Its a great site, of course. I did think wistfully how wonderful it would be if only it were run by the National Trust. It is, notoriously, in a state of disrepair. Lots of parts are fenced off with ugly and somewhat tumbledown wire fencing. And the attendants, far from the old biddies who occupy the rooms of NT properties and are positively panting to be informative, the Italian custodians are sullen, chain-smoking and usually on their mobiles.
The other thing that has to be said about Pompeii is that it is a whole town, and while the paving has lasted remarkably well given its a couple of centuries old. its not exactly smooth asphalt, so all in all a day seeing what is visible is pretty tiring. Well it left me knackered anyway. I had only a brief break in their truly execrable cafeteria. In a country renowned for its food only a place with no competition whatsoever could be as awful as the Pompeii cafeteria. I went for the overcooked pasta on the basis that I didn't think the plastic cutlery would saw through the pizza options. After finding one of the few working loos and washbasins, I went back into the Roman city thinking that they probably had better facilities.
I came in from the Pompeii town side and so went past the very sizeable church here. No need to ask where local money went.
Anyway, here goes with the photos of Pompeii. I will make no attempt to differentiate between the different houses etc. Just too much like hard work. But I came in past the amphitheatre, which may be rather obvious!
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| A nice straight Roman road. As you can see, hardly overrun by tourists |
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| If you are wondering about the squares, these were the pictures that the original excavators were after. they chipped them out and sold them off. Many are now in the archaeological museum. |
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| A bath you wouldn't mind having in your house today. |
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| The theatre is one of the most popular tourist destinations as you can see. Several tourists. |
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