We headed to Pompei as part of a tour arranged by the hotel, as it seemed the easiest way to get there and back and provided a guided tour.
As it transpired, the logistics were slow and verging on the chaotic, though as we had nothing else to do, there seemed no point in being agitated...After milling around at the entrance, as various groups of the tour were merged and organised by language group, we were underway. Our guide was a neapolitan woman with a no holds bar attitude. She was quite informative about the impact of the eruption on the town, the salience of the town as a major trading centre, and daily life in the town from the perspective of thrice, the nouveau riche, the poor and slaves.
The town was full of tourists, with scores of guided tour groups and hundreds if not thousands of smaller family groups wending their way around the town. Our guide was forthright in telling wayward tour groups that they needed to make way for other groups,and when a member of the group on the end of her tongue lashing argued back, she gave him what for in double measure. When he asked for her tour guide number, she explained to our group that her number had been changed three times since she started, but she was wearing her original badge, so her number did not relate to her, and giving it to him meant nothing. An interesting insight (yet again) into Italian bureaucracy.
After two hours walking around the town, through one of the 40 brothels along with a helpful selection of frescoes which assisted clients to choose their preferred mode of service, and past the various bakeries and shops along the streets, the public baths, the spas, and the very extensive public square (the forum), we headed home. Overall it was a very enjoyable day.
After a siesta, we went for a walk along the bay side promenade, and then enjoyed a pleasant meal in a local restaurant.
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