Field trip to Southern Italy!

March 15-18 our school took a field trip to Napoli, Ercolano, Paestum, and Pompei. It was my first time getting to venture through Southern Italy, and it was definitely an experience! Ercolano and Pompei were two  cities that were greatly affected by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius. Pompei is obviously one that we have heard about numerous times in school, however I had no idea that Ercolano was the city that was the closest to the mountain itself. In that time, Ercolano was the rich city of the area, containing the fanciest of people and the finest of jewels. Pompei was the largest of the cities, as you can feel when you walk through it today. It was so surreal walking through both of them, with so many aspects of the towns so greatly preserved after thousands of years. I couldn't help but imagine what life was like back then, and what the city really looked like when it was new and beautiful, filled with life by it's inhabitants. What hit me the most was seeing some of the preserved corpses in Pompei that was literally like looking into the exact moment of death for these innocent people. Their bodies were preserved in the way that they had died; some were crouching, some with their hands up and screaming, some were just lying just as if they had fallen, etc. It felt so eerie to me, as I felt that I was glancing into their intimate last moment of life, looking upon as a stranger among these people in their eternally preserved state, unable to imagine the fear that must have inhabited their bodies in those very moments. Seeing these two places was most definitely an impacting and humbling experience that reminded me that we are slaves upon the force of mother nature. We really shouldn't be taking it for granted!

Paestum was quite a bit less tragic, being a small little town that was only famous for it's numerous beautifully preserved Greek temples. We got to walk through the whole ancient area of the town and see all of the Greek ruins, as well as getting to learn about the way that they lived life in their time. The temples were absolutely amazing- I couldn't believe that they were built in the BC era and are still standing so magestic and detailed to this day. 

We stayed in Napoli all three nights, but only got one full day there. Oh Napoli.....

I literally felt like I was in another country! It's so much different from the rest of Italy that I've seen. My first impression as we were driving in were that there are absolutely no rules at all. There was a roundabout with no stop signs or lines, and so many cars going in so many different directions, all about to run into each other and inching along, beeping and cussing the whole way through. It seemed like something completely normal however, as there were no police to stop them. Walking through the streets had a completely different feel to it; everybody was running around, doing as they pleased, dancing, singing, drinking...etc. The view from our hotel room was incredible. We got the view of the whole coast and the ocean, along with the city. I couldn't get enough of it! The pizza.....oh dear lord the pizza. If you don't already know, pizza was born in Napoli, most famously the Pizza Margherita (tomato, basil, mozzarella). It was THE most delicious pizza that I have put in my mouth. The crust was the most perfect consistency, thin in the middle and a soft, fluffy, and thick crust on the outside. They put just the right amount of sauce not to over do the flavor, accompanied with the lovely fresh mozzarella cheese. It was so simple, but I was in heaven. Our day in Napoli we just decided to walk around and see the city to get a feel of what life was like there. We came to one part of town which was clearly not the best part, but I feel like that's where you really get a feel of the culture. There were hundreds of mopeds just going through the streets, more so than cars actually, and seeing who was driving them was the most interesting part. There were families and grocery bags all on one scooter, people driving up next to each other and yelling and waving their hands in the air, having perfectly normal conversations while driving. Really...like nothing I've ever seen...anywhere. Walking through the little streets gave me an idea of the every day life...I saw clothing lines from apartment buildings to other apartment buildings across from each other, graffiti everywhere, venders along the streets, men playing Italian music as you walk up and down the little roads...just a completely different feeling. It was so interesting to get to experience, as I have always felt very comfortable with everything about northern and central Italy...this just gave me a whole new look on it all. There were such beautiful little parts to the town, especially the city center. There were even palm trees and beaches, which reminded me so much of home! This city is alive with culture and empty of rules...which gives it so much character! I hope to return someday so that I can explore it in greater depth, and indulge one some more wonderfully magical pizza.