Saturday, September 09, 2006
26 August, 2006
Another day trip so we quickly changed hotels – upgraded a bit to Hotel Villa Maria in the heart of the city for the last two nights in Sorrento- and we left on the train to Pompei. It took about 30 min from Sorrento. Grant and Nikki joined us and we all caught a bus to Mt Vesuvius (1hr). On the way their our bus stopped at some old café and there was an elderly man who was a real sales rep. He was showing off in all the languages and was trying to sell all us tourists the book on Vesuvius, with his own signature claiming he is a survivor of the eruption. It was a sales pitch and we all had to wait for him to finish his presentation whilst some people bought some refreshments at the store which someone was making commission on as well. We finally got to the crater and it is a quick 30 minute walk up to the top. Unfortunately it was a bit cloudy at the top and the views of the national park with its greenery were hidden slightly. But the crater was there in all its glory and it is really a big dark hole in the mountain. It erupts every so often and the last eruption was in 1944. We ran down just in time to catch the bus back to Pompei, the buses only run hourly so one must make sure they know the timetable otherwise I guess it could be tiresome waiting an hour for the next bus. We got to Pompei and it was amazing. It is the biggest archaeological site in Italy and it is fascinating to experience. All the so-called meat markets, the temples and headquarters, the brothel with remnants of frescoes still painted on the walls and plaster of paris bodies. It was a great day had by all.
Another day trip so we quickly changed hotels – upgraded a bit to Hotel Villa Maria in the heart of the city for the last two nights in Sorrento- and we left on the train to Pompei. It took about 30 min from Sorrento. Grant and Nikki joined us and we all caught a bus to Mt Vesuvius (1hr). On the way their our bus stopped at some old café and there was an elderly man who was a real sales rep. He was showing off in all the languages and was trying to sell all us tourists the book on Vesuvius, with his own signature claiming he is a survivor of the eruption. It was a sales pitch and we all had to wait for him to finish his presentation whilst some people bought some refreshments at the store which someone was making commission on as well. We finally got to the crater and it is a quick 30 minute walk up to the top. Unfortunately it was a bit cloudy at the top and the views of the national park with its greenery were hidden slightly. But the crater was there in all its glory and it is really a big dark hole in the mountain. It erupts every so often and the last eruption was in 1944. We ran down just in time to catch the bus back to Pompei, the buses only run hourly so one must make sure they know the timetable otherwise I guess it could be tiresome waiting an hour for the next bus. We got to Pompei and it was amazing. It is the biggest archaeological site in Italy and it is fascinating to experience. All the so-called meat markets, the temples and headquarters, the brothel with remnants of frescoes still painted on the walls and plaster of paris bodies. It was a great day had by all.
# posted by Heidi & Richard's travels @ 1:48 PM 
