Day 10 - In Naples/Pompeii

We arrived and debarked and realized there wouldn’t be anywhere NEAR enough time to actually climb Vesuvius AND see Pompeii in the same day, especially since the volcano bus only runs twice a day… so we opted for the destroyed city instead of the destroying mountain 

A bus ride and a train ride later and we were walking amongst a rather ghostly city… complete with 8,000 other tourists. Ceilings missing, columns broken… and yet there was enough “left” to give you a feel that it really was a HUGE city bustling with life, until it was all destroyed in a single afternoon. Bread in ovens, pots cracked containing oil or water… and then, of course, the bodies. Discovered in various forms of self-preservation people trying to save themselves before they were choked to death by the ash, or simply buried alive.

The kids LOVED it… and really got into the “life” of it when my MIL began playing one of Boo-Boo’s favorite games… “Pretend”. She was a “noble woman” and he was her “slave boy” sent off to various shops there in the city to bring her back all of her necessary items… and then, in a gesture of generosity because of his bravery and faithfulness she set him free and made him her friend. He was then promoted (???) to gladiator, just in time to enter the Pompeiian colosseum… and “do battle” with DS1 (the other gladiator). The “fair damsels” got in on the act and they continued on this way as we explored the city. I highly recommend this tactic if you have children with incredible imaginations – ROFL!

The trip would’ve been a lot easier on the feet had the Pompeiian Dept of Transportation leveled the city streets before covering them in cobblestones… or at least leveled the STONES before laying them out. You could still see the ruts from the wheels… thousands upon thousands of wheels that went over the same stones… probably got stuck in the same ancient potholes… their tax money was clearly wasted on other things – LOL! It made it difficult to walk AND read a book b/c you couldn’t count on ANYTHING being flat.

Still, we got to traipse across the city seeing all the “typical” things of a 2,000 y.o. house, shop, etc that was in place. Even the Vespasian temple (he’d been emperor for 10 years when Pompeii was destroyed) was in pretty good shape (all considering) and was likely some of the newest construction we saw.

The train ride home was eventful as somebody tried to pick DH’s pocket (unsuccessfully), but we thankfully made it through the Naples version of “Dodge Car” (they’re less amused with tourists in the street) and back to the ship, where, yet another delicious meal awaited. Tomorrow is our first “Day at Sea” and the kids are looking forward to some time at “Camp Carnival” .