That Time I Went to a Brothel

I get up a little early today to walk 30 minutes to Piazza del Popolo to catch a 7AM tour.

We are headed to Pompeii and the Vesuvius, at least that is the original plan. There's an accident bad enough to back up traffic causing expected delays of close to 2 hours. So we hit the volcano first. That's right, I'm climbing a volcano at noon. Seriously. Again I am glad I did the bare minimum of endurance training leading up to this trip. At least for the first third of the climb, which is the steepest part. Once I get high enough up, there is a breeze and it's actually a pleasant climb. At noon.

There are a few snack/souvenir stands along the way, but no bathrooms. Shade is shade, though, and who doesn't want to slam a Fanta after that climb?

The way back down is actually a little harder since now when you slide, your momentum is in the same direction. It's not bad, though. Second easiest volcano I've ever climbed.

At last we are headed to Pompeii, and I think this may have been the better way to do this trip. The heat is insane, and it's cooler now than it would have been if we'd kept our original itinerary. Before hitting the site, we have lunch at a pizza place. I ask the random group of strangers for recommendations for tomorrow since I have free time. One guy suggests the Mithraeum at Circus Maximus, which sounds like fun. Research for later, when I have better connectivity.

We at last head into the city with a tour guide, and it is eerie how modern the layout feels. You do not need to close your eyes to feel like you’ve been here before. The crosswalks are raised, but still look like crosswalks. The short pillars blocking traffic from public squares are the same as what we’d use today. The little and frequent food shops.

Really, the biggest difference is all the penises on walls and roads weren’t graffiti.

Well, that and the brothel, which is super crowded. The guide assures us many times that none of this is vulgar because the denizens weren’t Christian. I’m down with never again being considered vulgar.

Also, if I test positive for COVID in the next week, I'm definitly claiming I got it at the brothel. After the tour, we head back to Rome, where our route back to the starting point is inexplicably closed. The alternate point is the train station, so I have a much faster walk back to my hotel, but not before stopping for a mistaken negroni (prosecco instead of gin) with dinner.