Day 14: Pompeii

Walls of Pompeii
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Breakfast @ 7:30...we get omellettes, smily-face potato thingies, beans, and leftover lasagna - awesome! We're on the road at 8:30 to head to Pompeii - everyone is coming except for Terry who is sick, and Jess, who is trying to sort out her passport mess. As per usual, the entire bus quickly falls off to sleep. We have one stop, and arrive about noon. Pompeii was a Roman city that was buried by the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in 79 A.D. It's now been excavated, and is incredibly well preserved.   We have a guided tour through the site for about 2 hours, which is excellent. The guide is very knowledgeable and has a lot of interesting information to share. We are shown various structures from the ancient city, including houses, shops, bathhouses, theatres, temples and markets. Most people are a fan of the House of Prostitutes, with its "menu" pictures inside. We also notice penises etched on a few walls - apparently it is a symbol of luck and fertility. And 2000 years later, people are still drawing them on whiteboards and frosted windows!

Group Photo in Pompeii
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We are told about the Roman lifestyle and it sounds pretty good to me - typically 1 or 2 hours of work per day, and the rest of the time devoted to enjoying life! Lots of eating, drinking, music, sex, theatre, socializing etc. etc. After our tour, Jeff, Ting and I wander around a bit more...the site is actually quite huge, as it's a full size city, so one can't hope to see it all in the brief time we have, but we get a pretty good sampling. Luckily, the day is a bit overcast, so we don't perish in what would've been deadly sun (there's not really any shade anywhere). We get back to our pick up spot by 3, and board the bus once again for the trip back to camp. Our crew attempts to put on Hero for us to watch, but they can't get the subtitles to work properly, so instead we get Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever. Blech, most everyone goes to sleep instead, including me.

We are told about the Roman lifestyle and it sounds pretty good to me...

Theatre in Pompeii
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It's raining when we get back, which cools things off a bit. I wash up, then the other 2 amigos and I go to the restaurant for dinner - we all get the pasta + veal special, which is quite good of course. I wander down to the camp office to use the internet for a while, then grab a beer and hang out with our group outside the trailers. Somehow, Big Willy agrees to get a haircut - I guess his shaggyness has been an irritant to some people. Using Terry's razor, Kylie (with the help of Wellsy and Terry) shaves almost all of it off, but they leave a mullet in the back that can only be described as "odd", or perhaps "hideous". A few people, especially Sarah and Tori, are so horrified by it they insist they shave the rest of it off, but Big Willy decides he likes it. There is red hair everywhere afterward, and it looks like some cats have fought to the death.

Streets of Pompeii
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There is supposedly a toga party at the bar, so Willy and Jimmy dress up and head down there only to find they are the only ones in togas. They are soon backed up by Ryan, Jeff, Lamar and Wellsy (who has created a toga out of his purple bed sheet), and they earn a free shot for their efforts. A few others begin to trickle in with the correct attire...I make a feeble attempt to create a toga, fail, and opt for bed instead. I hear rumours the next day that Wellsy picked up a German girl and ended up going back to her tent, but this cannot be confirmed by me...