After the craziness that was yesterday, we decided something a little more low key was necessary, so we plannd on a 13 hour tour of Pompeii and hike up Vesuvius. Seemed reasonable.

The tour left from Pizza del Popolo at 7:30, which was super convenient since our airbnb overlooks that location. Once checked in, we settled into the tour bus for our 3 hour ride to Pompeii. The seats were comfortable, the air conditioning was nice, and the group wasn’t overly loud. On the way down we stopped at a small restaurant in Cassino where we could get food and drinks, and the prices were quite reasonable. This is most likely arrtibuted to a consistent flow of busses going through and stopping there as I’m guessing that tour company threats of finding someplace else are strong enough to keep greed at bay. We had a good time seeing some of the countryside and watch the sea come up on us as we neared Naples and finally Pompeii.

Just outside the gates, the ancient city of Pompeii has definitely been developed into a finally honed tourist trap. Fortunately, being with an organized tour we were insulated from some of the madness and ambushing marketing techniques being used to lure in people who were less organized. We met our guide Alfredo and he took us into the city.

The first thing we learned was the true nature of tragedy at Pompeii was that the city was buried in roughly 50 feet of ultra high temperature volcanic ash, not lava like many think. This blanket of ask suffocated all living beings, incinerated most organic materials, but it also perfectly preserved many of the structures and the people who lived there.

Our guide took us through bakeries, homes, spas, and even a brothel which were mostly intact considering they were over 2000 years old. The level of thought which went in to everything the ancient Pompeiians did is truly incredibly. For example, while their streets were also an open sewer, they were graded in a manner that kept things mostly flowing, there were large flat elevated stones in the streets which could be used as crosswalks to keep sandals clean but were also spaced appropriately to allow chariot wheels to pass through them without incident. To top it off, at the highest point of the street there was typically a fountaint which could be used to “flush” the remains of the day down toward the ocean. It wasn’t until you noticed the deep cuts in the rock from hundreds of years of chariot passage in these streets that you truly began to apprecaite the ingenuity but also the timelessness of the design. For wooden wheels to cut ruts in granite street stones it would take hundreds of years of traffic. The ancient Pompeiians lived better a couple millenia ago than a large fraction of the world lives today.

However, they totally missed the mark on one thing: they adorned city walls with sculpures of penises. Technically “phalli”, but I’m keeping it English. Apparently to ancient Pompeiians, the penis was a good luck charm and needed to be rubbed to ensure that good fortune was headed in one’s direction. Clearly this was masterminded by a teenage boy. Had this actually been true, then the city clearly was at least one penis short and the lack of the extra rubbing resulted in it being buried in toxic volcanic ash. Or, the volcanic eruption was an attempt to stop this belief in a lucky penis from catching hold by what would certainly be a female God.

The most famous part of Pompeii is the preservation of people in their last moments on this Earth trying to protect themselves. We saw a person laying on their side, not fighting. A small child who never had a chance. And a person sitting with their hands over their face likely trying to shield themselves from inhaling the toxic dust. I was expecting to see them in place, where they were found, not encased in glass in a storage facility. I shouldn’t complain.

The whole location is a somber marvel of ancient history, and it is another recommended trip. While a long day, we all caught naps on the bus which helped keep our spirits up.

Now. The trip to Vesuvius to hike was scary. It was a road that makes the Hana and Kancamangus Highways look flat and straight. Traveling it in a tour bus with Giuseppe at the helm was a unique experience. Once we arrived at the starting point for the “20 minute hike at a 14% incline” we were ready to go.

Let’s be totally honest, my family spends a decent amount of time outside and hiking in hot weather. We rumble over desert trails in temperatures on par with today’s 93 on a regular basis. But this was rough.

First, the surface is crushed lava rock the general consistency and support of beach sand. Second, totally no shade made the hike quite hot. And, finally, the 25 minutes across at 14% inclince was clearly a lie. We were moving right along, passing people consistently and at the first of four checkpoints we had taken roughly 20 minutes. Considering we had only an hour for an up and back, we called it. Family selfie overlooking Naples and the bay (which was a truly amazing view) and we headed down.

Tired and hot, we jumped on the bus to head back to Rome. We all slept a little in the air conditioned bliss and Michelle and I spent some time planning tomorrow and the days to come.

Dinner tonight took us to a spot right around the corner from our apartment at Antica Osteria Brunetti. The food was outstanding. The wine was great. But the limoncello was out of this world. Earlier today, during lunch at Ristorante Tiberius, we had true Sorrento Limoncello and while it had a beautiful lemon flavor tied to the region, it had an aftertaste like jet fuel (but that’s okay because the pizza was the best I’ve EVER had and I would welcome the opportunity to go back and experience their menu and what was a gorgeous location). Osteria Brunetti’s limoncello was perfect in every way and they make it in house with an old family recipe. Even Chloe enjoyed it, shooting a kid’s portion like a seasoned pro and scaring the crap out of her mother.

Tonight’s dinner seemed to mark everyone showing some comfort in their surroundings. Acceptance of being foreign in an ancient city and not quite sure of how everything works. Acknowledging that we’re humble and don’t own the world is a huge step for teenagers and adults alike. We had an amazing experience with the staff of the restaurant and it takes it to the top of my list of places we’ve been since we’ve arrived. We laughed and were loud. Had it not been in English, we just might have completely fit in. But even though we didn’t, we didn’t care, and I am pretty sure that is what Rome is all about.