Day 41 was a day of adventure, excitement, and danger! A guided tour around Pompeii followed by a hike up Mt. Vesuvius. Alright, it wasn't that dangerous, but it was exciting and a kind of adventurous. Vesuvius is an active volcano. It could blow at any minute. Since we had to prepare for a hike, we woke up earlier than usual. (we only wake up early when we've paid for stuff) We walked into the breakfast room excited to try our hotel's free breakfast, but all we found was some rock hard bread and a few sticky croissants. For drinks they had orange juice that was more sugar than liquid and a pink juice with a fly floating in it.
This sugary breakfast is not what we needed before a hike. We also had no snacks. We quickly made 4 peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, and packed a bag of cereal. This tour supposedly provided pizza for lunch, but we get hangry too easily. We had given ourselves enough time to grab some snacks before our guide was supposed to pick us up, but we couldn't find anything suitable for a hike anywhere nearby. The crappy breakfast and the little food we had was going to have to do. Our guide picked us and about 20 other people up in a big red bus.
It was about a 45 minute drive to Pompeii. As advertised, our guide spoke English, but only about as much as Aaron speaks German. On our way there she told everyone to leave their big bags on the bus because they wouldn't let them into Pompeii. Her exact words were "For the people going to Vesuvius, ju can leave your beeg bags on the bus, because with Pompeii is not possible because for security." She said it twice. We arrived in Pompeii, and everyone brought their bags off the bus, except for us. We hesitated. "Should we get our bag? She said not to bring bags. Everyone else has their bags." The doors closed, and the bus drove away. Kaylea immediately panicked because our GoPro was in the bag. Our guide assured us (in broken English) that everything was fine. We would be taking the same bus to Mt. Vesuvius in a few hours. Still, we were stressed. No bags were confiscated at the entrance to Pompeii.
The city was fascinating. It was a bit too hot, and a little too crowded. We got a different guide with slightly better English who kept making jokes and sexual innuendos. It's actually not that hard to make innuendos in Pompeii. There are dicks everywhere. Apparently the male genitalia wasn't as taboo in Roman times. They used it as a sign of fertility and luck. Honestly, the tour was PG-13. One of the most well preserved buildings was a brothel. There were diagrams on the walls of certain (ahem) positions. But all in all, the tour was amazing. It gave us both a realistic picture of what life was like for people in 79 A.D.
By the end of our tour, we were starving. All of our food was still in the bag that we had left on the bus. Just before we went to the restaurant, our guide asked the group "Did someone leave their bags on the bus?" "Yes. We did." Aaron said, but in his head he was saying "YEAH OUR FREAKING BAG IS ON THE BUS! YOU TOLD US TO LEAVE OUR BAG ON THE BUS". Our guide then told us that we'd be taking a different bus back, and that we'd have to get our stuff off the bus. "It's ok. You stay with her." She pointed to another guide, who then told us to stay with another guide, who then pointed us back to our first guide. It was mess. Half way through lunch, she made Aaron walk a few blocks to the bus to get the bag, which did not contain the GoPro. So now the question was "did we pack the GoPro, or leave it at the hotel?" Spoilers: We left it at the hotel, but it made for a tense ride to the volcano.
The bus ride took us as far as it could up the mountain. It was a small miracle that the bus made it up the thin windy road, but they seemed to have it handled. The mountain was steeper than we expected and the ground was a loose gravel made up of volcanic rock. It was slippery, but it made for a good hike. Also, there was a storm moving in. Every time we heard thunder we had to reassure ourselves that it was the storm and not volcano. It took us about 30 minutes to get to the top. The crater was pretty cool. We could see steam coming out of some of the rocks. We got some pictures, Aaron did a back-flip, and we decided to head back down. At the top, we were slightly above the clouds, but as we worked our way down, we started going through them. It was the second time the two of us went through clouds. The first time, we were skydiving.
We had to wake up early again on day 42. We had a train to Florence that we needed to catch. It was the best train ride so far. We had large comfortable seats and no connections. They even had chargers in the seats. Inspired by our trip from the previous day, we decided to watch that new Pompeii movie with Kit Harington on our laptop. It was terrible and, based on our tour, pretty inaccurate.
Perhaps it's because it was less hot. Perhaps it's because it was less crowded. Perhaps it's because it was less stinky, and dirty, and scary than Naples, but we got a really good first impression of Florence. We had a 20 minute walk to our bed and breakfast from the train station. Even with the million pound backpacks, it wasn't that bad. We were kind of blown away by our room. It's the biggest room we've had on the trip, and we have it to ourselves. Plus, we have a balcony.
