caught my flatbed seat to Philly (slept like the dead, didn't even wake up for lunch), then back home. 2 1/2 months from when I left.
It had great moments, it had really sucky ones. My second, but most likely, last round the world. Just too much wear & tear on my old bones.
But i hope some of you have seen something which might inspire you to get out of the chair & get out on the road. There's an amazing world out there, below the water & on the surface.
