Home Tutorials About Me Video's Cards for Sale

Sunday 14 June 2015

Pompeii and Tuscan Villages.....

So I'm going to talk about history today - click away quickly if that bores you silly.......... Some 500 years BC, a thriving little sea port in Southern Italy grew and grew until it became a center of commerce and an important city - and in 460BC  the Romans came and started building roads, amphitheatres, public baths, and all the other stuff they were so good at. They called it Pompeii

Can you believe looking at the next two photos, of the amphitheatres where gladiators used to fight to the death that they were built around 300BC....... 




But the folk that lived in Pompeii weren't that lucky really, in 62AD there was a huge earthquake that flattened a lot of the city, and they had just rebuilt it when Mount Vesuvius erupted and the whole city and it's inhabitants were buried under thousands of tons of volcanic ash and dust, and there it lay, under it's protective covering of volcanic ash for hundreds of years

Then in 1748 some archaeologists started excavating and found this extraordinarily well preserved city, houses of rich merchants, brothels with rather graphic frescoes on the walls (and some very uncomfortable looking stone beds, I do hope the poor things had a mattress back in the day), streets of shops..............quite extraordinary and they are still excavating to this day



 The frescoes on the walls must have been amazing when they were new and vivid



Just a couple more photos, shot as we meandered around some Italian villages - I do love Italy



all that walking deserved an ice cream break - this was the real stuff,  a heavy duty fix for an ice cream addict......





Back on the ship it became obvious rather quickly that lifts (elevators) that were supposed to hold a maximum 18 people, would only hold about eight. This wasn't because anyone was hugely fat, but because when you get six Italians and two Brits in a lift, the Brits huddle in the corner muttering thank you, excuse me and ciao when appropriate, and the Italians fill the rest of the space by all talking very loudly, at the same time and waving their arms at full stretch to emphasise the point they were trying to make - honestly, it was like sharing a lift with six windmills in a hurricane. As I said, I love Italy!

See you tomorrow with a last holiday blast - we'll take a wander around Barcelona shall we? See you then.... x

12 comments:

  1. What a history lesson you are getting while on holiday. It must have been an amazing experience to walk through the amphitheatres, almost like stepping into the distant past for a brief moment. I've often thought it would be fun to visit various times in history ... not to stay permanently, but just to experience the way of life during that time period for a few days.

    I've met a few people that use extremely animated hand gestures when they talk. Often, watching their hands flying about distracts me to the point that I hardly hear what they are saying. I can only imagine what it felt like to be in a lift with 6 windmills and a hurrican ... but I know I would have been huddled in the corner ... partly from terror of those wndmill arms, and partly to try and contain my laughter and seeing it all.

    Thanks for sharing the stories and adventures of your Holiday, Enfys. I love reading it all.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Isn't Pompeii absolutely amazing - I just loved it. The detail that is still remaining on some of the buildings is incredible - there's some superb floors! Reading your post brought back so many happy memories, I love Italy too. I'm looking forward to your Barcelona story. I love the city and my husband took me there for my birthday a couple of years ago. So many wonderful sights and, yes Enfys, fabulous ice cream!!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I loved Pompeii even though we were drenched by a downpour but we soon dried off when the sun returned. The only thing I didn't enjoy was the 'statues' of the people who died, covered in the ash - I found that very upsetting. Looking forward to Barcelona.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Lovely photos and thanks for the shot of ice-cream - Italian is the best in my opinion. Sounds as if the holiday is brilliant. History is wonderful and not at all boring. More please.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Thanks for sharing such an awesome lesson!

    ReplyDelete
  6. How wonderful to share your trip! We loved seeing Pompeii on a cruise a few years ago; ours was not an "all-Italian" ship, however! The places we saw were breathtaking, and since our country is only a little over 200 years old, the history is always amazing to me.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Wow, Pompeii is amazing. I always assumed it was covered by lava flow! Thank heavens it wasn't, they'd never have found anything! Thanks for the history lesson, En.
    Hugs, Jess

    ReplyDelete
  8. Maryellen WebberSunday, June 14, 2015

    Thank you for sharing your visit to Pompeii, it is amazing to see what has been discovered under the ash. I really hope to see Italy one day. Can't wait to see your photos of Barcelona.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Amazing! Love that you're sharing your beautiful vacation with us - I can only imagine the splendor of it all!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Good job their arms didn't fall off. Could have been a nasty international incident. Thanks for letting me join your holiday from the comfort of my own sofa. Hugz

    ReplyDelete
  11. Your photos are wonderful! Heading to Italy in September and so looking forward to it!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Thank you for all the wonderful pictures! My daughter studied abroad in Italy while in college and loved it! Thank you for sharing these pictures.

    ReplyDelete

I love reading your comments, thank you for taking the time
Enfys x