A Day at Pompeii

During this time around spring break, it is common for family members of students to come for a visit.  Since I am going on the school’s study trip to Tunisia for spring break, my parents came to visit me during this past week.  It’s an odd feeling having someone so familiar appear in the location where I’ve felt most out of my element.  I have been showing my parents around Rome, and yesterday we took a day trip to Pompeii.

We took a train to Naples and then continued on through a separate metro system to Pompeii.  The train station in Pompeii is right next to the archaeological site, making the journey rather convenient.  After entering the site itself, I realized that I had no idea how big this ancient city really was.  It was huge and filled with all sorts of temples, public spaces, and even brothels!  It was also neat to learn more about the city’s history and how the volcano nearby, Mount Vesuvius, erupted in 79 AD, killing off the citizens and animals.  I had always imagined lava pouring down from the volcano and taking the city within a couple of minutes.  However, the majority of the people died due to the smoke and ash in the air.  They simply suffocated to death.  There were also a couple of casts of bodies displayed throughout the site.  It was really creepy to see because it made the experience so much more real. 

After spending a few hours at the site, we took the train back to return to Rome.  Pompeii made for a really awesome day trip, and I’d highly recommend it to anyone!