Day Four: A Beautiful Day in the city of Pompeii

I used a few filters on my phone camera to mess with the photo above.  Today, we visited Pompeii and our guide, Lucy, asked our group to try and imagine the city as it was before the eruption of Vesuvius.  I changed the bright blue sunny day into one with an ominous red hue.  I don't think Lucy meant, right before the eruption, but we hit some traffic on the drive home and I had some extra time to meddle with the picture.

This morning, we had an early wake up call.  Even though it is Easter Monday (a state and religious holiday), we were anticipating traffic on our journey. Joanna and Flavia wanted to make sure we arrived on time.  The morning's bus ride was uneventful, to be honest.  Most of us caught some extra Zzz's.  I even got some shut eye!  About halfway through the trek, we stopped at a rest stop.  I really enjoy rest stops in foreign countries.  I think it is a fun way to compare your world with someone else's.  I should have grabbed a photo from within, but it slipped my mind.

The entrance of the Rest Stop after I realized I should have taken photos inside.

An excited bus ready to see Pompeii

Some of things the kids said about the rest stop visit really interested me.  First, they kept saying that the people inside hated them (they didn't).  The kids are a little self conscious about speaking Italian and holding up lines, but they've all done great. These trips are about building independency.  You can see it developing in our Eurotrippers.  The kids were also intrigued by the system in this shop.  It is common in Italy, but you pay for things like coffee or pastries before you order them. Basically, you go to the cashier and tell them you want an Espresso.  They collect your money and give you a receipt. You go to the café and hand the receipt to a different person who prepares your order.  You are then free to go.  I am not sure, but that might be how Wawa works too, lol.  It was overheard that the rests top cappuccino was the best folks have had so far, lol.  Another aspect of the Italian rest stop culture that shook the kids nerves was the pace of most Italians.  In Rome, they appear so leisurely.  In a rest stop, they are flying around on warp speed.  It might have just been because we were there on a holiday weekend, but it did seem a little rushed.

We made our way into Pompeii, but before we did, Flavia gave us a quick lesson on some key Italian phrases.  It was fun hearing the kids rolling their Rs and practicing the lesson.  Flavia lives close by to Pompeii and she was very proud of her region. Her team played Rome today in an important soccer match, but only drew the draw.  In Pompeii, we took a short demonstration of a Cameo Jewelry shop.  We watched someone hand crafting their work and then were able to browse their shop...their might be some nice gifts headed home from this visit.

After our demonstation, we went into Pompeii.  Our large group was divided into two smaller groups.  This is a Covid protocol of sorts.  It is also the reason why my pictures of Pompeii might not have all of the kids.  I did, try to catch them all, but apologize if I missed anyone.

Our guide was Lucy and the other group had Massimo.  We use these whisper headsets to hear the guides.  It is a good system and because these places are busy, it certainly helps to hear what is being said.  EF provides them to the group for a few of our visits.  

Lucy's group sitting in the theater 

Massimo's group on the way inside.

The tour of Pompeii lasts about two hours.  It runs fairly smoothly even with lots of people there.  For Covid, we put masks on when we were in crowded spaces or walked inside.  In fact, there was an attendant reminding folks to mask up at several spots.  Our kids have been great, so far, with putting masks on when needed...as I knew they would be.  The weather was absolutely perfect for the visit.  It was sunny, but not overly hot.  Every once in a while, a cool breathe would blow up from the Mediterranean.  A few of us definitely are getting some color on this trip.  I can feel a slight sunburn near my ears, lol.  

As we progress through the entrance, the tour took us to the theater.  Here our guides explained who had what seats, who performed, and what kind of shows were popular.  When we left the theater, we made our way into the main city.  The guides described what ancient fast food would look like.  We examined the homes of working class folks and those of the elite Pompeian ruling class too.  We also learned a little about the belief system of Pompeii and their devotion to fertility, lol.  Two of the more intriguing parts of the tour included the brothel and the body casting.  I have a few pictures below. I will explain them in the captions...and a few might be a little risque.  I apologize in advance!

A Pompeii street.  The rut was made by carriages 2000 yrs ago.

The inner court yard of a wealthy Pompeii home. A cistern would collect water for that basin.

This is the casting of a woman who perished at Pompeii. Lucy explained how they knew it was a woman and how the castings were done.  There are several of these throughout the city, but this is the only one we saw up close.

This was the private chamber of a prostitute. Lucy was able to respectfully explain how the role of these women was important to their society.

This snake was painted outside of the prostitute's home. The intertwined snake coils, according to Lucy, gave rise to our "Crossed Fingers" for good luck. 

These two frescos were painted in the brothel.  There were additional images painted therein. They are strangely docile for what was being sold there many years ago. Again, Lucy did an admiral job of explaining the historical importance of this place while being cognizant of our sensibilities.

