Pompeii

We travelled over the mountains from Ravello to Pompeii. The road goes up and up and up with a speed limit of 30kmh it gives you an idea of how curvy and steep the road is. Our driver was very cautious and we never really felt nervous at all. It was raining and he was taking extra car.

Arriving at Pompeii it is rather crowded the guy who was managing the Tour Guides was saying that we were lucky as there was a train strike from Naples to Pompeii so the tourists couldn't get there. There were a few cruise ships in and it seemed busy to us.

We had our guide Marina and she was amazing, enthusisatic and imparted a lot of knowledge about Pompeii. What a terrible ordeal, but what was also so interesting was how people lived so long ago.

Interesting facts that I remembered.

1. The pedestrian walkways were about a foot above the road and the reason for this was that all roads sloped down as a drainage system for excess rain. As Pompeii is built on lava rock there is no underground drainage and so sewage and all waste matter was thrown out of the houses onto the roads to be carried out to the sea or the river. The roads used to also have paving stones across and these were stepping stones so that pedestrians didn't have to walk in the mud and sewage to cross the road.

2. Roads ran north to south and east to west. There were no road numbers or house numbers, you would ask a local and most meeting points or descriptors were the water fountains around Pompeii - 40 I think.

3. The Romans invented concrete which would take a process of around 10 years to mature before being able to be used. This used to be done by submerging your concrete mix of lava stones, lava ash, seawater, and sand. Then it was put into barrels and kept in the ocean for 10 years where the sea water would break down the lava rock and enzymes would grow - these would be the secret to the strengthening component of the Roman concrete.

4. Romans invented sliding doors, all shops had sliding doors and there is evidence of the grooves that they would slide in.

5. Penises were considered a good luck charm and babies would were them around their necks when they were born, as there was a high mortality rate in infants.

6. Penises were used as road signs pointing to the local brothels

7. Restaurants existed where you could buy your food, sit and drink and gamble and also if you wanted, you could rent a room upstairs - Romans invented the concept of a "one-stop shop"

8. Only the rich had kitchens in their houses, so most of the residents of Pompeii would eat in the restaurants.

9. Pompeii is massive and still has so much unexplored. There were 8000 residents at the time of the eruption, and only some 1800 have been discovered.

10. They discovered that the bodies were preserved by the ash and lava, and this showed that the ash wasn't hot as the robes they are wearing were intact. They basically suffocated, as the ash consisted of glass-like shards that once ingested cut them up inside.

11. Gladiators were slaves and vegetarians. Some people volunteered to be gladiators. Gladiators got all the girls.

12. White walls were considered poor and every square inch of your home was painted.

So glad that we made this stop and hats off to Patty for walking 2 hours non-stop in humid conditions. Very very interesting and also do not consider doing tour without a guide. They are so knowledgeable and cater your tour round the most important parts depending on how much time you have.