Globetrotting Gal: Day 2: Vesuvius and Pompeii

Sorry its been a while, I've been busy prepping for Paris with crazy packing and catching up with friends before I leave and such. But I have to finish writing about this fantastic trip to Italy.

Day 2 started off earlyyyy. We woke up and took a train to Piazza de Popolo (People's Square) where we were going to meet our guide for our tour of Vesuvius and Pompeii. We met her, Anna, at the Piazza and walked down the barren roman streets before the rest of the group got there. This is what the Piazza looks like, it has two churches there, called the twin domes...you can see why.

Twin Domes - Piazza de Popolo

Its so bright there at 7 AM. After we boarded the bus, we headed straight to Mount Vesuvius which we were able to climb. Mount Vesuvius is still an active volcano that is closely monitored on a daily, hourly basis. It is in fact due for an eruption sometime soon and this eruption is expected to be just as large as the one that Pompeii was destroyed in. But hopefully that doesn't happen anytime soon. We were able to climb up all the way to the crater of Vesuvius. When you look into the crater, you don't see any lava because with the previous eruptions that have taken place, Vesuvius has lost half its high and in the process, has plugged up the crater with varying amounts of sand, sediment, rocks, and other miscellaneous earthly products. From the climb up, you can see the bay of Naples. If it were a clearer day, I would have had better pictures, however, that is not the case. The climb was a bit arduous, very steep sandy pathways but I am proud to say that I made it!

The path up the volcano

This is the crater! see? all sanded in and trees are even growing!

If you squint, you can see Naples and the bay
behind me and all the haze.
Yes my sunglasses are pink. I love them.

After Vesuvius, we stopped for a lunch of traditional Neapolitan Margherita Pizza. I forgot to take a picture of this. But it was delicious and the majority of American Pizza has a Neapolitan style crust, a which is a good thickness crust (not as thick as sicilian) and is what you mostly get at mom and pop pizzerias.

Leaving Vesuvius, we finally ventured to Pompeii.Pompeii was a two-three hour guided tour. All these tourist spots have gotten smart because its not like you have to go at the guides pace to listen to him. They now hand out radio sets and earphones so that when the guide talks, you can hear him. Its convenient because as you're listening to him, you can walk and take in the city.

Pompeii is incredibly well preserved. Its insane to see such history well kept so that we can study from it and see what it was like back then. We first entered a gymnasium complex where you can see all the ancient columns which once upon a time supported a ceiling. Most of the ceilings in Pompeii caved in because of the weight of the ash and pumice.

Gymnasium Complex

We then walked into an amphitheater where they used to have all the talks and plays and recreational activities in Pompeii. The acoustics are still great, one person from another group sang opera and it was interesting to see the acoustics work.

Me and my dada in the amphitheater

We saw lots more. We saw the streets of the olden days, and their pathways, kitchens, old houses, and the preserved mummified plaster cast bodies. and we ended the day at Trevi Fountain which is beautiful at night.

Gigantic Italian Lemons.

Preserved body

me and the broski with vesuvius in the background!

So, these are the stones that they have on the
roads in Pompeii. These three rocks are supposed to split
the road into two way streets for chariots. Each rock is
slightly smaller than the chariot so that it may pass and the
center rock is there to split the two lanes.
If you look closely, you'll see a brown line close to the right
most rock. That is the indentation of a chariot that has been
perserved and left behind. The widths of these original
chariots are also what we use today to measure the appropriate
distance between railroad tracks. Who knew.