Pompeii - 10 April

Crossing the road in Naples is like taking a leap of faith. I had read that should you show any hesitation they know you are a tourist and it gives them a good reason to speed up. There are pedestrian crossings but I am not sure what their purpose could be as they are generally ignored. Today we took a train south following the western coast and past Mt Vesuvius to visit the city of Pompeii. Would you believe entry to the site was free. Can't say Iknow why but pleased to accept the bonus (it would seem to be a common theme for us on this trip). Pompeii is huge. We were just not expecting to see the scale of the 66 hectare site (50 ha has been uncovered). The city that the visitor gets to see has been cleaned out of its archaeological finds. In a discussion that Ron and I had toward the end of our visit we decided that our expectations were we would see bodies in the streets and everyday household items remaining in situ in the buildings. This is not the case. Instead there are stone streets with row upon row of buildings all with their rooves missing. There is the odd reproduction of a statue, a dusty storage shed with some body casts and household items, amphitheatres, a huge sporting stadium and original painted frescos in some fo the homes that have been protected from the elements since the 79 AD volcanic eruption. On some of the stone roads you can see the indentations made by thousands of wheels from carts that used the thoroughfares over time. Don't get me wrong, the site is impressive but, if you're there for the macabre reasons you will be dissapointed. Work continues excavating the site as they have not uncovered the entire city. Off the subject of archaeological sites and on to an observation that I have made, why has the English language changed the spelling and pronounciations of the names of the cities and towns in Europe? Why don't we call Naples, Napoli or Rome, Roma? Why some and not others for example Paris? Has the Italian language changed the name of Sydney or Brisbane? This sort of mystery can keep you awake during the night.