Mt. Vesuvius and Pompeii

Yesterday was a gorgeous day, and we had the opportunity to visit Mt. Vesuvius and Pompeii. The volcano hasn't erupted since 1944, but it is still considered "active," and we were all thrilled to see it shooting out some steam. The hike to the crater offered some amazing views of the Amalfi Coast, which were worth the hike in and of themselves. It was definitely a tourist destination, but if you are ever in Naples, I highly recommend it, because it is truly awesome! We stopped for pizza (of course!) on the way down the mountain, and then drove over to Pompeii for the afternoon. I honestly had no idea so much of the relatively large city (an estimated 11,000 people) had been preserved when Mt. Vesuvius issued its death warrant in 79 AD, but it was fascinating to see all the ruins in such great shape and picture what life might have been like for ancient Romans who lived there. This was one of our favorite touristy days!

The Gulf of Naples on the lovely Amalfi Coast

Climbing Mt. Vesuvius

See the steam?

posing at the crater

The very impressive crater

I cannot get enough of this view!

Pompeii

Most of the statues have been relocated to the museum,
but we were able to find these two for our statue lover to pose with.

taking a break in Pompeii

Not surprisingly, one of my favorite things at Pompeii was this cafeteria.
This was a standing counter, with huge clay pots built in,
where people would come to have a bite to eat and to socialize.

We searched long and hard for the bodies we had heard were preserved under the ash, just as they were.
Many had been relocated to the museum, and some were out for restoration, but we finally
found this guy in the last building we entered. Stretched out, it would have been about as tall as Weston.

Mt. Vesuvius still makes its presence known to the old city of Pompeii.