Monday, January 9, 2017

A Morning in Pompeii, Italy

After spending some time in Rome we drove south to Naples. Many people told us to explore Pompeii if we had the chance. So the next morning we woke up early and drove to Pompeii.
Since we do most of our traveling in the "off seasons" (fall and winter) we were able to find parking easily ($), right next to the site. The park opens at 9:00am, we were first in line so we were able to run in before the crowds to take some incredible photos.

You can choose to go with a tour guide ($) which is a good idea considering how massive the ruins are. We knew Pompeii was a large city of 20,000 inhabitants but we did not realize how huge it actually is! The archaeological site covers over 160 acres and easily could take a week to explore all the houses, baths, theaters, alleys, etc... But we were on a bit of a time crunch so we took a guidebook , map, our uploaded maps and we set off on our way.

I had written down some points and main areas we needed to see, so we had a general idea of where to go.

The main sights I would recommend seeing:
-the small theater and large theater
-Stabian thermal baths and central thermal baths
-House of the Vettii
-The Brothel
-House of Venus in the Shell
-Garden of the Fugitives (tricky to find, make sure to have someone point you in the right direction)

All in all, we spent about four hours exploring all that Pompeii has to offer. I highly recommend going to visit this amazing historical city. You will be captivated just as we were. Most importantly: wear comfortable clothes, shoes and be prepared to spend the day wandering around a magical city. Enjoy!

($) cost involved
Getting there: You can either take the train from nearby towns or drive and park in a pay-per-hour parking lot.