Evening Standard,
9 October 2003
With Pomp and ceremony
Sandra Lane
...Arranging a private guide before leaving London proved to be a canny
move. Maria Luisa knew exactly how to beat the heat and crowds in Pompeii
and took us the shortest route between the unmissable highlights of this
vast site.
She knew where to get the best view (from the roof of the ladies'
loo, where she's on great terms with the attendants) and - being a mother
herself - what would enthral a child the most. (Why was effluent channelled
along the streets rather than into enclosed sewers, since the Romans
had already invented them?
Answer: the volcanic rock was too hard to dig into.) Maria Luisa showed
us details that we might have missed by ourselves: the original mosaic "Cave
Canem" (Beware of the Dog) sign that, today, is sold in a thousand
souvenir shops, and the phalluses carved into footpaths outside various
houses (supposedly a comment on the occupant's virility)...
Sandra Lane's trip was arranged through Bellini Travel.
Read the whole article on the Evening Standard website
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