Pompeii: The Temple of Isis, bakery, casts, villas, funeral monuments & theaters

I wandered around and stopped to poke around this villa-I can't remember the name of it though-

This is from the Forum Baths, which is pretty famous. Unfortunately that means it was crammed with people and this was the only decent picture I got. There are lots of baths in Pompeii there, quite the popular way to spend time there apparently! These are cubbies where you would put your clothes. Way nicer then the locker at my gym-

There were also quite a few bakeries around. This one happened to be a bakery/fast food combo store. Sort of like a 2,000 year old convenience store! The pots in the counter are how food was kept warm. 

There are wild dogs all over Pompeii-they aren't mean or dirty or anything it's so weird, but they are SO CUTE. This little one followed me around and I wanted to take it home with me.

Then I headed out another one of the city's gates where there was another group of funeral monuments. Fancy!

Next, I explored the old Wool Market. It's also home to some of  the famous casts. But before that, it was where wool merchants would come to do business. Isn't it crazy that archeologists were able to know that? 

Here are  two of the casts. The way they were made is slightly creepy but interesting- when digging, archeologists would periodically hit "empty" cavities. Eventually the head archeologists realized that because bodies decay... they would leave a hallow space in the otherwise solid layer of ash that covered the city. So he started to pour plaster into them, wait for it to harden and dig them out. It worked and there are over 70 plaster casts.

 I think they are slightly creepy and extremely sad. Only about 2,000 people died when Pompeii exploded, the rest were able to flee the city. I felt slightly awkward taking these photos, not gonna lie! :( The people who died in Pompeii did not die instantly- their lungs were filled with a mixture of ash and pumice, and basically suffocated them. 

 ... on a happier note, here is another shot of the pretty wool market-

The Temple of Isis is cool looking, but the story about it is interesting, too. After the big earthquake, it was rebuilt by a rich freed slave in honor of his son. Because a freed slave could not enter elite society, this freed slave ensured that his son could by building this important temple back up in his name, even though he was 6 years old at the time. What parents do for their kids  :)

Lastly-I went to two of the theaters that are in Pompeii. There is one larger one, then a smaller one right next door. Here is the large one-

 And the small one-

Pompeii was definitely one of the coolest things I have gotten to experience on this trip. It is so crazy how similar the lives of people were 2,000 years ago to our lives now. In Pompeii there was indoor plumbing, running water, spas, fast food, theaters... I can't wrap my head around it. 

Pompeii: winery, outside the walls, Villa of Venus

I walked down and outside the city walls-

Past these gorgeous wineries. I don't know if they still make wine there, but it kinda looks like they do... and they should that would be so awesome! I would buy it and drink it, and I don't even like wine. It seems like it would be a marketing gold mine but I didn't see it in any shops or anything...

Outside the city walls are basically the cemeteries. Since Romans were amazingly efficient and thought out every detail,  they knew it was a total waste of city space to have funeral monuments within the city, so all the cemeteries were right out side the city gates instead. People were typically cremated, but rich people would still build monuments to themselves and their accomplishments.

One of the 7 city gates-

And the area outside-

Then I headed over to the colosseum, which is is the first to have been built out of stone instead of wood-it predates the colosseum in Rome by almost 100 years. Apparently the Pompeiians loved their games and after they were built there was a massive riot at the colosseum, and Nero (who was Emperor at the time) declared there would be no more games for 10 years as punishment. But when 5 years later there was a giant earthquake, he gave them back to build morale. 

 And the tunnels under the colosseum-

Next, I stumbled on (seriously it was down a dead end road, I was lost and there was no one there) the Villa of Venus. This villa is super famous because it is one of the few frescos that still remains within Pompeii itself-most of them were taken to a museum in Naples when they were discovered (and yes I went to that museum, of course and it was amazing) but for some reason the fresco at this villa was left. 

The villa was home to a really rich trader and it's huge with a giant courtyard and everything. I want a courtyard and frescos in my house someday! :)

Look how red the paint still is, it's that crazy? I mean it's TWO THOUSAND YEARS OLD. Blows my mind.

There is also a sad story with this villa. During excavations the body of a very pregnant woman was found in this villa, surrounded by her family. Some people think the woman and her family did not leave the city (which would have saved their lives, many rich residents were able to escape the city and the villa proves they were obviously wealthy) because of her pregnancy. They stayed, and died. 

 One of the side bedrooms-

 And the reason it is named the Villa of Venus-

What is a gorgeous fresco in a garden after all? So casual. All the cool kids have one. I can't help but think design style has gone seriously downhill since 79 AD!

Pompeii: Forum, Stabian Baths

To have only one post on Pompeii would just be so wrong, I can't do it. So... I just uploaded 65 Pompeii pictures and I will see how many I can blog about :)

Even that is a total injustice to Pompeii, in my opinion. 

First of all I was totally unprepared for how large Pompeii is. I feel like it's something we all learn a little about in school, or maybe watch a documentary on TV about it, but I was still shocked by the size: it's five square miles! Seriously, it's huge. I had read that you can "see" all the main sites in about 3 hours but I spent almost 8 hours there and I could have gone back for a second day (I really considered it) so how you could do it in three hours, I have no idea.

Background: Pompeii was buried by ash and pumice when Mt. Vesuvius erupted in 79 AD, completely burying the city, and it was discovered again in the 1750's. There had been a large earthquake maybe 20 years before it was buried, so many buildings had just been renovated in the latest styles, etc. and it was a huge, bustling, pretty rich port city in the Roman Empire. So there is lots to see- it's like going back in time, honestly.

So here is the first view walking into the city-  this is the main market area of the city and lucky for me I got their early enough that I was one of the only people wandering about, later this area was PACKED full of people-

 And since it is still a working archeological site, there are these little gated off areas with stuff in them all over-

I bet being an archeologist at Pompeii is an archeologists DREAM! They still work there daily I think- there were quite a few areas roped off and covered where you could hear people working and talking and listening to music. 

The first place I went too was the Stabian Baths-  they had actually JUST reopened (like 2 weeks before) after restoration! Yay :)  It is separated into men and women's sections with changing rooms, steam, hot, cold rooms, changing rooms... even a room for massages!

The grassy area is where people would work out, pre-pampering! 

Insane right???!!