Vesuvius and Pompeii

It was exactly 2090 years ago to the day that Vesuvius erupted (24 August, 79 AD) followed by three days of falling ash and soot that buried Pompeii.  We made it a point to go see Vesuvius, just to get a sense of the scale, and it was much greater than I expected.  The cone of the crater is 700m...stunning to think of it as almost 0.5 miles.  Think about how long a 1/2 mile it...that's my whole neighborhood. The stories and sights of Pompeii are amazing, and it is awful to think about how it must have been to have been there.  We learned that other cities like Herculeanum and Stabiae also were destroyed, I wish we had gone to see them too as they are amazing sites and more managable than Pompeii, which is a lot to see in a day.  

The sights were amazing, but the the Napoli experience...notta so much.

I insisted on getting a guide,which we did, but unfortunately his English was poor.  "Madame, listena to me-a and I will tella you more.  I amma funny guy". I felt like saying "Listen to me, Cosmo, I have already read the guide book, I know how the casts were made...Now take us to the house of Faun, funny guy".  It wasnt all bad, and in the end, Cosmo ended up saving us money since he could purchase our tickets at the European Union price (that one has been a stinker...up to 50% higher prices for non-EU citizens and non-EU kids pay full price).  He did point out nuances...like the fact that the lava-stone streets have little pieces of white marble in between the pavers to reflect the moonlight so that people could see the street at night.  The Antiquareum was closed for rennovations, so many of the plaster casts of the bodies and other pieces were on temporary display (in what looked like a warehouse).  We could see them, but they were at a distance.

As for the area overall, I hate to say anything bad about a place, but Naples and its suburbs should just be skipped.  It was so filthy, the kids kept saying out loud that the city needed a good bath.  I will skip the details, but it was yuck.  And the marina, where the charge was $100 a night (we stayed in the marina ONLY for security - Naples has a big crime issue - organized and petty).   It felt like a big latrine.  It was run by friendly enough guys, but the entire marina smacked of the Mob.  Enough said.

After so much death, dirt, and destruction, we were happy to leave the Naples area. We are learning that the Amalfi coast was just the opposite.  Whereas in Naples, I felt like there was no place where I could rest my eyes to take in something good, here in Amalfi, there is not a single view that I can look at long enough to truely appreciate the beauty.  More on that one tomorrow.