Pompei

We took the Metro to Garibaldi and caught the Circumvesuvio train to Pompei. It took us a little while to get ourselves orientated but we did okay eventually with the online map and a copy of the Rough Guide to make sure we didn’t miss anything important. The site is a little overwhelming at fist, in terms of its sheer size and complexity but its fascinating once you settle in and allow yourself to just roam around and take it all in. The Forum and Theatres are highlights, for sure, but its also amazing just how much you can sense of day to day life of the place when the remains are so complete – rows of shops and tavernas interspersing  the villas and houses give a real sense of bustle and life. We walked down to the House of Mysteries and came out of the exit there, following the road back down to the station in a tired and slightly shellshocked manner but recovered later with some very good pizza (not to mention deep-fried courgette flowers stuffed with lemon and ricotta) at Acunzo in Vomero…