Mount Vesuvius and Pompeii

We didn’t do them both on the same day, but we did climb Mount Vesuvius and see the incredible Roman Town of Pompeii.  Vesuvius wasn’t too much of a challenge, as you drive up most of the way, and then just trudge up half an hour or so to the top and get to walk around the crater. It is a “proper” volcano crater, with a big hole in the middle.  Was amazing to see how close it is to Naples – if it erupted again a lot of people would have to move quickly.  But it was hard to imagine Vesuvius erupting with all the ice cream and souvenir stalls up there.

Pompeii, on the other hand, seemed anything but dead.  It was amazing to walk through a 2000 year old city that seemed like anything from the modern day.  There was the swimming pool on the edge of town, the market, the theatre, the brothel, the baths, the laundry, it just seemed so recognisable and familiar 2000 years later.  And many of the houses would sell for large sums today as fixer-uppers, absolutely stunning!  A lot of it is original, but you could tell that some parts were renovated, but it didn’t matter at all, it was the town as a whole that was impressive rather than its individual parts, just a chance to see how wide the streets were, how houses were organised, it just seemed so alive.  Despite having visited many other Roman ruins this was the first time I could imagine being a Roman, it wasn’t hard to picture yourself walking down those streets 2000 years ago.