Pompeii and Mount Vesuvius Day Trip

This was a long day trip - 7 am to 8 pm. The cost of the trip with tour company City Wonders was 139 Euros and was well worth it. The meeting place was the Piazza del Popolo and it was still dark at that time of the morning. 

Our first destination was Mount Vesuvius.  After getting off the bus, there was a short steep hike from the bus to the crater. I think there and back was about an hour, or maybe a little less.

The crater

Next was lunch - salad, drink (beer or wine), and pizza in Naples.  I learned that Napoli pizza has UNESCO World Heritage status.

A few of us were able to visit the kitchen where we were told (through an interpreter)  about what makes Napoli pizza special - it has to be a certain dough and thickness, and only three ingredients. The mozzarella cheese is half buffalo and half cow cheese.  I don't remember all the details.

This is my pizza.

After lunch, we visited Pompeii, the ancient Roman city that was buried under four to six meters of volcanic ash in the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD 79. I was surprised by how large an area it is and that there is still more that has not been uncovered yet. We had an interesting local guide who had many stories.

This place was a shop, there is a counter.

This place was a bakery, there is a large oven.

This was the remnant of the men's bath area, with parts of the ceiling visible.

Our guide is the guy in the striped shirt on the right.

The next three pictures are from the house of a prostitute, with paintings on what to do above the doors!

This was a gymnasium and amazingly, the colorful walls survive.

The next photos are the public forum area.

It was a long drive back to Rome and I was tired but happy after a great day.