POMPEII RUINS

After our short stay in Orvieto we were headed down south to Positano. Before making our way to our final destination we planned on making a stop in Pompeii to see the historic ruins. This was one of our longest drives lasting a total of 3 and a half hours on a nice sunny warm day.

Once we reached Naples and began to wind our way through the city to the ruins we were both shocked at how dilapidated and run down many parts of Naples were. It was a stark comparison to the rest of Italy that we just visited. As we neared the center of the city close the ruins it did look like the main square was kept up far better than the outer laying areas surrounding the main square. We found a parking lot next to the ruins which was also a smal amusement park for young kids. After a quick walk through the ruins we were ready to make it to Positano and relax on our hotel room.

Below is a spot of history on Pompeii

The city of Pompeii is a partially buried Roman town-city near modern Naples in the Italian region of Campania, in the territory of the comune of Pompei. Along with Herculaneum, Pompeii was destroyed and completely buried during a long catastrophic eruption of the volcano Mount Vesuvius spanning two days in the year AD 79. The eruption buried Pompeii under 4 to 6 meters of ash and pumice, and it was lost for nearly 1700 years before its accidental rediscovery in 1749. Since then, its excavation has provided an extraordinarily detailed insight into the life of a city at the height of the Roman Empire. Today, this UNESCO World Heritage Site is one of the most popular tourist attractions of Italy, with approximately 2,500,000 visitors every year.
(source)

These are some of the photos from our drive into Pompeii

Some of the amusing rides at the park where we left our car

Right near the entrance to the ruins

The Colosseum 

These stones were put on the roads to allows the residents to use as stepping stones when the streets woud be flooded for cleaning purposes

Such a shame to see how tourists would scratch their names and initials into something so historic

One of many fastfood stands. The holes would be filled with pots full of hot food for the patrons to purchase and enjoy

The amphitheater 

You can see where the top of Mount Vesuvius blew between the two peaks

The Temple of Isis

The Forum

A few of the bodies that were casted with plaster from the excavations

There were many loose dogs around the ruins. I felt bad for them because it was so hot out!

The brothel