Europe Travel Diary – Part VIII – Pompeii

Previously: Part VII – Dubrovnik

After we left Dubrovnik we had a day at sea following by a day in port in Messina. We took a bus trip up to Mount Etna, walked around for 45 minutes and then took the bus back down to the ship. The most exciting part of our day in Messina was watching the pilots who navigated us through the Strait of Messina jump from the moving cruise ship onto a smaller speed boat driving beside us!

I’d been looking forward to our next stop, Pompeii, all trip. Before going through the gates Mom bought a book like we had in Rome with pictures of current Pompeii and acetate overlays showing how it would have looked before the eruption of Mount Vesuvius. This was great to have as we walked through the ruins. I was amazed by Pompeii and all the work that has gone into exavation and preservation. It’s a glimpse into Roman Life almost 2000 years ago. The picture below shows Mount Vesuvius in the background. If you connect the two slopes you can see how tall it was before the eruption.

The rest of my Pompeii pictures are here

Next: Part IX – Wrap up