Pompeii and Overnight Ferry to Greece

On the morning of July 5^th we left Sorrento and made our way over to Pompeii. Pompeii is an ancient Roman city, which was destroyed by the volcano Vesuvius in 79 AD. The eruption covered the city with lava, rock and ash, preserving the Roman city extremely well. The ruins of Pompeii show theaters, marketplaces, temples, stores and houses, all very well preserved from their construction before 79 AD.
The gate to the city:

All the columns and structures are originals from before 79 AD, except for the statue, which was placed there after excavations began in 1748.


Since the volcano blast happened so fast, people were unable to rush to safety, and almost everyone died. Bodies covered in hardened volcanic lava were found in their original positions.
A crouching body:

Body of a person lying down and covering their face, protecting it from the ash and lava:

We also saw the ruins of the Roman baths. I remember learning about all the different rooms and procedures of Roman baths in my 4^th year Engineering History class, and it was so interesting to walk through the ruins of what used to be a real Roman bath! The Roman baths were a sort of “spa”, where the men and women were separated. They went through a series of rooms, some for cooling off, some for heating up, others for relaxing, and they always had a beautiful garden in the middle.
Some photos from the baths:



It’s incredible to see all the structures so well preserved after almost 2000 years! The whole layout of the town is visible, and we were able to walk through the streets. On either side of the narrow Roman roads we could see the ruins of what used to be shops and houses, divided up into individual units.



We went inside the ruins of what used to be a very large house, and saw 2000 year old frescos on the walls:

We were able to see the ruins of a brothel, where male and female prostitutes were available for service. A sort of graphic “menu” of services was displayed on the walls in the frescos:

Beds were provided for convenience:

It was so interesting to walk through the streets of what used to be a Roman city almost 2000 years ago. Actually, the ruins of Pompeii were one of the key locations providing historians vast amounts of knowledge of the lives of ancient Romans.
From Pompeii we drove to the city of Brindisi, on the Adriatic Sea, to board our ferry “hotel” for our overnight trip to the Island of Corfu, in Greece.
The ferry reception looked just like a hotel, and we were all given room keys to small rooms with ensuite bathrooms. The ferry had a restaurant, a bar, a sitting area, and a top deck. We spent our 8 hour, overnight ferry ride hanging out in the numerous areas and finally attempting to sleep in the rather uncomfortable beds. Unfortunately I took no photos of the inside of the ferry.
We arrived in Greece at 5am the next morning completely exhausted from the trip, and were able to witness the most beautiful sunrise:

We were ready and excited to begin our adventure in Greece!