Pompeii

Sorrento is a great base for exploring the area. We hit the Amalfi coast yesterday and today, we took the circumvesuviana train to Pompeii. I gotta admit, I kinda like saying circumvesuviana. It's the private train line that links Sorrento with Pompeii and then onto Naples. There's a few tunnels between here and there and a few bridges with views of the Gulf of Naples. There were quite a lot of tourists on our trains since this is All Saints Day and the end of a 4 day weekend for Italians. The vast majority of tourists I heard were Italian.

What's there to say about Pompeii? You probably know the gist, but in 79 CE Vesuvius blew its top. The nearby port city of Pompeii held about 20,000 people and they think about 2,000 were killed by the gas or ash. The few bodies that were found left a perfect cavity in the ash that hardened and starting in the 1700's people poured plaster in the cavity and that's what you see in the pictures here. The bodies disintegrated into ashes after the volcanic ashes hardened. Ashes to ashes.....

It took 45 minutes or so to take the train near our apartment right to the ruins gate. The ruins are huge and there are lots of places to visit where there are hardly any people. We met an American physician named Tom who works for the State Department in Eastern and Southern Europe. He provides medical care for State Dept. staff and US citizens when needed. Not a bad gig. We had a lot in common as he was an avid traveler also, so we hung out together as we explored the sites. It was yet another great day.

Tomorrow, we check out of this amazing apartment. We've noticed the pollution getting worse in Sorrento over our stay. Today, we could barely see Vesuvius from our balcony, when the other day it was crystal clear. We have been smelling burning wood and plastic for 2 days. I'm not sure what that's all about, but it's time to move on. We'll take the circumvesuviana (I did it again) to Naples and then change to a high speed train to Rome, where we'll spend the last 4 days and nights of this amazing journey.

More photo and videos are here.
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