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Other entries in Pompei

Thank you Mount Vesuvius

So the morning we woke up in Naples, we had a quick brekkie then headed out to Pompei. we were only on the highway for about 20 minutes when we saw the only sign indicating an exit and had to swerve off to make it. immediately upon exiting, we ran into bumper to bumper traffic and were subsequently waiting for about 30 minutes just to get near the place. i think that this was another example exemplifying my theory about being lazy around historical sites. allow me to explain: im going to go out on a limb here and say that 90% of older people (ages 40+) are of the same mindset. what i mean is, when they go to see tourist attractions, they think that the best thing to do is to get up early to beat the crowds. but of course, everyone thinks that since the majority of sight seeing tourists are older people using their vacations to go see tourist things. so the venues end up being crowded in the mornings and more empty in the afternoons (when its siesta time). this was true at the Vatican and it was true at Pompei.

anywho, Pompei was pretty neat. the mountain still looms in the background and the city is extremely well preserved. we ignored the tour guides offers and opted instead for the audio tour thus contributing to his future unemployment. but we like to go at our own pace, see what we want to see, and not have to feign interest in things that may seem like long division in grade school. walking through the city was eerie because it was so well preserved that it look like a ghost down rather than a bunch of rocks and columns. we went through homes that still had painted walls and floors, atriums that still held reflecting pools and pottery, and we even saw a cast of one of the humans caught in the disaster. The whole experience was quite cool and id highly recommend it for anyone.

after that, we got back in the car and drove south to the coast. Pops had heard of this place called the Amalfi Coast which supposedly has a beautiful coastal drive and many small towns set right against the cliffs. so we drove down there to see what it was about. just getting there was difficult because there were only two lane roads and not too many signs. we got lost a few times, thought about aborting a few more, but finally found what we were looking for. fortunately, we split up the driving before and after lunch because when you were driving, you were concentrating so hard to avoid cars, people, cliffs, and crashing that you get a chance to look out and see the beauty of the scenery. the entire coast was rocky and each time we met civilization, it was in the form of small villages consisting of earthy toned homes and small seafood restaurants. the road never was straight for the entirety of the 50 km drive. im glad we finally made it because it was well worth the effort.

we left with aspirations of making it to florence but ended up pulling off the road at a motorlodge to call it a night.

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