Paestum

Meghan and I set out early this morning to head to a city built by the Magna Grecia, a group of Greek settlers who colonized most of southern Italy in the 6th century BC and was later controlled by the Roman Empire in 273 BC.  The people there were plagued with malaria and got tired of fighting off raids and abandoned the city.

In the 18th century, a group of people building a road rediscovered the city.  The road "plows" through half of the Anfiteatro (the place where gladiators fought and public executions were witnessed) and continued to pave... ie. the road is still there!  We ate lunch 'across the street' from the ruins!

When we arrived in the train station, the woman in the info center gave us a map in English and pointed us down the street.  We crossed an empty road and walked down the street through the impressive gates of an ancient wall and down a totally abandoned road.  We could see a gate and some people walking around on the street we were headed to, but there was nothing on the road we were on.  When we got to the end, we could see the largest building to our left, so we walked that way.  The guard at the gate stopped us and told us it was the exit, so we had to go the other way to get inside.

There are three large temples that are in very good condition, considering they were built 2500+ years ago.  The roof tiles are missing (but most are in storage in the museum). The Doric temples in the surreal blue sky look almost fake as Meghan and I wander around between them listening to our shared audio guide.  We stop and eat a snack next to the Tempio di Nettuno (Temple of Neptune - which scholars say is really a temple to either Apollo or another god).

The site is small and we make our way back to the Museo.  Inside they have several pieces of pottery and figures but what is most impressive are the marble carvings from the tops of the temples.  The lions heads that served as guttering are fascinating and it makes me wish it was all still there on the temples - to see it all together.

We stop for a lovely lunch and enjoy the gorgeous weather and the view of the Neptune temple from our table. 
We hop the train back to Salerno, catch the bus to Amalfi, trade buses in Amalfi for Praiano and arrive home to catch up on our blogs and sit in the afternoon sun looking out our windows and enjoying our apartment.  What a spectacular day! 

We are so blessed.