Cool Pompeii

The last time I was in the Mediterranean, it was 1964. I spent a week in Valencia, and then had a couple hours in Barcelona (I was happy on this trip to get back to Barcelona for a longer visit) before I went to Marseilles for another week and the last place I stopped was Naples. While I was in Naples I visited the Galleria Umberto I, the Royal Palace, and the New Castle, took a day trip to Pompeii, and down the Amalfi Drive and went to Capri. On this trip, I wanted to take my grandson to Pompeii, and also revisit the Amalfi drive which I didn't think he would enjoy as much but it was something I really wanted to do.

We were to meet our guide at 8, so we went to breakfast at the buffet and walked off the ship about 7:45. The tour group people were being loaded into buses, and we walked out into the parking lot.

from the parking lot

A man asked if we were -- and said a name that I didn't recognize, so I said no. It turned out that he was our guide (name of Max) but they had written my name "Rosalican" and I didn't recognize it in his accent.

We left and went directly to Pompeii. I wanted a private tour today because the ship tours do Pompeii at the end of the tour and I wanted to be there early in the day before it got too hot. My grandson had again forgotten his camera, so as we were walking up toward the side, he asked me if he could have some of mine. Which he can of course.

Max told me to come out of the site in 2 hours. He had advised us that we could get an audio tour, and that the map of the site was free. So I rejected the services of the official guides that were there and got an audio tour, which My grandson quite correctly thought we could share if we turned it up.

It was still pretty early - we walked in before 9 am.

Entrance - grandson listening to tape

Empty street early

Grandson unfolding map

Still standing columns

Truncated columns

Vesuvius

Altar

Arch

Vesuvius

The light was lovely and it was cool.

Crossing the road - the stones had spaces for the wagon wheels

Ramp for a small vehicle over the stepping stones

Almost no one was there yet. We went to the forum and I took a bunch of pictures. I realized that we could not even walk over the whole site, so I picked two places to see - the house that has the Cave Canem mosaic at the entrance, and the Baths.

Cave Canem mosaic

Empty Street

Vesuvius at the end of the street

Blue street sign

Grandson listening to the tape

We did the Cave Canem house OK and several others and some temples as well, but when we walked all the way over to the Baths it was closed.

Grandson at the Baths

Locked gate

Locked gate

I only have the photos I took in 1964

Wall of Baths in 1964

Tub carved out of single piece of alabaster in 1964

Water trough

Moss covered stones in the street

Narrow street

Scaffolding

Grandson listening to tape

Grandson looks back at a dog

Columns

The site was by now filling up with people

Looking out from Pompeii

Leaving the site

We were a couple of minutes late coming out. We left to go down the Amalfi Drive