My 60th Birthday Bash - Pompeii and Herculaneum

Normally, hitting your 60th birthday doesn't seem something I'd be too excited about,  but throw in wandering through the remains of ancient Roman towns and I'm all in.  I didn't book through the cruise line, but did it with an external tour company.  They were excellent at tolerating my weirdness…like showing up really early and not waiting at the right spot.  

Anyway, this was supposed to be a VIP tour and their version of VIP was not what I was used to.  Our mini-van had an iffy sound system and lackluster AC.  However, our guides were great and the driver fearless (as required in Italy).

First stop was Pompeii.  I was disappointed to find that the souvenir market by the entrance is gone.  Apparently, the police shut it down as many of the vendors were not properly licensed.  The cameo factory/store was  still there along with the free restrooms at the end of the walk through the shop.  There was other merchandise to buy as this is where some of the legit vendors ended up.  

Our tour guide was a feisty little Italian lady with a bedazzled denim jacket and Kenzo backpack.  She stopped to pet the resident cat and grumbled at the less experienced tour guides who didn't properly lead their groups.  

We first went to the gladiator practice grounds and theaters. 

We also saw examples of the ubiquitous fast food stalls that are always referred to as Ancient Roman McDonalds.

We went through a couple of upscale villas and I focused on the frescoes and mosaics. 

There was a reconstructed chariot using bits of metal found in the ruins as well as some original amphora.

Then a bakery (the carbonized loaves of bread found here are now in the Naples Museum).

And a bathhouse

With a changing room

And Frigidarium.

Then it was on to the brothel district (and here we have a stone bed used by a prostitute to ply her trade)…

How did we know it was the brothel district? Just by the helpful signs on the street..

Where the line was still ridiculous as EVERONE apparently needs to see the main brothel.

My pictures of the menu items are a bit better than the last time

It was poppy season, and they grew all over the place in the ruins

Our last stop was the Forum with Vesuvius lurking in the distance

Then, it was off to Herculaneum, which was a small seaside resort town (as opposed to Pompeii, the big city).

As it was Easter, we came across a parade

Then it was Herculaneum.  We had to wait a bit for our guide, so I had time to check out the tiny gift shop.  Surprisingly, I bought nothing.

The ruins are rather compact and are below the town…where people can look out their window at the ruins.

You walk down a curved path that overlooks the former waterfront area where many of the residents of the ancient city tried to take refuge…ultimately perishing in these storage areas.

We entered the ruins by a column lined garden.

Another ancient fast food joint

Most of the houses here were nicer villas as this was a resort town.  Lots of nice frescoes and gardens.

The men's bathhouse was in very good shape with floors of marble chips

And lovely mosaic floor

There were very nice, colorful decorative mosaics on the walls as well

I was obsessed with the frescoes

Staircase to second floor

Mosaic floors

The entryways here are much better preserved

And here is a carbonized original wood door

An actual ancient bed 

Too much time on frescoes and floors…

and here we see the skeletons of the doomed residents.  

We made our way down a street past gardens and temples toward the forum

past a better preserved bakery than in Pompeii with an almost intact mill.

To the teeny forum of this small town

Past more villas with nice frescoes

And this lovely garden

to the museum where we saw some cool artifacts recovered from the site.

Including this carbonized bed that I read about somewhere that I was very excited to see in person

There was a boat found by the former waterfront as well.

Then, we headed back to the ship, where I changed for my fancy dinner.   I was very hungry and I forgot to take photos, but I had a grilled octopus appetizer, and sea bass with sweet potatoes and a salad for my entree. 

I did remember to take a photo of my dessert, cheesecake in a jar, because I thought it would be my birthday cake.  It was yummy…a ricotta based vanilla cheesecake with raspberies. 

However, the wait staff had different plans and embarrassed me with a song and a cake that I didn't even try to eat (I was stuffed). Makes for a good memory though. 

Headed off to bed early because the next day was a full day wandering around Rome.