FACT: Pompei Was Buried In Lava Because A Roman Train Got Lost And Crashed Into Mount Vesuvius

3/29/2009 6:40pm
Napoli Train Station

In the ruins of Pompei I managed to entertain myself for quite a while by taking exceedingly ridiculous photographs of myself using my camera's 10 second timer. Unfortunately, ten seconds is a very long time to set up a photograph and my camera soon ran out of batteries, at which point I almost broke it with a FINAL PHOTO for the day.

I had poised the camera on a rail that was especially exposed to the wind. No sooner had I posed in the ancient bath when I saw my camera tumble off its perch. Aside from the blind luck with which I navigated to the ruins of Pompei, the next thirty minutes I spent fixing my camera proved to be the highlight of the day.

The ruins themselves were nothing spectacular but may have looked a little better in the sun. However, I was struck on several occasions by thte realization that I was walking through something that was distinctly a city, with streets and houses and shops (presumably). Pompei was rather big.

I also took a brief stroll around Napoli in the vicinity of the station. It had a very sleazy feel to it, though I imagine a rooftop view might have been gorgeous on a better day. A man across from me has an asymmetrical haircut and is dressed in a rainbow striped wife beater. For the past few hours I have been checking my pockets incessantly and staring accusatively at every person I encounter. I am all ready to leave this place.

This just in! Apparently, there are statues with penises in Pompei. Had I hired a tour guide or gathered even the slightest amount of historical information, I might have found them. What a shame.