I forgot to mention another old Italian archeologist and history lover who came with us from Rome. His name is Maurizio and when the trip started, he came to each and everyone of us in the bus, and introduced himself. Ciao! Ciao! Ciao!And so we were off to discover Pompeii. Most of us stayed with Claudio and Maurizio to hear the history of the ancient city. The entrance to the city is cool - there is a little nook inside the wall where a guard used to stand to guard entry into the city. The rest of the city is filled with ruins and temples, some like this one with altars for sacrifices.
It is surprising how well preserved the paintings on the walls are and how beautifully and well designed the city was. This is a fresco painting of the birth of Venus found on one of the walls in a Villa. 
These stones on the ground were made high because when it rained, the streets would flood, so these stepping stones allowed the people of Pompeii to cross the street without having water up to their knees. Very smart city planning!
This picture is actually of the floor. The Pompeiians even designed their floors with perfect designs! It's surprising how detailed and artistic such an ancient people were.
This is a penis on the wall that has wings. Apparently, it meant good luck to the people of Pompaii. 
Claudio also showed us where they used to dye their clothes. They used to dye fabrics using urine, so in the middle of the roads in Pompeii you can sometimes see these huge bowls in which, if the people had to urinate, they can do it in that bowl and contribute their urine to the city of Pompeii for dying fabrics! There was also an area for the making of wine. We also saw a huge house which apparently is 3 houses combined, it belonged to a noble who bought all 3 houses and turned it into a huge house with a little courtyard and garden and all. It is also interesting how the city was structured in that all of the houses were down huge strips of street and they looked like neighborhoods, and everything else (the temples, etc), are completely seperated from the homes of the people. I just think its cool that that is exactly how we have our cities planned out too, homes with neighborhoods and city centers.Also, fun fact, Pompeii had the very first whorehouse in the whole world. I didn't get to see it, but apparently it is filled with beds and sexual paintings all over the wall.
Of course, we also saw some of the bodies of the people of Pompeii who were preserved from the volcanic ash. There was even a dog! It's really weird. The first person looks like a pregnant woman. The second person looks like he's praying (maybe he got down and prayed when the madness started happening after Mount Vesuvius erupted?) You can see the finger bones, teeth, and the skull in the pictures of the next people. The last picture is that of a dog. You can see his collar on him.
I then told Gaby, Jason, and David to take a picture with me and pose in the way which we would be stuck in if we were covered in volcanic ash! Not funny, but at the same time, pretty damn funny!
Dogs were really important to the people of Pompeii and they accepted them and welcomed them into their city. So today, you can donate money and adopt a dog of Pompeii. Abandoned and stray dogs are fed and taken care of in the ancient city. I even got to play with a couple of them and I met the dog who is on the cover of the brochure that promotes adopting a dog! So cute!
After a long day and a horrible neck pain thanks to the bus ride from the day before, we got on our bus and headed back to Rome. It was a fun weekend, I loved it! Can't wait to have more.
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