Pompeii..Again and the Little Thai Restaurant That Could

So this past weekend I ventured back to Pompeii, this time for a guided tour sponsored by the university. Pompeii isn't something you need to see twice, but I had already paid for the trip, so why not learn a bit? While my first trip involved mostly walking around aimlessly and getting lost in the ancient ruins, my second trip was much more educational. I learned that Pompeii was something of the "Vegas" of it's time, with a prominent red light district, and even brothels. Pompeii also predates Rome by about 100 years, so even 2500 years ago, they realized that people have certain...needs. The tour guide took us to see a brothel, and she seemed oddly excited to show us around. I think most tourists visit Pompeii with an idea of what's in store, and make a plan to see the brothel, but I had no idea about anything, so I was quite surprised to see a fresco painting of a "menu" once I walked into the brothel. I'm not going into details; use your imagination. For my grandparents’ sake, I didn’t spend all my time wandering around an ancient brothel. The guide also took us to typical Pompeian homes, the central area of Pompeii, and even an ancient fast food shop. It was interesting to realize that although the modern world is much more advanced and sophisticated than the world the Pompeians inhabited; many of the basic features of the city were the same as today's cities. I definitely enjoyed the tour, but I'm not sure the day trip was worth the 40 euro that the school charged. Oh well, live and learn.

Check out the center of Pompeii, with Mt, Vesuvius in the background:

Other than pompeii, I didn't do much other sight seeing this weekend, but that doesn't mean this post is over. I realized I have yet to tell my 2 or 3 loyal readers about a fantastic Thai restaurant that my friends and I have discovered. Yes, I realize that I am studying in Rome, but believe it or not, you can get tired of pizza and pasta, no matter how incredibly delicious it is. This restaurant is about a 10 minute walk from my apartment, and it features traditional Thai dishes, similar to what you'd find in a Thai restaurant in Boston. What I really love about the place is that unlike Thai restaurants in Boston, this one always bring us free appetizers, free french fries, and a free 5 liter jug of wine (at least) at the end of our meal. The also have fried gelato; if you like fried ice cream, try fried gelato, its amazing, and worth the cost of the meal all by itself. 


The first time I ate at this place I thought we were getting preferential treatment because our group was rather large. I soon realized that the servers recognize who are students and who are not, and try to cater to what they think the students want. Well you know what? They got it right, and in the process figured out a great business strategy. Tip is always included in the bill in Italy, but my friends and I always throw in a lot extra because of the exceptional service and free stuff. We get a great meal and they get a huge tip, so it's win-win for everybody. That's all for this week, but this coming weekend I'm going skydiving, so look for a blog and pictures about that.