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Pompeii

One of the most fascinating places to visit in Italy, and in the entire world for that matter, is Pompeii.  Walking through Pompeii is a rare chance to walk through the streets of an ancient Roman city.  There is so much to see, so much history, and so many stories that a tour of some sort is highly recommended. 

I went on a guided tour.  Our tour guide was fantastic and he was a great story teller.  One benefit of a guided tour is he could point out what you were looking at and you could ask questions.  On the other hand, the tour had to keep moving to stay on schedule so there was not a whole lot of time to look around and explore.  We saw all of the major highlights, but there were areas that we had to glance over without a whole lot of depth.

Other people we know went on a self guided audio tour with a podcast.  That way they had a lot more time to wander around, but they couldn't ask questions or get clarification.  There could also be times where you aren't 100% sure you're looking at what you are hearing about. 

The streets of Pompeii really make history come alive.  There is so much depth, so many rooms to see, and little things that help you remember the details of how these Romans lived.  For example, there are grooves in the streets that you can still see, created by ancient wagons going down the streets.  There are still amazing tile mosaics.  The whole city is amazing and facinating, and it just seems to keep going and going.

From Pompeii you can see Mount Vesuvius, the volcano that erupted covering Pompeii in the ash that kept it preserved all these years.  Pictured at right is the forum of Pompeii with Mount Vesuvius in the background.  

Climbing to the top of Mount Vesuvius is another very fun and interesting thing to do when you are visiting.  

Mount Vesuvius

Climbing to the top of Mount Vesuvius takes about 15 to 30 minutes and it can be a steep and moderately strenuous walk.  Good walking shoes are a must on this trail.  The trail (pictured below) has a lot of switchbacks and the path has small, loose, volcanic rocks along the way.   

Once at the top of the trail, you can walk around most of the cone of the volcano.  From many spots you can see smoke rising from the volcano (pictured at right).  There is also an excellent view of Naples.

Walking around Mount Vesuvius really gives you a scale of how big the eruption was.  The creater is huge and pictuers don't do it justice.