Pyroclastic Flow...

From the name of this post, you may have expected to read about something science-y. Or perhaps you thought I was naming my debut rap album. Either way, you were mistaken, which is probably a good thing. You'll understand soon enough. So, today I would like to begin (finally) telling you about our trip to Italy!!! Hooray! It's only been a month since we went there. Well, better late than never, right? I kept telling myself that I would resume blogging once the new house is in order. Then, I came to the realization that there will always be a to-do list involving the house. Thus, I would never get around to writing if I waited for that time to come. Anyway, Italia!!!

Way back on June 27th, hubs and I landed at Naples International Airport in southern Italy. We'd hardly had a chance to adjust our eyes to the Italian sunshine when we were further blinded by a group of disrobing, rowdy Brits. They had waited just long enough to exit the building before their shirts came off and their beer bottles were opened. And they were white. I mean, brand new, untouched, powdery snow white. Guess they were excited to get their tan on, but it was too early in the morning for me to be seeing chubby flesh glistening with spilled alcoholic beverages. And I thought people in Oklahoma were supposed to be rednecks.

Gratefully, we were soon rescued by Mrs. T, our lovely hostess with the mostess. (Why is that an expression?) Quick explanation: Mr. and Mrs. T are the parents of one of my best friends from college. In fact, that friend also lives here in Houston now! Small world. It's smaller still when you consider that my dad and Mr. T were fraternity pledge brothers when they were in college twenty-something years ago! Crazy that the connection began so long ago. Mr. T is stationed in Naples with the U.S. Navy. He and Mrs. T generously opened their home/palace (...no really, it's a renovated palace) to Matthew and me. I cannot express how wonderful it was to stay with them. It was the lap of luxury - a 500 year old villa, complete with Renaissance frescoes on the ceiling. And ridiculously gorgeous views.

When standing on their living room balcony, this was what we saw! Seriously? Talk about a sight for sore eyes. I could have sat there all day, soaking up the rays and enjoying the bay breeze. It's easy to see why Mr. and Mrs. T love living there.

Ok, so back to the airport. Mrs. T met hubs and I to transfer our luggage to her car and to send us on our merry way to our first excursion. The sweet lady brought us water (thank God because Italy is hot!), snacks, directions, and instructions on how to get to Pompeii. Off we went on the bus headed for the train station. Finally, a rickety and sweltering train ride later, we disembarked at the ancient ruins of Pompeii. 

Honestly, I did not know much about Pompeii besides what the Discovery Channel special programs have told me. And furthermore, Matthew and I are too cheap to pay double the admission fee for a guided tour. Therefore, I must admit that I did not learn all that much from simply looking at the rocks and artifacts. We did, however, take every opportunity to hitch ourselves onto the back of tour groups and eavesdrop. I got my 11 euros worth of information.

Pompeii and the nearby village of Herculaneum are well known because they were destroyed, almost instantaneously, by a volcano in 79AD. I took this picture overlooking the main forum toward Vesuvius, which is the name of the villainous volcano in the background. Vesuvius spewed its ashes onto Pompeii from an astonishing five miles away, burying its residents under 15 feet of debris in only a few hours. Those who survived the initial blast were killed the next morning when the first pyroclastic flow of hot ash and molten gases hit. The fiery mixture clogged the lungs and caused death by suffocation. How tragic and terrifying! Needless to say, I found these ruins to have an eery and somber atmosphere.

Before I visited, I failed to understand what a thriving city Pompeii was. It was home to approximately 10,000 people, and had all the makings of an established community. There were even spas and brothels! It was amazing to see the murals and architecture that have been well preserved for nearly 2000 years.

On the outskirts of the main roads was an amphitheater. It is the oldest surviving Roman amphitheater in the world. As impressive as it was, I especially loved the cool tall trees on the right. They provided me with much needed shade. Did I mention that it was hot?

Inside the amphitheater, some of the original stadium seating remains in tact. In the center of the ground circle there was an iron spike leftover from the gladiatorial games. It would have been used for tethering animals or other adversaries for 'entertainment' purposes. Brutal. (Please excuse Matthew's crazed expression. He wasn't into having his picture taken on this particular day.)

Like I said before, I found Pompeii to be a sobering place. People spent their lives here. They were born and died here. Had families and friends (and prostitutes.) Then, it was all wiped off the face of the earth in one swoop. Sad. Very sad.  

Because of the nature of its destruction, Pompeii entombed many of its inhabitants and livestock in the positions in which they perished. The bodies were remarkably maintained by the heat and ashes. These are not plaster casts or recreations. They are the actual human beings. Again, how awful.

It seemed almost cruel to be gawking at them like this. (PS - If you ever want to find Americans in Italy, go to Pompeii. More American English spoken there than I had heard since our visit to the States in March.)

This poor woman was pregnant when she was killed by the eruption.

Last depressing image of the day, I promise. This Pompeian looks to have curled up in the corner during his (or her?) final moments.

Despite the horror and devastation, Pompeii did have a certain beauty to it. In a lot of ways, the flowers, trees, and weather reminded me of my time spent studying abroad in Spain. Must be the Mediterranean thing.

Am I the only one who wonders what the ruins from our modern-day civilizations will look like? Or is that morbid?

Pardon the couple pictures from this trip. Seems like every time we wanted to document our whereabouts, we were sweaty and disheveled. Of course, Matthew never looks worse for wear, but his smile here was slightly forced. He was hot. I was hot. Literally. Did I mention it was hot?

Officially overheated, it was time to get back to the palace. Mr. and Mrs. T were waiting for us, and so was this little bundle of joy - Lily!

Isn't she precious? Even Matthew (who is notorious for his hatred of toy-sized dogs) took a liking to her. She made us super excited to see our baby Bullitt!

Once Lily kissed us goodnight, we went up to the guestroom and watched the sun go down on the port of Pozzuoli. I'm not sure you can beat an Italian sunset. Something about the colors of the buildings is indefinably spectacular.

Thanks to the hospitality of our hosts, Matthew and I were able to afford several more excursions over the next few days. And each one got better and better. Next time, I'll take you to the island of Ischia!