Pompeii: A human tragedy, an incredible archeological find, and a travesty in ongoing care.

Pompeii for me was in many ways the highlight of planning this trip. No where is it more clear our direct lineage of our ancestors. It is a time capsule preserved by the very tragedy that befell them.

It is amazing to think of this town of up to 20,000 residents that existed before the age of Christ. It is all there, preserved in various states. You can walk the streets and see the wear created by the many oxen drawn carts in the stones that paved the streets. Those indentations take decades of use to chip away and grind the ruts of the wheels into stone.The planning and layout of districts and grids so that you could find the house you were looking for is the essence of todays maps and neighborhoods.. The bakeries that number in excess of 30, where they used Ox to turn the grind stones changing wheat into the flour, adding water to make bread, and fired it with large wood burning ovens producing flat bread for sale. 

The large stones were used to cross the streets from the sidewalks as there were all forms of waste that lay in the streets from both animal and human.

Suzi, our Road To Italy guide was another excellent choice. Formerly from Brussels, she has lived in Napoli for 35 years and has studied Pompeii. Again a wealth of facts but also context. Why were they here, who were they, how did the live, and why didn't they flee?

This was part of the baths for men. Men had hot, steam, and cold water rooms and the women only hot and steam. The mens and women's facility for heated rooms shared common walls so as to use a common source of heat sent through the floors and walls.

This is essential a bar from 100 bc. There would be many places for jars and large bowls containing wines, water and other drinks,

The houses of the wealthy were decorated with fresco that are unfortunately disappearing as they have not been maintained or protected. Some have been taken to the museum in Napoli, but many are still in their original locations wearing down through exposure and human touch.

These are casts of the people in the town who were trapped when the volcano exploded. They were killed by the gases and the hot ash that covered them. The ash solidified and when the body decayed left these molds that were discovered and filled with plaster and a cast was created. They even maintain the details of the types of clothing they were wearing.

Pompeii is a treasure for all mankind and it would be good to see a better restoration and preservation be led such as that which we had seen in Venice, Florence, and Rome. But they they are protecting the "Masters" and here it is simply the root of modern civilization as well as those that that inspired the works of the Masters.

And so we continue on to our final stop in this journey, Sorrento.

We arrive at the Grand Hotel Excelsior Vittoria. Every step, every individual we encounter, ever nuance we catch exudes Excellence. I have stayed at great hotels around the world, but without a doubt, this is the best I have ever seen. I will do a whole little blog post just on this hotel and its staff it is so fantastic.

First of the Day!