Naples, Italy

A body of a slave (identified by his belt) found at Pompeii.

The ruins of Pompeii.

The top of Mt. Vesuvius




Today we hiked to the top of Mt. Vesuvius. If you have never been to the top of an active volcano, it just looks like a mountain with a big hole in the top of it. I must say the hike to the top burned a bunch of calories though!

-- For those of you doing this excursion, it was about an hour hike up to the top. It was pretty tough, but if you go slow and don’t have a problem climbing loose gravel on a path, you will be fine. We got down the mountain in about a half an hour. It was not too hot since we went in the morning and there was a nice breeze.

The view was just incredible and there were wildflowers growing all over the volcano. We walked around the rim for awhile and you could see a wide swath of barren land where the lava flow from the 1944 eruption went. It was fascinating.

After Mt. Vesuvius, we took the bus to a restaurant in the city of Pompeii. We had a nice lunch of pizza and an antipasti buffet. From the restaurant, we walked directly into the ruins of Pompeii. It was just fascinating. The tour guide was wonderful and very enthusiastic for the ruins. We went into a ‘house’ (the “House of the Dancing Fawn’) where a wealthy person used to live. He had a sauna, a personal theater, and two gardens inside the house! They had several of the original frescoes on the walls still in beautiful shape. There was also a mosaic that had over a million and a half pieces in it on his floor. It was of Alexander the Great in a battle scene and it was just beautiful.

-- Again, for people on this tour – it was HOT, very HOT. Make sure you have a hat and lots of sunscreen. We were running from shady spot to shady spot! I would also recommend a handkerchief that you could wet with water to cool yourself off and lots of water. You do get a bottle when you climb the volcano, but if you keep the bottle, you can refill it at the restaurant.

Once we got back, we tried to get Peyton from the kids camp. He was happy to see me, but he decided he wanted to stay. Patrick and I went off for a quick dip in the adult pool – which was nice and warm (just the way I like it and Patrick HATES it). We had a quick dinner at Animator’s Palette and headed off to bed.

Tomorrow is Sardinia and we are taking Peyton on the excursion with us!