We were booked on a tour to Pompeii and Vesuvius today. It was raining a little, but stopped before our tour. We were to be picked up at the front door of our hotel. When we got there, it was a mass of Polizei! 4 vans were parked there plus various other cop cars. There didn't seem to be too much urgency, most of them were standing around smoking, hugging each other like brothers or low fiving! We never did find out what it was all about. One other thing we noticed from last night and again today was the incessant blowing of car horns. It was seriously constant, and we're not quite sure it's supposed to achieve given the traffic.
Our guide was funny and informative. She lives just below Vesuvius herself. We both found Pompeii incredibly interesting. It was hard to imagine the city had been forgotten, laying under 6 metres of volcanic ash from 79AD to the early 17th century. It wasn't until 1748 that the first systematic digs were undertaken. To date, 44 of the 67 hectare site has been uncovered. From the ruins it was obvious that Pompeii was a once thriving city. It is still possible to tell what some of the buildings were. The wealthy seemed to have lived an opulent lifestyle. Based on doorways and some plaster casts, it was also obvious that people were smaller than current day man.
After a pizza and beer/wine lunch, our bus took us to Vesuvius. The road up was steep and winding - again, the bus drivers really earn their money. Col climbed up to the rim of Vesuvius, while Scott stayed behind reading a book on Pompeii and relaxing with a cold one. The road up was hard work, walking on volcanic ash was slippery. In terms of difficulty it outdid Cinque Terre. It was possible to walk right around the rim, with a tour guide, but time didn't permit. The volcano is still active and there was steam coming from the side. The crater itself was all rocks with some greenery. The last eruption was in 1944, but it looks so harmless today.
We had been really lucky with the weather, it had threatened to rain all day.
