Blogs from Pompei, Campania, Italy, Europe - page 3

Day 52 -55 Pompeii &Vesuvius and naughty goings on! On the 24th August 79 AD, in the Bay of Naples, the Volcano Vesuvius erupted , an immense heatwave and rock, pumice and ash covered the surrounding towns and villages, killing many people instantly. We have travelled south to Pompeii to see one of the largest ruins. It is spectacular, the ruins cover an area the size of Bromley town. They were only excavated by the mid 18th century, and some of buildings, like bathhouses, villas, houses even brothels are well preserved. The site includes an amphitheatre, with two other smaller theatres. It was so good we spent nearly 10 hours there. Our jaunty new hats came in handy once more! We are staying in a camping ground, named Zeus only 200 yards from the ruin entrance, ... read more

Ever since I was a little kid, reading my parents' Time Life books on Italy, I've wanted to visit Pompeii. Yesterday, that dream came true. We hopped a confusing set of trains from Rome and finally got off at a tiny little stop known as Pompei Scavi, then simply walked down a short street to the entrance for the ruins. We paid our fees and entered the gate. We stayed nearly six hours. I had listened to a Yale University series on Roman architecture and was expecting to be able to enter every set of ruins mentioned, but it didn't work like that. In fact, it seemed like much of the site was closed. We walked down the main street, crowded with tour groups, then made a couple of turns on our way to the arena ... read more

This blog covers three days , one at Sorrento where we met sister in law Sandra, Jill who I used to work with at the Jobcentre in Clay Cross and two friends who were cruising from Palma to Sorrento, from Sorrento to Rome, from Rome to Barcelona and from Barcelona back to Palma. We drove in to the town over what can only be described as the most frightening roads in the country. It took some considerable time to travel between Amalfi and Sorrento via small mountain towns, the roads hairpinning all the way between one town and the next. Fast travel seemed impossible . When we arrived we parked close to the harbour in what seemed like the most expensive car parking we had ever used. It cost 20 euros for a couple of hours. ... read more

I have slept for 12 hours, I feel much better! Honey Nut Cheerios for breakfast, a taste of home. We drive to Pompeii, it’s only about 45 minutes away. As I am now awake, I notice more about Italy as we are driving. The houses tend to be two or more stories tall. The cars are small, apparently a side effect of the high price of gas. Part of this is from the taxes on the gas. I saw an Italian Pine, and Pliny was right, it does look like a mushroom cloud. We park at the back of a restaurant and walk to the site, passing a group of multilingual street vendors. I try not to make eye contact. We are at Pompeii! I have wanted to be here since elementary school, an interest which ... read more