A Picnic in Pompeii

(Wendy writing)

Our morning began bright and early, as we wanted to get a jump start on the full day we had planned. Of course, we started off with breakfast at the hotel - more eating.... (take advantage of the "free" stuff, right?!) Our plan was to stop off in a town named Cassino. Carolina had told us it would be great. Well, not so much. We took a few photos on/around a tank in the middle of town and then voted to continue on our way - Pompeii here we come! 

Oh, while we were enjoying breakfast (no sign of Cruella), Doran was online researching where we would be staying tonight, in Pompeii.  We booked sight unseen, and as we drove into town through the filthy streets filled with stray dogs and garbage, we were wondering if we'd made the right decision. The GPS took us through what seemed to be alley ways and dirt streets, but as we pulled up to the B&B, we knew Doran had found a true gem! This place is amazing! So, we meet the owner (Antonio), tell him of our plans to visit the ruins and he shows us on a local  map how to walk there. It was that close to us. Then we mentioned we'd like to go to the "Supermercato"  and he tells us he'll take us, he's going that way.  We piled into his SUV, Jeni laid across the laps of Doug, Dave and myself, Doran in the front seat. We spent about 1/2 hour at the supermarket buying the things we'd need for our picnic, then walked to the entrance of the ruins. Doug bought a pair of sunglasses from one of the vendors at the gate after being told he looked like "Rambo" with them on. He of course payed less than what they were asking for them.
We walked into the park area and decided we would eat first, tour later.  Big surprise, eating again!  We chose to have the picnic in The Amphitheater. Dave was most eager to see this as he had just showed us a video of a Pink Floyd  concert/documentary that had been filmed there in the 70's. As we walked in, we weren't sure how we would enjoy it as we had hoped because all of the stairs to the top had been barricaded. Doran saw that some people had made their  way up there so he went to investigate and found a barricade that had been "pushed aside". (That gave us "permission"  don't ya know!) The view from up there was spectacular! Mount Vesuvius in full view is something we'll never forget. And, it was a picture perfect, sunny day! We made our sandwiches, and opened a bottle of wine to have a toast. Doug told us to take a deep breath and savor the moment and then I started to cry, which made Doran get "misty", then Doug and Jeni got teary eyed as well. I'm not sure about Dave, but he's snoring right now, so I can't ask him. We'll just say... it was a very special moment. It's still so hard to believe we're all here, together.

After we picked up and took a few photos we saw that the polizia were coming and they were NOT happy!  Mind you, we'd been there for a good 45 min. to an hour and no one knew we were there. So, we made a quick getaway and continued on our tour of the ruins. This place is massive. 166 acres, which was buried by 60 feet of ash and pumice in AD 79. Approx. 35,000 people lived there. They estimate that 2/3 of the area has been excavated. There were 2.5 million visitors in 2007 alone.  It is so surreal to be walking on the streets of Pompeii and think about what happened and how old most of the structures are.  They are doing a lot of construction and needed repairs/upkeep currently, so there were things we couldn't get in to see. We walked around for a few hours then headed back to the B&B, for a "nice" nap.  A few of us did get some zzz's but they were interrupted occasionally by the train close by. Good thing it's a short and fast train and the last one was at 10:30. For the evening activity we thought we'd go to a place that Antonio had recommended to us, only a few miles away. Doran drove us into town, braving the crowded streets once again. I must say, it has been a blessing having Doran for a driver as he has "mad skills"! (That means he's a very skilled driver in these narrow Italian streets for those of you not familiar with the lingo.) We walked around the town square for awhile, browsing through the "Italian Antiques Roadshow" items that were on display under tents. Very cool! Dinner was great! The place was called Pizza & Pasta, so we ordered both. Everything was great, but we all agreed that the pasta was better than the pizza AND that the pasta was some of the best we'd ever had! After dinner, we wandered through the square where a crowd had gathered to listen to a concert of some sort in front of a church and then through the busy streets filled with mostly teenagers. As we enjoyed more Gelato, some of us felt very out place as far as fashion goes. They sure do dress differently here. We also find it interesting that the kids will walk 3 or 4 in a row holding hands or arms locked together. Boys kiss each other on the cheeks in the streets, boys arm in arm. Fascinating! I know, it's culture.  Well, now we're all back at the B&B, Dave is sleeping, Doug and I are trying to get the blog updated, Jeni and Doran are watching TV and checking in on their emails, blogging...it's a quiet place. I think there are 3 other people staying here. We're gonna give Antonio a great review on TripAdvisor! That's all for now. Tomorrow we head off to Sorrento for the Edward Jones portion of the trip which I'm sure is bound to be great. So far, for myself, I'd have to say I enjoyed Tuscany the most, which I thought I might feel that way. I really could live here. Hmmmm. Maybe someday. Bueno Notte. (Good Night) :)