Pompeii and Vesuvias

This post is a bit out of order- sorry about that.  We are now in Naples!  We left Rome on Monday, May 26.  So far, we are LOVING Naples!  But that is for a different post- when I get a few more pictures to explain why!  Yesterday, Tuesday May 27, we climbed Vesuvias!  Not the entire volcano, as we caught a tram up most of it:-)  But we did climb to the rim and walked about half the rim.  Sadly, it was very cloudy, so we didn't get any pictures of the ocean or city.  Event he pictures of the volcano are hard to see.  but that doesn't take away how awesome it was!  Then Pompeii!  All I can say is it is huge!  It was a city of 80,000 people, and they are only partially excavated the entire place.  Interestingly, some partial frescoes and mosaics survived, and outlines for homes and business, fountains, everything a city has, is still there- just in a state of ruin. It is totally interesting!!!  Today, Wednesday, we are going to the museum that holds all the treasures of Pompeii- hopefully it will be really great!

Rich at the entry to the Volcano trail

Selfie at the rim.  Sadly, the clouds cover most of the volcano

Rich on the trail.  It was incredibly lush with yellow and purple flowers.  At a lower elevation was a huge pine forest!  I always thought is was stark.

The interior of the cone.  You can barely see a fissure at the bottom.

The rim

The symbol for Pompeii

Temple to Apollo

Plaster cast of a victim.  In the 1800;s when excavation started they noticed these hollow areas, so they poured in plaster to see what it was.  It was the impression of the people and animals covered with ash.  As the bodies decomposed, they left an impression.  There are many of these in the site.  It is quite eery!

As in all of Europe, they have the most interesting statues!

The forum- an area for shops

A typical street.  Note the road- totally hard to walk on!  Uneven stone pavers.

Not sure what it was, but loved the flowers with the columns.