mascaras meet the mediterranean, part six: pompeii and naples.

After spending time in Florence and Rome, we continued down the coast and arrived in Naples. We took yet another tour bus to the ancient city of Pompeii.

Here are a few things we learned while exploring:

1. The city was buried under ash after Mt. Vesuvius erupted in 79 AD, and was rediscovered in 1748. You can see Mt. Vesuvius in the background of most of the pictures.

2. The bodies that were buried under the ash can be made into molds and poured to resemble the shape of the people that were buried. Creepy? Yes. Kind of cool? Also yes.3. Pompeii in September is HOT. No shade + lots of sun = redness + thirst. Sunscreen and water are your friends.4. These street names go way back. They used pictures of people and animals instead of words (the marble tile was added later).5. Speaking of animals, there are plenty of them wandering around the streets of Pompeii, in the form of stray dogs. They will really like you if you give them a drink of water.6. Some people in Pompeii were rich. So rich they had houses that were the size of a city block with gardens inside of them.7. Fast food is not a new concept. This is the ancient version of a fast food restaurant. I wonder where they made the fries?8. I'm glad I'm alive in 2009 instead of 79 AD, or I'd consider this a toilet.9. The Pompeiians (if that's the right word?) knew how to build! There were tons of artifacts and ruins to look at. We didn't even get to go through the whole city and we were there for about 4 hours.
10. Pompeii is a beautiful place to visit!

Naples had some lessons for us as well:

1. It is okay to give up after walking several miles if you still cannot find the restaurant that your travel guide recommends. The random restaurant you walk pass while searching will probably be better anyway. If you find this restaurant, eat there. Trust me.
2. Caprese salad is always the best kind of salad.

3. It should not be assumed that pizzas in Naples are meant to be eaten individually even though they are only 6 euro. It should be assumed, however, that the pizzas will be the most delicious pizzas you will ever eat in your life, so you will be happy when you don't have to share!

4. Naples is a dirty city. And it's a little scary. Most buildings, even the old churches have graffiti on them. Here are a few of the prettier places we saw while trying to find our restaurant...

We definitely gained some valuable knowledge on our trip to Naples and Pompeii. Next up, we're off to the beautiful island of Santorini, Greece!