Napoli & Pompeii

Nicolette, Shannon, Heather, and I decided that the first weekend spent in Rome should not be wasted. On a whim we decided to catch a 5:00am train to Napoli for 10 E, it was definately worth it.

After arriving in Napoli, we found a hostel, dropped our bags and caught a bus to Pompeii, about 30 mins outside of the city. In the background you can see Mt. Vesuvius which erupted in 79 C.E.. The castatrophy of the eruption lasted 2 days completely covering the city of Pompeii and Herculaneum in ash. These cities contain some of the best preserved mosaics, baths, frescoes, humans, and animals.

The ash that covered humans and animals created a cast of the bodies. This is not the actually body of this man, rather a mold in which the archeologists found during their excavations. The building pictured on the right was probably some sort of bar or restaurant. In ancient times it was custom for people to eat their meals not at home but in bars or restaurants (obvioulsy not the same term). This counter you see would have been the bar and the holes would have held snacks. At the end of the counter you can see a well preserved frescoe.

We decided if Mt. Vesuvius was to blow again we'd like to be found 2,000 years later in these positions. Hahahah we're aweful I know.

As history majors we visit these sites for the educational purpose, but we usally spend a fair amount of time goofing off and making light of the past events.

After returning from our big day at Pompeii we were starving, and I was on a quest. I had read in "Eat Pray Love" that the best pizza in Napoli could be found at De Michelle's. After the locals confirmed this I was on a mission to find this restaurant. This is were it all started. Napoli has mastered the art of making margherita pizzas. There's no menus, only one kind, but you wouldn't want anything else. De Michelle's is hands down the place to go for the famous margherita. Note: I'm almost done with my pizza while the girls start in on theirs hahaha. The photo on the right was taken on Sunday when we were leaving Napoli. Shannona climbed a orange tree so I could try one, turns out oranges from trees planted next to busy streets are DISGUSTING! Go figure.