Wednesday, 18 Apr 2012

Location: Rome, Italy

As Fiona is having trouble with loading photos I've put just a couple up from my phone from yesterday and today. They aren't as good as the previous pictures but you'll be seeing plenty more as soon as the girls get home! You might want to ask for the highlights reel as some girls have had to buy an extra memory card!

The girls have had a fabulous day, one of the best of the trip with the visit to Pompeii and the Museum in Naples. Particular highlights below...
Cassie and Kestin enjoyed walking through everything at Pompeii, with the brothel getting a special mention. The wall paintings which served as the 'menu' have been particularly well preserved. Enough said. Jessy and Frances commented on the fast food store and it was interesting that current pizza ovens are still quite like the one we saw today. Rachel enjoyed the view across Naples during the impromptu drive that Emanuele took as on as we were a little early for our visit to the museum. Louisa commented on the the massive sculptures at the museum and Lauren enjoyed learning the interpretation of one particular statue - at first she thought that the two men were trying to save the woman but it turns out they were trying to kill her! The statues were very detailed and Frances commented on the folds in the fabric on the statue of Augustus. Bella felt that the household artefacts from Pompeii were what made this museum different. Tessa was moved by being where others died during the visit to Pompeii and Sophie commented that the guide humanised the memory of those who died, with comments like they were so clever and just like us. Zoe felt that the feeling of Pompeii was preserved, and she could really understand the cosmopolitan nature of the city. Anna's highlight was the theatre and how real the restoration was. While we were waiting in line for the old brothel a man started chatting with me about where we were from and Evie enjoyed the interconnection of cultures as he was from Shanghai and translated our conversation for the friend he was travelling with. All of the girls have enjoyed seeing the mosaics and some more of the works they study in three dimensional form.

Vita and a couple of girls enjoyed a traditional Margarita pizza at lunch which was quite special as Laura had just told them how that pizza came to be named. Seeing Mt Vesuvius (through cloud) was also a highlight of the day.
Vishmi's highlight from Pompeii was the raised pedestrian crossing stones and for Emma it was discovering the heating system in the space between the walls in the public baths.

Maddy G was particularly pleased to discover that her archaeological skills are now finely honed as she correctly identified an unlabeled room at the large house in Pompeii as the pantry room.

Final day tomorrow and it's going to be a busy one!