A couple of our day trips from Praiano took us back in time. First it was Pompeii, one of the most famous archeological sites in the world. Pompeii was a busy Roman trading port with some 20,000 to 30,000 residents when it was buried with 30 feet of ash and pumice from Mount Vesuvius. It was first established by the Greeks, and then colonized by the Romans around 80 BC. They thought Vesuvius was a mountain, but found out the hard way in 79 AD when it erupted, sending hot volcanic ash 12 miles in the sky for 18 hours straight. Pompeii was thus erased from the map for almost 1700 years, until it was accidently rediscovered in 1748. I think what was most surprising about our visit was the sheer size of this city; this is no little dig. You can wander for hours looking down street after street of neighborhoods and businesses. And it’s still work in progress as only 75% of the 164 acres has been unearthed. The last eruption here was in 1944; will they finish the excavation before the next big one?This is one of the many plaster casts created of the residents found frozen in time. 
Throughout the city you can find these "fast-food" restaurant counters from which hot food was sold.
Each day they flooded the streets to clean them, thus the large stepping stones for pedestrians to cross. The stones are placed so that chariots would fit between them. One stone meant a one-way street and two stones, like below, meant a normal two-way street. 
These grooves in the street, created by numerous chariots over the years, are all over town.
Amongst the many businesses in town were several brothels. This faded fresco is one of the tamer images we found inside one of them.
Here’s Cole and Ella, pretending to be chased by lions in the oldest known amphitheater in the world, built around 80BC.
This is just Mount Vesuvius on a cloudy day, but it kind of looks like it's starting to erupt.
Artichokes are one of the local foods grown here on the slopes. Roadside grill stands like this make for a yummy snack.
Day two took us back even further. Paestum was started as a Greek colony in the 7th century BC. Then in the 4th century BC it was conquered by the Lucans and finally overtaken by the Romans in 273 BC. Several hundred years later it was the malaria carrying mosquitoes that took over, and the site remained deserted for the next 1000 years. While the overall area is quite large, the site is dominated by three temples.
Each day they flooded the streets to clean them, thus the large stepping stones for pedestrians to cross. The stones are placed so that chariots would fit between them. One stone meant a one-way street and two stones, like below, meant a normal two-way street. 
These grooves in the street, created by numerous chariots over the years, are all over town.
Amongst the many businesses in town were several brothels. This faded fresco is one of the tamer images we found inside one of them.
Here’s Cole and Ella, pretending to be chased by lions in the oldest known amphitheater in the world, built around 80BC.
This is just Mount Vesuvius on a cloudy day, but it kind of looks like it's starting to erupt.
Artichokes are one of the local foods grown here on the slopes. Roadside grill stands like this make for a yummy snack.
Day two took us back even further. Paestum was started as a Greek colony in the 7th century BC. Then in the 4th century BC it was conquered by the Lucans and finally overtaken by the Romans in 273 BC. Several hundred years later it was the malaria carrying mosquitoes that took over, and the site remained deserted for the next 1000 years. While the overall area is quite large, the site is dominated by three temples. The Temple of Neptune, god of the sea.
The Temple of Ceres, goddess of growing plants and motherly love.
The Temple of Hera, goddess of marriage and woman.
The Temple of Ceres, goddess of growing plants and motherly love.
The Temple of Hera, goddess of marriage and woman.
