Pompeii

Italy

An ancient city and it's citizens were buried under ash and pumice after the catastrophic eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 A.D

Complete photo story below

Pompeii is erie and fascinating at the same time. Your standing there in a city of ruins looking up at the volcano that was responsible for it all.

Not everyone was able to flee after the volcano eruptions, and those who didn't were buried in pumice and ash. Years later, during excavations, it was discovered that there were voids in the layers of mud, and when filled with plaster they took the form on people and animals.

You truly get a glimpse into Roman life in the 1st century. The ash and mud from the volcanic eruption preserved homes, brothels, amphitheaters, taverns, restaurants, and bath houses.

Excavations are still being taken place. The actual side of Pompeii is like the skeleton, and all the artifacts found are taken to the Naples National Archeological Museum, which I HIGHLY recommend. No pictures were allowed in the museum so I was only able to snag the few below. You will just have to see for yourself!

1,150 bodies have been found. 20,000 were able to flee, but not everyone was so lucky.

This is Noah listening to the Rick Steve's Pompeii Free tour. It's awesome.

The was an ancient gym. You can see the 'lockers' above and the steam room below. Water was put in the bowl which provided steam for the entire area.

Exploring the villas was my favorite. I remember learning the layout of the Roman house in my Latin class, and seeing an actual house was surreal. Plus they were gorgeous, I'd live there!

This was one of the political buildings. They took most of the statues out, but it was nice to have some statues in place so you didn't have to leave everything to the imagination.

Not even the animals were spared. On a lighter note, the mosaic dog on the right came with an inscription, Cave Canem, which translates to 'Beware of the Dog'. Puts things into perspective, not much has changed.

We always have to make a stop at the stadium. Probably a track thing.

Inside the stadium is the museum for all the victims of the volcanic eruption. Each one tells a story and you can almost see the emotion on them.

And this is the brothel. A building filled with a lot of rooms like this one with erotic paintings on the walls. This was the only place we had to wait in line for.

What kept boggling my mind was that pompeii was a preserved city. Most ruins you go to are a small site, but Pompeii is massive, and it's important to take in walking the city streets and trying to go back in time.

We went to Italy in July when tourism is high, but honestly there are always places to escape the crowds.

Oh those Roman Aqueducts. The fountains STILL work and is where you go to fill up your water bottles. Things were build to last back then ;)

This is Crumbduster. We have a tendency to name our favorite dogs we encounter on our trips. He got his name because he would hang out under our table at breakfast and eat all our crumbs.

Crumbduster also tried to eat my hat!