Ruins Galore

Hi Everyone,

The tour officially ended today, so I get to explore Rome on my own. Although I am sad to leave some really great people (they're heading off to Athens), I must admit that I am looking forward to a hot shower in my hotel room and being free from mosquitos. Camping has shown my what luxury truly is by making me experience that seedier side of things. You begin to appreciate toilets that flush well and don't smell like urine, or showers that have little side shelves so your clothes won't get wet.

I spent the yesterday exploring Pompeii and today exploring Ancient Rome. So far, I've seen tons of ruins, only the broken skeleton of ancient civilization. Here's what I think of the two places.

1) Pompeii
Pompeii was about 2 hours away from Rome by train. We had to get to Naples and then connect onto a really cruddy train for another half hour before reaching the entrance of Pompeii Ruins. Man it was freaking hot. Going into Naples, you definitely see the difference between southern and northern Italy. You notice that it's hotter and the places are dodgier. Seriously, I actually felt scared for my safety for a brief moment in Naples.

Anyhow, back to Pompeii. The city was bustling with life when it met its dome in 79 AD. In these ruins, you really get a slight sense of how well these people lived. There were large forums for commerce, great temples for their gods, and some even had fancy villas. In some homes, you can see the fine mosaic tile flooring. It's really cool to see how we still imitate that style today. The place is HUGE! Some places still had frescos. Although it's in ruins, you also get a good sense of how ornate many of these homes are.

One of the coolest places to see is the whorehouse, where there are some erotic frescos still up! The Romans are very kinky people. After the visit, I went to the Archaeological museum in Naples to see more of these frescos and their obsession of the phallus. According to the museum, the phallus was believed to ward off evil, so people wore it as jewelry and put it large stone ones right outside their homes. Really weird, especially for my prudish self. I'm definitely glad that the times have changed.

My biggest regret with Pompeii is that I didnt see the body plaster of the victims. According to my research, they were at this place called the Garden of Fugitives, which is really far away. I also heard that some were taken to the Archaeological Museum in Naples. However, it wasn't there either. As it turns out, they moved it to another site which was closer to the entrance so people didn't have to go way out of their way to see it. Boo to that!

2) Ancient Rome
Today, I went took a tour of the Coliseum. Traveling tip: Buy whatever Museum pass if they offer it in the city you're visiting,. It cuts the lining up (especially in Paris and Rome). The tour was okay. The speaker gave a good idea of what sorta things happened, but if you watched Gladiator, you woudl have known anyways. The Coliseum is really big! On the outside, you dont really feel that impressed. But once you walked in, you really feel how grand it is.

We also took a tour of the Palatine. Trivia point: The word Palace comes from Palatine because the emperors of rome built this grandiose homes for themselves on this hill. The tour was given by this Australian chick, who was a great tour guide. She was very vibrant, had good huomr, and provided a lot of little tidbits that busted many myths! At this hill, you see the remains of the large palace for the emperor Domitician (?). He had his own circus minimus! On this large hill, you see all these ruins, and you have to keep in mind that EVERYTHING except the little garden and his circus minimus is covered! There are enough walls left that you do get a sense of how large the halls. VERY COOL.

Side note: on these tours, you really learn THAT the Vatican steals everything. They stole all the great marble from these ancient buildings for their own cathedrals, basilicas, etc.

There, you also got this awesome semi-aerial view of the Roman Forums. Definitely another great site! There's these three barrel chapels (?) that are simply HUGE. There are a few standing columns around, some more rundown walls. There's only one church that's still standing. It has the second oldest bronze door in all of the Roman empire. Pretty impressive that it still works and haven't been plundered by the Vatican.

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Thus concludes the adventures of the last two days. I think I may have forgotten to write that I saw Trevi Fountain and the Spanish steps. There, I learned that I hate tourist and crowds only taint all these beautiful places.

Alright, one more full day at Rome and tht's it. For the last day, I plan to tackle the Mouth of Truth and maybe the Cupercin(?) monks. Otherwise, it's pretty chill. I haven't figured out how to spend my final hours in this great city.

Overall, This trip has been pretty damn amazing. I'll log the top 10 and worst 10 moments when I get home.