Day 7: Pompeii

Once our ferry landed in the port of Bari, Italy, we drove across the country to see the ruins of Pompeii. Pompeii was destroyed by volcanic ash when nearby Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79 AD. Even though Vesuvius is about 8 miles away from Pompeii, a strong southerly wind brought a rain of rock, ash, and debris on Pompeii, killing its residents and burying the city under over 20 feet of debris. Excavations of Pompeii began in the early 1700's and still continues today.

One of our first stops in Pompeii was the theater, where AJ got to try out the acoustics with a little round of "Row, Row, Row Your Boat."Next we got to check out the home of a Pompeii aristocrat and marvel at how well preserved the frescoes inside the house were, like this one in the dining room...
Today you can even see the shops of Pompeii. The two holes in the counter top in this picture would have been used to serve "fast food" to passers by.

Finally we got to see a few plaster casts of people who died in Pompeii. Due to the way the ash rained down in the city, they were forever preserved in the positions in which they died.

After our amazing of Pompeii we arrived at our very nice hotel in Naples and got ready for another busy day of touring.