August 24, 2007

Pompeii, Italy

Pompeii was more magnificent than I had imagined.  I didn’t make Pompeii a priority on my travels because I had already seen the ancient town of Ostia Antica ten years ago and my instructor/tour guide always made me believe that Pompeii wasn’t worth the time due to the heavy throngs of tourists who visited the site.  I believed that Ostia Antica was the better alternative if you want to see an ancient city because it was less crowded, but I don’t remember that Ostia had the beautiful frescoes or mosaics still in tact as Pompeii does.  I was completely taken away by the size and preservation of Pompeii.  If you go early enough, the crowds are not as bad.  For some reason, the tourist groups like to arrive to all sites after noon, when the sun is the hottest.

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