Rome via Brooklyn

DOUBLE POST

660 words, 3 minutes read time.

Starting with such a yummy breakfast. Thank you free hotel meal with a coffee station and fresh fruit. It was a wonderful start to the day. As we entered the Herculaneum, I was shocked to see just how well preserved everything was. I do not have a vivid imagination, but the remains of the town alone painted a picture of the life it once had. The life it has now, a very cute cat under the shade, was a little treat to see along the way. The boat shocked me as well, 2000 year 2000-year-old wood and rope, preserved, a boat that was once used by people. One image I looked at with juxtaposition was the old ruins of Herculaneum, right by the new city, where people are really living. 

My favorite part was all the mosaics, especially near the water that they would have outside to keep cool, all the imagery, you can tell that they cared about aesthetics. All the innovative solutions, like the bathroom/sewage systems and the food storage, showed that life was all around us. We now have modern plumbing systems and refrigerators, and not only is it good to reflect on our evolution from the past, but it’s interesting to think about how things will change in the future. However, as Professor Yarrow said, people stick to what works, so I do not think a refrigerator will go out of style anytime soon. This is related to the museum where we saw the crib, jewelry, and other trinkets, which proves that some things never change. Some, like the ink and feather, do, and I wonder what that would look like in 2000 years. I guess it’s happening now with Apple Pencils and typing, less pen and paper. 

Of course, the frescos, the ones honoring the Gods or just decorating the walls, were amazing. Mixing the color into the wall itself was a great move, even surviving the eruption of a volcano. After the Herculaneum, we saw a 9/11 memorial (brief but wanted to mention bc intriguing), and had lunch (thank you, Professor Yarrow :)). I got this lemon pizza back when I was in Pompeii….. Jessica and I went to Pompei, where we saw Joseph and Dante. We wandered around the amphitheatre, saw the Pink Floyd exhibit, which was super cool (imagine watching a concert in the amphitheater of Pompeii, and imagine PREFORMING there, so crazy), then walked along a path near some houses. I liked the feel of Popmeii, how grand it was, and how many people must have lived there; it all resonated walking through. There were little gardens, large and small rooms, and more frescos. We saw a section of the necropolis with all the memorial statues and the plaster castings of the people who lost their lives in the explosion and were preserved. We did not see the kiss, but we did see people hugging and huddling, which shows that human nature and care for loved ones is not any time period specific. 

Jessica and I then had a train to catch to Sorrento, where we chatted with an older Canadian couple about our plans and their plans. I like how friendly people are and I really enjoyed the train ride, as we have had this trip longer and long time. I feel more desire to chat with people randomly and am more comfortable doing it (I think Jessica’s influence in a good way <3). On our way to dinner, the path, which was quite literally just the side of some parkway, there was another necropolis (Italians love this). Our dinner was amazing and not Italian, it was Thai food, something I have missed dearly (spices). So amazing and yummy and delicious.