Pompeii - The City that's frozen in time

The City that's frozen in time.

POMPEII was a vibrant city of 20,000 residents when the volcanic mountain, Vesuvius, from 5 miles away, erupted and dumped 13 to 20 feet of ash on the unsuspecting residents of the seaside town in 79 AD.

We first visited the ruins of Pompeii about 15 years ago.

Even though the site attracts 2.5 million paying visitors each year, it needed better caretakers. During our first visit, the place was covered in overgrown weeds and buildings that looked beyond repair. They didn't understand that visitors like me needed better visuals to have an understanding of how people lived there.

That's all changed. You gotta go.

The 2024 version of the ruins at Pompeii doesn't resemble what we saw years ago. In fact, our 3-hour tour showed us a totally different place. A town of real homes with real 2,000-year-old frescos adorning the walls of everyday people's homes located on one-way streets. Grocery stores and delicatessens and public baths and brothels and homes with running water ... it's all quite remarkable. 

If visiting a brothel was on a visitor's to-do list and they couldn't read or write or speak the town's language, a very graphic menu board would help the patron make a very specific decision -- photos attached.

If you were a carpenter, bricklayer or plumber in downtown Pompeii, you'd put a sign on the wall outside your residence to advertise your service ... the graphics to alert customers are still there.

If you take a Med-Cruise that includes Naples or have the town of Pompeii on your bucket list make sure you access a tour of the ruins at Pompeii - it's one of the world's treasures. One of the World's Wonders.

Here are a few snaps to whet your appetite