I love ancient history, and have poured over history books and documentaries since I was a child. So when my family planned a trip to Italy, I knew I HAD to see Pompeii. I had been fascinated with this town ever since I saw a carbonized baked bread in a school book. The fact that life changed so suddenly and this town was erased from history in mere hours was shocking.
But unfortunately I found out we’d only have a short amount of time at Pompeii, likely less than 30 minutes. Since I had just completed a semester on Italian Art & Architecture (including Pompeii), so I decided to ditch the tour guide, and run willy-nilly throughout Pompeii taking in as much as I could. I easily could have spent a few days exploring, and so I didn’t stop moving. Below are some of my favorite shots from that 30 minutes!
The gladiator training grounds.
One of the amphitheaters.
Paintings in a home.
Mosaics on the floor.
A beautiful temple!
The streets of Pompeii.
Fourm of Pompeii
Columns at the Forum of Pompeii.
The view of Vesuvius.
Columns of a temple destroyed by an earthquake years before the eruption.
Last look of Pompeii, a beautiful column.
My parents said that they watched as I darted into buildings and out of sight. With me being so short, they resorted to looking for the tall lanky tourmate who was attempting to follow me. My mother said that even the local tour guide would stop mid sentence, mouth agape, as he realized I had disappeared so quickly. But it was so worth it.
Travel Missteps is an every-other week series on how sometimes part of the journey is making mistakes and getting lost.
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