As our final leg of the coastal tour came to a close, we made our last stop in Pompeii. We began the day with a rainy high speed walk and an extra long bus ride. But when the peak of Mt. Vesuvius was in sight, our moans and groans disappeared and we were reminded that we were in freaking Italy!!
Our first stop was at a local restaurant, Suisse where we had traditional margarita pizza or, if you were more daring, a Napolese pizza. The Napolese pizza was covered with a tomato puree, garlic, oregano, and anchovies. You can bet your bottom dollar I did NOT eat those anchovies. After our filling ‘za, we were served sfogliattele (I don’t know how to pronounce that either) which was a puff pastry filled with lard and topped with powdered sugar.
Next stop- Pompeii! Walking into Pompeii felt like walking back in time by 2000 years. The whole time we kept gasping and could not stop asking each other, “how on earth did this get made?”, “can you believe this is 2000 years old???”. Aka our minds were blown. After some research, I learned that Mt. Vesuvius erupted in 79 A.D. and 2000 people perished. The lava hid the city of Pompeii for many years but in 1749 it was discovered and the process of uncovering the city has been going on since. In fact, a section had just recently been financed for excavation.
The city was a giant maze you could get lost in for hours, discovering each nook and cranny. Many of the homes had been reconstructed so we could walk upstairs and look out on the city with the looming Mt. Vesuvius behind. It was a constant reminder of what happened to the people here and why we are able to explore the lives of the Romans almost 2000 years later.
[This post was composed by Maddie Cruse, a Junior studying Nursing]