Gladiators' Barracks, Pompeii

Woke early this morning to the sound of heavy rain and thought our planned trip to Pompeii might be in doubt. However a quick check on google weather and the forecast was for early rain at Pompeii which would clear by 11am. The rest of the day being dry and warm.

Took the train from Sorrento to Pompeii, which cost 4.40 euros return. The train station at Pompeii is right at the entrance to the site and I would definitely recommend going yourself rather than an organised trip as it really couldn't be easier.

On arrival it was tipping it down, but 15 minutes in the shop and the rain had stopped as forecast and we had a glorious day of weather for the 6 hours we spent going round Pompeii. In fact it was too hot for me and I really should have worn a hat!

I have wanted to visit Pompeii all my life and it really didn't disappoint. It is an amazing place with more to see than you can fit in. It is just full of fantastic stuff.

I took loads of pictures, but in the end decided to blip the 'Caserma dei Gladiatori' or the 'Gladiators' barracks'. In the long low structure to the right of the picture are the rooms where the Gladiators lived. They are really nothing more than small, stone cells. They face out, through the columns to the grassed area, which was where they trained.

Although I did take pictures of the casts of the people who died in 79 AD when Vesuvius exploded, it was a very sad sight to see people caught at the moment of death, clutching their hands over their mouth and nose. So I decided not to blip any of those.