Before we start, just a few fun pics from our flight in:
A beautiful view of the French Alps... it is a little hard to tell what was snow and what is a cloud in the picture, but was much easier to tell in person.
A view of the Italian coastline as we were coming in! No idea what town this was, but it was exciting to know that we were getting close.
So today was our first real day in Italy and we decided to veer away from the agenda and go to Pompeii rather than Capri. The weather is a little chilly and cloudy here today and we knew if we went to Capri we would not get to see the beautiful views, so Pompeii it was!
Prior to being tourists, we decided to have a nice big breakfast at the hotel and then head out on our way. All you can eat for 15 Euros, and pretty delicious! We took a few pictures from the rooftop pool/hot tub area of our hotel and then settled in to breakfast.
Il castel nuovo, a short walk from our hotel :)
Not surprisingly, Devin made a few friends. This couple is retired and is traveling around the entire world, mostly through frequent flyer miles/hotel points. Not too bad of an idea, eh? Free hotel stays, free flights, needless to say Devin found his real life superhero.
Notice the orange trees behind Devin?
We purchased our tickets and hopped on the train for a quick 30 minute ride to Pompeii. The town of Pompeii is adorable and surprisingly a very normal town (I don't know why I expected the entire town to be ruins?? Obviously that was not the case)
Devin in the town of Pompeii.
Me in the town of Pompeii.
We made our way to the ruins after a quick 10 minute walk and were truly amazed by what we saw. It was incredible how well preserved everything was. The town of Pompeii was buried by volcanic ash in 79 AD (some of the buildings are much older than that) and yet some of these buildings were preserved so well you can truly picture what their lives were like. Obviously there have been renovations along the way, but it is incredible to see life in Pompeii as the Romans did during that time. We were also blown away by how civilized the people of Pompeii were considering it was 2,000 years ago.
Devin by some frescoes inside a wealthy home.
The ruins of Pompeii with Mt. Vesuvius in the background.
Devin inside the courtyard of a wealthy home in Pompeii.
One of the things we were so surprised to see was how ornate many of the homes/buildings/frescoes/décor was for 2,000 years ago. The legs on the table of this sink were so intricately carved and amazingly well preserved for being 2,000 years old.
Without a doubt one of the most somber parts of Pompeii was seeing the bodies of people who tried to protect themselves from the volcanic ash. The people who covered their faces and crouched down to try to hide/protect themselves were very moving. Even more sad were the dogs who tried to run and hide. Again, it was so incredible to see these knowing they were 2,000 years old.
The Forum of Pompeii with Mt. Vesuvius in the background. Also some very strange statues we didn't understand. Clearly there was not a statue of an angel laying on its side in the middle of the Forum 2,000 years ago, so why is it there now??
Walking through an alleyway of ruins and we realized we had the place to ourselves, had to stop for a picture of course!
More ruins with Mt. Vesuvius in the background.
Our first, but definitely not last, gelato experience! Devin got chocolate chip cookie flavor and a mystery flavor. I got strawberry. Delicioso! Clearly somebody wasn't ready for the picture here...
A little jet lag and one super long day later, we were a little tired on the way back to Naples. One of us was a little more tired than the other :) We came back to our hotel to freshen up, went out to grab some pizza and wine for dinner, and now are headed up to the rooftop hot tub for a little more vino.
We miss you all so much (especially Tucker-- Jenni, give him some extra kisses for us!). Tomorrow we will venture over to the isle of Capri and then on to Rome!
Ciao!
-Devin and Lauren
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