Let’s visit some ancient cities buried in ash, shall we?

While we were staying in Sorrento, we took the (very crowded) train over to Pompeii and Herculaneum to check out the ruins of these ancient cities that were buried in ash when Mt. Vesuvius erupted in 79 AD. I probably don’t need to tell you this, but that was a crazy long time ago, and it’s amazing how much has been preserved. It was a very cool day.

Our first stop was Pompeii, the most well-known of the two cities we visited. Our guide, Carolina, was amazing and really knowledgeable. The trip definitely wouldn’t have been the same without her. (Thanks for the recommendation, Sara!) It was really cool to see the frescoes and foundations and walls of buildings that were still intact. There were even ruts in the streets from the chariots that rode through thousands of years ago!

You’re probably wondering what the deal is with the above photo. Look closer. Do you see the outline of something? I’ll be frank here–it’s a penis. And it’s pointing to the brothels. Subtle, no?

This is the outline of a real person who got buried in the ash. Insane.

After Pompeii, Carolina took the train with us to Herculaneum, another city that was buried by the same eruption. Herculaneum was a little different than Pompeii. It was a resort town on the ocean, so the houses there were more opulent and had some incredible frescoes that were still visible. This city was actually even better preserved than Pompeii. It made it easy to imagine what it must have looked like when the streets were filled with Romans relaxing on their vacations.

Visiting these ruins was the next best thing to going back in time, and a really amazing experience.

My next Italy post will involve a little less history and a lot more scenery. Get ready for Positano!

See my previous Italy posts here:

• Rome (if you want to)
• Rome, Day II
• Sorrento