We're only on our fourth day of the cruise and I'm exhausted. It's been a crazy couple of days and we've been jet-setting like a Kennedy - Geneva, Barcelona, Pisa, Florence, Rome and Vatican City. Today's adventure brings us to Pompeii, the ancient city once buried and preserved under tons of volcanic ash. Trish and I got our Pompeii appetite whetted at the Discovery Times Square's Pompeii exhibit earlier this summer.
Our guide for today is Paulo, Joe Banana's brother. "Who the hell is Joe Banana?" you're probably asking yourself. No, it's not some hot new porn star, it's our Italian tour operator. We booked all our Italian excursions through Joe Banana rather than paying for the excursions offered by the ship. Trust me, it ends up being way cheaper and you get a private guide all to yourself. No waiting around for that one slowpoke or having to hear endless stupid questions from that guy in the weird hat wearing black socks with his sneakers. You know the one.
Just like Vatican City, only licensed tour guides are allowed in Pompeii. So to save some money, we decided not to hire a separate Pompeii tour guide. Guess who was put in charge of the map? Surprisingly, Pompeii is full of stray dogs. Here I am in the main square with my new best friend.
Exploring the Temple of Apollo, Trish finds a statue of the hottie and basks in his glowing presence in the morning sunlight.
Juan poses in front of some big ass pillars.
Which ancient God is that? Oh, silly, that's just me and my muffin top.
If those damn beautiful, fluffy clouds weren't hanging around, you'd be able to see Mount Vesuvius.
This is the inside of the ancient baths. Half-naked, muscled men adorning the inside of the men's steamroom? More things that make you go "hmmmmm."
Trish, Val and Juan strike a pose in the ruins of one of ancient Pompeii's wealthiest family homes. Sadly, it appears ancient Pompeiians lived way better than I do.
This is the smaller amphitheatre in Pompeii's theatre complex. Yes, they had a theatre complex.
This is the larger theatre in the complex - the Broadway in Pompeii. Trish and Val are watching a revival of a show called "Annoying Tourists Over-run the Theatre!"
Juan cannot resist the urge to stand center stage. He serenaded us with snippets of Italian arias, much to the delight of our fellow tourists.
Unfortunately, mom couldn't walk around the ruins with us because of the cobblestone streets. But she was able to explore the main street and square.
After a couple of hours exploring, all the ruins started to look the same. So we decided to hit the road for the Amalfi Coast, but not before a quick picture. Coincidentally, we ran into a lovely American family from our ship who took this picture of us.
If your going to Pompeii, go early. No one was in line when we got there, but when we left 2 hours later, line down the street. Oh well, Onward to Positano!
This morning's itinerary:
Dock at the port of Naples
Meet up with our driver and guide, Paulo
Drive to Pompeii
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