Italy, part VI - Pompeii (iii) - the amphitheatre, and more blue skies

Sentence of the day: "We’re 2 years away from the roaring 20’s and if you think I’m not gonna party like Gatsby from 2020-2029 then you’re absolutely wrong old sport." (source)

I walked the length and breadth of Pompeii with the English guys, one of whom had bought a guidebook from the bookstore and was the history buff of the team, which was helpful since he was the one doing all the map reading and providing us with all the fun facts and history tidbits. Once upon a time that person would have been me, but when you're hopping cities and on the move and travelling alone, you have less energy for that. I was usually the Hermione of the group, and would morph into Harry during the latter half of the adventure ("Just crack open the emergency hatch and remove it, nobody's going to notice"), but it's nice to be Ron as well. Or Neville. Or Seamus.

For me, one of the highlights of Pompeii were the remarkably well preserved amphitheatres, as well as the Temple of Apollo, which I covered in my previous entry. The amphitheatres, of which there were at least two, were quite perfect in their circumference and state of being. As I would be visiting the Collosseum in a few days, this felt like an homage to the real thing, or a rehearsal, if you will. Nothing can measure up to the gargantuan, haughty and barbaric splendour of the Collosseum, but for a town of a population of 15000, this pristine and well preserved amphitheatre was enough for me to cut my eyetooth on for the time being.

An open rooftop bar, circa AD 79 and before

Millennia-old graffiti