A Trip to Pompeii and a Final Look at Rome

On my previous trips to Rome, I visited Ostia Antica to see the ruins of ancient Roman life but never made it to Pompeii.  Ostia Antica is good visit if you do not have the time to get down to Pompeii but fortunately on this trip, we had time and LuLu was game for traipsing around almost 3,000 year old streets (little did she know what was in store for her!).  We found a day trip with ItaliaTours that took us from Rome to Naples via the high-speed train and then over to Pompeii for a guided tour, pizza, back to Naples for a short tour before free time and then back to Rome.  Our guide, Louisa, was great and I do recommend ItaliaTours and the Pompeii portion but the spot they took us for lunch and the tour of Naples were not that great.  Naples is an insanely busy and crowded city and it was not even high season.  They offer a Pompeii with a farm-to-table experience but unfortunately it was not available during the time we were in Rome (it looked like a pretty cool experience). 

Our first look at Mount Vesuvius
Today there are still about 3,000 homes at the foot of the mountain. 
The people that live there stay because it is where their family has lived for generations.

Original frescos around the ruins...

Amphitheatre for plays

Seating for nobles was large so they could put cushions and lounge as the productions were very long. 
They would lie down on their left side so they could use their right hand to eat and drink.

                                                

Amphitheatre for concerts as it had better acoustics and covering

Even in ancient times, there was graffiti…you have to look very closely but you can see shapes and words in the stone...

Walking the streets of Pompeii was not easy today with our comfortable tennis shoes so we could only imagine the challenges the ancient Romans had in their leather sandals.  While they do make an effort to make Pompeii accessible and I think everyone regardless of their physical condition should be able to see all the sites of the world, I would strongly recommend a very sturdy wheelchair or cane for anyone that uses these devices as it is very rough and uneven terrain.  LuLu got very good at constantly changing sides of the street based upon which stones looked smoother and safer (proud daughter).  Today there are slats connecting the very large stones in the street but back in ancient times, these large stones were used as a way for people to cross the street when the wells were open and water flooded the streets to clean them.  The space between had to be a specific size to allow the chariots to get through when water was on the streets.

Ancient Romans actually invented fast food!
This is the early version of the cafe where folks would grab a quick bite on their way to work.

In ancient times, disease was a very big danger and keeping it out of towns was high priority.  To that end, towns would have public baths at the entrance gates so residents returning or visitors arriving could clean themselves before entering.  We visited one of the larger ones that also included a courtyard for exercise as well as the hot and cold rooms for men and hot rooms for women (apparently cold water was thought to be bad for women).

Changing Room

Cold Water Room

Hot Water Room

The nobles had very elaborate homes...many had courtyards and their own saunas and thermal baths so they did not use the public houses.  It was amazing to see original mosaics and frescos from almost 3,000 years ago.

Pompeii's Main Street

Houses of ill repute in ancient Rome were called Lupanars.  The name comes from the Italian word for a she-wolf "lupa" because the women would howl at the men as they would walk by to call them inside.  The rooms were very simple...just a bed.  Prostitution was legal and socially acceptable for men of any status.  

The center of Pompeii was the Foro de Pompeya (Pompeii Forum)

After the bus tour of Naples, we had about an hour to explore Naples on our own.  LuLu and I opted to just sit and relax in Gambrinus, a 19th century cafe.  We had the Pistachio Cafe and after finding out our first 2 pastry choices were finished (aka, sold out), we just told her to bring us something pistachio and ended up with a Cornetto Cubo (brioche dough filled with pistachio cream). It was nice to escape the hustle and bustle of Naples before heading back to the train station and Rome.

We made it to the fourth Papal Basilica, St. Paul's Outside-the-Walls.  Unlike the other three major basilicas, this one is a bit further outside of the city center...actually a 40 minute city bus ride (probably only 15-20 in reality but traffic in Rome basically doubles all travel time).  The tomb of St. Paul is located under the church and while it is a pretty church, we both decided it was our least favorite of the Papal Basilicas as it was not very warm and welcoming.  We ranked the churches as St. Peter's, St. John in Lateran, St. Mary Major and St. Paul's.

LuLu's favorite teacher was Sister Cabrini
who took her name from Mother Cabrini

The four Papal Basilicas

We really do enjoy taking public transportation when we travel as it gives you the opportunity to get to know a city and do some great people watching!  Over the past few years of traveling together, LuLu has gotten very good at maneuvering the different modes of transportation and learning the different systems in each city we visit.  As we rode the bus for the last time in Rome, I caught this photo of her discovering something new.

Tip: many of the sights in Rome (and throughout Europe) offer audio guides that go into great detail about the location.  In general, we prefer a light overview to peak our interest and then later do our own research.  Rather than getting the audio guide (which is also just something else to keep up with), I use Rick Steves Audio Europe app and download everything he has for a city.  I like his style as he makes it fun and relatable.

For our final Sunday in Rome, we went to mass at St. Peter's and afterwards was able to see Il Papa for the Sunday Blessing.  As it is the Jubilee Year, you enter through the Holy Door...so if you visit the Vatican between now and January 6, 2026 you can enter through the Holy Door...otherwise you will have to wait until 2050.  We were able to get a seat 6 rows back from the altar on the side.  For the papal blessing, we had a great spot with a perfect view of him from his residence.  When one of our guides found out we have been here so long and that we have our regular bar she said "we were Italian" so I channeled my inner Italian and wormed our way through the crowd to get us the good spots (I did draw the line at taking out a group of nuns as that would have been very bad karma!).

St. Peter's Tomb

Even the Vatican has a Jumbotron and boy was it crowded!

          

Our AirBnB host has sent us interesting things while we have been here.  One of them was about the bread circle and without knowing its history, people pass by it every day and rarely notice it. Back in the days of Ancient Rome, bread was a major staple in daily life.  When there were periods of famine, flour would be rationed which meant bakers were limited to what they could make and a law established the price they could charge.  Shrinkflation has apparently been around since ancient times as the bakers would charge the price allowed by law but reduce the size of the loaf of bread.  When the Pope learned of this, he had a shape engraved on the street walls near bakeries that show the exact size bread was supposed to be by law.  I do love learning interesting bits of history and trivia.

We said our final farewell to our doorman and headed to the airport.

Over the last five weeks, we have logged 319,568 steps (~159.78 miles), visited seven cities (Venice, Florence, Assisi, Siena, Rome, Pompeii and Naples) and two countries (Italy and Vatican City) and through it all, we have laughed, cried a little (good tears as we thought about JB), seen an old friend, made some new friends, learned a lot and made some great new memories.  I am so thankful to be able to share all of this with LuLu and even more grateful that God picked her to be my Moma (He definitely knew what He was doing!).  We are looking forward to our next adventure but for now, it is time for these two girls to get home and get a foot massage (thanks again for the pre-planning Andrea and Alexandra 💓).