Amalfi Coast//Pompeii & Vesuvius

Final day in Amalfi was spent in Pompeii and on Mt. Vesuvius. In 79 AD Mt. Vesuvius exploded and blanketed Pompeii in ash and smoke, killing 16,000 people. The people were naturally mummified and look as though they are made of cement. Other elements of Pompeii like clothing and houses are also incredibly preserved. It was eiree and amazing to walk around the historical ghost town that was packed with tourists. I think it would have been more upsetting if the bodies looked closer to reality. It was easy to disassociate them because they looked like statues. We left our hostel, bringing all of our stuff with us, and took the bus to Pompeii. We got in around 10:45 and were told we could meet at 12 for lunch back in town. My friends and I declined because an hour was just not enough time to spend in this amazing city. After seeing a brothel, tons of houses, including the Villa of Mysteries, and preserved bodies we had lunch. I got a sandwich with prosciutto, mozzarella and arugula (because honestly i don't eat much else), a salad and espresso.

Afterwards we started a wild goose chase orchestrated by yours truly. I had learned about a fresco of the Greek poetess Sappho and wanted to see it. We didn't have the best map and we spent the rest of our time running around to different areas (because everyone we asked said something different), never seeing it. I must admit I was bummed, but I had made it a bigger deal than it was. It's just such an amazing feeling to see something in person that you've learned about in text books! 

We left Pompeii at 2:00 and drove to Mt. Vesuvius. It's impossible to climb the whole thing, so the bus driver took us the majority of the way up. We "hiked" the last bit and were at the top within twenty minutes. I've never been on the top of a volcano before and was disappointed when there wasn't Mt. Doom lava everywhere. Movies have ruined my perception of Volcanos...We spent about twenty minutes at the top observing the view and taking photos before heading back down. At the bottom I bought a set of carved rabbits out of volcanic rock for myself and a tiny, glitter-covered Virgin Mary for Katherine (I know I'm an excellent friend). We left directly from Vesuvius to go back to Florence. The bus ride back was a breeze! I didn't sleep because I didn't want to mess up my schedule and instead watch Iron Man and then Wayne's World (excellent).