The City Frozen in Time

History Lesson: Pompeii is a city near the south of Italy that was buried under 4-6m of ash when Mt. Vesuvius erupted in 79A.D. It was destroyed approx. 160 years after it was founded. It was only discovered in 1559 that there was a city buried and then 150 years later more of it was uncovered. 2/5ths of the site are still not uncovered and it happened just over a thousand years ago. It is one of the top tourist attractions in Italy and brings in over 2.5 million visitors a year.

I was one of those people on the Sunday of my Amalfi Trip.  As much fun as I had, we had to have some history shoved in there! So Sunday morning, we hoped on a bus, and drove about 40 minutes toward Florence to this tiny town of Pompeii.

Once we arrived, we immediately began our guided tour of the ruins.  Our tour guide was this little old man full of information and might have even been around when the Volcano erupted (just kidding but he was pretty old.) Even though he was old, he was so funny and gave us some awesome information and helped us see the city as it was before the eruption.

A man trying to cover his face 

He took us around and we saw homes, the market, and even a brothel. There were a lot of brothels in the city of Pompeii. Some people, mostly slaves were caught in the town when the area was covered and there are casts of those people because when they were uncovered, they remained the way they were when they died.  They cast the bodies and they are now on display. 

It was really weird to me to be walking the streets just as these people had.  The city structures are still in tact and you get a real glimpse into ancient times.  I live in the a city that is full of history but it has adapted as time has gone on, Pompeii has remained the exact same.  It is literally the city frozen in time.

A Bakery Oven

Even though I was exhausted from the weekend, I was so happy I got this experience.  I love seeing the history of how things once were but most of the time you are not enlightened to actually seeing it as it was.

After the hour and a half tour, we went to Pompeii Pizza in the new town of Pompeii and it was delicious! Go if you get a chance. We hung out with the Bus2Alps group there and then boarded the bus to head home. What an incredible way to end our trip. The only sucky thing the whole day was the Trojans that were walking around.  I know it was in the Roman empire but no one likes a trojan.

Ew! The Trojans of Pompeii

The drive only took us 5 and a half hours to get back because we left from Pompeii.  I slept the entire way back because my sickness was still looming.

I was so happy I signed up for this trip. I had an incredible weekend with my friends. Everything was planned for my enjoyment and it was one of the best weekends I have had in Italy, if you get a chance GO.