Welcome! My name is Marcus Patulcius Felix. It is a real pleasure to meet you.
Here in Herculaneum, we are used to visitors. I will show you the best things in the city: the theatre, the baths, the sanctuary of Venus… I know more than the local guides!
You see, my father is a baker. When I was a child, he used to get me out of bed at dawn and send me all over Herculaneum on a donkey, to help his slaves with home deliveries. I can still smell the warm bread… my mouth was watering but Dad was determined: first work, then breakfast! I can’t tell you how hard it was to stay awake later during Greek class!
That’s how my Dad is: he says school is just a hobby for rich people’s children. He only wanted me to learn accounting, so I could inherit his bakery. But I actually wanted to carry on studying. I hate the hot oven, and the squeaking millstones and the smell of the donkeys… and the flour makes me sneeze!
But… never mind that. You are here to enjoy yourselves, you don’t want to listen to me complaining. Come on then, let’s start… by going to the theatre!