Pompeii!

This was my 3rd trip to Rome, and I wanted to explore Italy a little bit further, etc... So I hopped on a bus to Pompeii for the day, while Sarah and Jen remained in Rome to explore the city further.

It was wonderful to explore Pompeii, because it is an ancient Roman town near Naples, filled with astounding history. Pompeii, along with Herculaneum and many villas in the surrounding area, were mostly destroyed and buried under 4 to 6 m (13 to 20 ft) of volcanic ash and pumice in the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79AD.

While exploring Pompeii, it was a surreal environment - being in this location where thousands of people lost their lives in a split second... From a historical perspective, it was amazing to see how well preserved the site still is - thousands of years later.

Below is Mount Vesuvius in the back drop - Vesuvius has erupted several times since 79AD and is the only volcano on the European mainland to have erupted within the last hundred years. Today, it is regarded as one of the most dangerous volcanoes in the world because of the population of 3,000,000 people living nearby and its tendency towards violent, explosive eruptions of the Plinian type, making it the most densely populated volcanic region in the world.

I think the most sombering aspect was the preserved bodies at the site.

However, the town itself was very quaint and the people very friendly!

After this - it was back on the bus for me to Rome, to meet up with Sarah and Jen for a nice meal, before we had to wake up (at 1:30am!) to catch our flights back to the States :(

This trip was an adventure of a lifetime!