This type of imagery is fairly frequent in Pompeii. It symbolizes the importance of the male in procreation at the time of Pompeii's destruction.  I really hope this doesn't offend anyone (or get my blog banned), but it is part of the past.  It's just another example of how cultures that are different than ours can seem strange and out of place, but learning about them makes it more humane.

When we completed our tour of the ancient ruins, we were able to take a few minutes for some photos of our group.  I highly encourage you to ask the kids, when you see them next, to take you through their Pompeii pictures. It's only just now that I am realizing that I didn't get any of the fast food places or the working class home.  I am also realizing that we didn't see the communal bathroom either.  There is only so much to see in the time we had allotted.  On the bus ride home, when Joanna asked the kids their opinion of Pompeii (they all seemed to love it), many said they were shocked at how huge it was. I think they were expecting something the size of the Iron Works.  

With our Pompeii tour complete, it was time for lunch.  We took a quick walk to a restaurant for some pizza and pasta.  Naples (near to Pompeii) is the historical home of Pizza.  We all had some lofty expectations for the pizza today and it did not disappoint.  I over embellished the quality of our dinner the other night, but this meal was on point.

A beautiful fresh salad with a light oil dressing set the tone!

I was so hungry, I started eating before my picture.  This was close to the perfect pizza. I could eat a thousand of them.

While we ate, we were blessed by a special presentation. The restaurant's parking attendant came into our dining chamber and sang three songs for us.  Everyone really loved listening to him sing and play.

We had a few minutes of free time after lunch.  The kids went off looking for the perfect souvenir and I saw overlooking the small square with a cappuccino.  Before I sat, however, I had a short, but sweet conversation with one of the vendors.  I walked by his table casually looking at his t-shirts and he informed me that he would give me a discount (every vendor offered one, lol), but I said I was all set and that I was just walking past. I then said something like, "I'm just glad to be here, and to see so many people, and to feel...normal again."  He said he agreed.  The pandemia, he said, was very difficult for all of the vendors and that he is so glad to see everyone again.  It was a simple conversation, but one that has been had thousands of times across hundreds of nations among total strangers.  There was a look in his eye that showed incredible relief...I see that look in many eyes.  

We got onto the bus and began our ride home to the hotel.  The traffic we were warned about definitely delayed our return. This trip, most of the bus was lively.  You could hear chatter and laughter the whole ride home.  Kids were being kids...it was surreal. It was great.  They even got Mrs. Comproni and Mrs. Hashem to play a game.  I can't remember its name, but its like digital charades.  The phone gives you a work (you can't see it) and the other folks have to mimic the word until you guess it correctly or pass.

Roughly an hour after we anticipated, we arrived back to Hotel Papillo.  Ours dinner was served immediately, but it was apparent that a lot of the kids were starting to fade.  It is crazy how these trips work.  Some days, we crush over 20k steps and are hyped up on excitement. Other days, we barely scratch 10k and have hours of downtime...but in both, the kids are exhausted. I think it is information overload, lol.  It happens to teachers all of the time.  We get so many questions that our brain activity can completely wear us out.  It's good to see it happening to kids sometimes too.

For dinner, we had a vegetable pie appetizer. It was spinach based and pretty good. For the main course, we had pasta with ham and peas.  It probably has a fancy Italian name, lol, but I must have missed it.  Tell me in the comments, lol.  Dessert was a small chocolate cake.  I should take a quick minute, here, to remind everyone reading about how important EF takes food safety and sensibility.  We have a few allergies and dietary restrictions on this trip. Joanna, as the tour director, is constantly making sure the providers have adequate selections for those who required them.  I don't have pictures of those options, but I am glad that they are available.

Tomorrow, we have another full day.  We are headed to the Vatican. I heard that we may not get inside of St. Peter's Basilica though.  The Pope is leading a mass there tomorrow while our tour is going to be running.  I am hoping that he hears that Saugus is nearby and decides to swing by and say hello...I mean, I do follow him on Twitter...there is a chance he's read this blog!!!  Even if we don't get in to the Basilica, we will have an amazing time. 

Speaking of time, it is time for me to wrap up and do second bed checks...the kids have been great about going to bed on time and not being noisy.  I truly love doing these trips in part because of how respectful our kids are to me, the other chaperons, and those we meet along the way.  Getting off of the bus this evening, I stood by the door.  I was so pleased that every single child who exited near Rosario said thank you...in English and/or Italian. Some of the other kids, who got off mid-bus actually said thank you as well.  It is the little things that I love to see.  I think if I had a mirror, I would have seen that Vendor's eye in my own reflection. It is sooo good to be back out in the world.  Thank you to all who made this possible for our 29 students.  I hope these memories last forever!

Mr. Lavoie, currently finishing the last diet coke in all of Rome while putting the finishing touches on his blog.  (Seriously, there is no more diet coke here. It's regular coke and coke zero. I bought a four pack from the grocery store the other day and haven't seen a trace of it anywhere else).