Echoes

A visit to Pompeii today. Living in the Lake District, you’d think I’d be used to lots of tourists, but it was just madness today. Standing room only on the train getting there, but fortunately only a short queue for the entrance tickets. We were going to hire a guide but, just as we almost had a big enough group, one family left saying they couldn’t wait any longer. Well, we weren’t prepared to wait around on the off chance that more people would join us so decided to go it alone, armed only with a map.
Didn’t really need a guide, as it happened, as every few yards you would pass a massive tour party and could overhear what their guide was saying. Learnt quite a lot like that! In five hours we had barely scratched the surface, despite walking over five miles. In the end, it was just too crowded and too hot and we found we couldn’t take any more in so hightailed it for the exit. Even managed a seat on the train back to Sorrento, which was very welcome after all that walking. We should sleep well tonight.
The site is very impressive and would probably need a couple more visits to fully appreciate everything that can be seen. Having been born and brought up in Chester, I am not entirely unfamiliar with Roman remains and I’m afraid Pompeii just seemed to be more of the same. A lot more, granted, but one Domus looks very like another. I would have been much more interested to see exhibits about the eruption of Vesuvius and the burial of Pompeii as well as how it was subsequently discovered and made into what it is today.
You might think that today’s title perhaps refers to echoes of the past. But, in conjunction with the picture, those who know my musical tastes will know that I am referring to a slightly more recent (comparatively) event…