We can't leave Pompeii without showing one or two of the deceased (re-casted) corpses and some of the excavated artifacts. This scratches the surface of Pompeii, as there was a lot more to see and understand, including more personal details such as their communal cold, warm, and hot bathing system (and toilet areas).

Here is a mostly complete fresco from the Mystery Villa, one of the larger villas in Pompeii. Most of the fresco's and other art we're removed by earlier archeologists ("diggers" as Patricia put it). The decorations and artistry contained within the houses (and city) must have been something to behold. Us, we just slap a few cheap paintings and photos on the walls and call it good ;-). Also, here are the four of us standing in what used to be the temple to Apoll...

Someone's in the kitchen with Malinda (think of that old song about Dinah...). Here is Malinda with our guide in a residential kitchen plus some pics of other in-home areas. Most houses had an entryway/atrium with an open roof in order to collect rainwater. Most other rooms fanned out from the atrium. There was no wasted space in these homes.

We had another private tour arranged from the port of Naples to see both Pompeii and Mt. Vesuvius, Pompeii first. We had a separate driver (Fabio) and guide (Patricia). The ruins Of Pompeii (and their reconstruction) are both amazing and surreal. Patricia gave us tips on how to interpret different details so we could try to visualize what things might have been like and how to recognize the purposes of various structures and rooms. It's surprising to see the adv...