After a quick nap, we walked around the town a bit. We found a small art studio that was selling cool looking leather bound books. We walked in and even though they tried to upsell us pretty hard, Aaron didn't buy a book with his face painted on it. He just bought a normal hand made leather bound book. We had some trouble finding an ATM. They were inside buildings that looked closed. By the time we made it to our third ATM, we realized you had to press a button to get in. After that we went to an Itallian resteraunt suggested by the receptionist. It was a fairly nice resteraunt. We're talking table cloths and everything. After we sat down we realized there was writing all over the walls. It was signatures from tourists, and as fate would have it, they sat us at a table that had previously been occupied by fellow Texans.
This sugary breakfast is not what we needed before a hike. We also had no snacks. We quickly made 4 peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, and packed a bag of cereal. This tour supposedly provided pizza for lunch, but we get hangry too easily. We had given ourselves enough time to grab some snacks before our guide was supposed to pick us up, but we couldn't find anything suitable for a hike anywhere nearby. The crappy breakfast and the little food we had was going to have to do. Our guide picked us and about 20 other people up in a big red bus.
It was about a 45 minute drive to Pompeii. As advertised, our guide spoke English, but only about as much as Aaron speaks German. On our way there she told everyone to leave their big bags on the bus because they wouldn't let them into Pompeii. Her exact words were "For the people going to Vesuvius, ju can leave your beeg bags on the bus, because with Pompeii is not possible because for security." She said it twice. We arrived in Pompeii, and everyone brought their bags off the bus, except for us. We hesitated. "Should we get our bag? She said not to bring bags. Everyone else has their bags." The doors closed, and the bus drove away. Kaylea immediately panicked because our GoPro was in the bag. Our guide assured us (in broken English) that everything was fine. We would be taking the same bus to Mt. Vesuvius in a few hours. Still, we were stressed. No bags were confiscated at the entrance to Pompeii.
The city was fascinating. It was a bit too hot, and a little too crowded. We got a different guide with slightly better English who kept making jokes and sexual innuendos. It's actually not that hard to make innuendos in Pompeii. There are dicks everywhere. Apparently the male genitalia wasn't as taboo in Roman times. They used it as a sign of fertility and luck. Honestly, the tour was PG-13. One of the most well preserved buildings was a brothel. There were diagrams on the walls of certain (ahem) positions. But all in all, the tour was amazing. It gave us both a realistic picture of what life was like for people in 79 A.D.
By the end of our tour, we were starving. All of our food was still in the bag that we had left on the bus. Just before we went to the restaurant, our guide asked the group "Did someone leave their bags on the bus?" "Yes. We did." Aaron said, but in his head he was saying "YEAH OUR FREAKING BAG IS ON THE BUS! YOU TOLD US TO LEAVE OUR BAG ON THE BUS". Our guide then told us that we'd be taking a different bus back, and that we'd have to get our stuff off the bus. "It's ok. You stay with her." She pointed to another guide, who then told us to stay with another guide, who then pointed us back to our first guide. It was mess. Half way through lunch, she made Aaron walk a few blocks to the bus to get the bag, which did not contain the GoPro. So now the question was "did we pack the GoPro, or leave it at the hotel?" Spoilers: We left it at the hotel, but it made for a tense ride to the volcano.
The bus ride took us as far as it could up the mountain. It was a small miracle that the bus made it up the thin windy road, but they seemed to have it handled. The mountain was steeper than we expected and the ground was a loose gravel made up of volcanic rock. It was slippery, but it made for a good hike. Also, there was a storm moving in. Every time we heard thunder we had to reassure ourselves that it was the storm and not volcano. It took us about 30 minutes to get to the top. The crater was pretty cool. We could see steam coming out of some of the rocks. We got some pictures, Aaron did a back-flip, and we decided to head back down. At the top, we were slightly above the clouds, but as we worked our way down, we started going through them. It was the second time the two of us went through clouds. The first time, we were skydiving.
(you know nothing John Snow)
Perhaps it's because it was less hot. Perhaps it's because it was less crowded. Perhaps it's because it was less stinky, and dirty, and scary than Naples, but we got a really good first impression of Florence. We had a 20 minute walk to our bed and breakfast from the train station. Even with the million pound backpacks, it wasn't that bad. We were kind of blown away by our room. It's the biggest room we've had on the trip, and we have it to ourselves. Plus, we have a balcony.
After a quick nap, we walked around the town a bit. We found a small art studio that was selling cool looking leather bound books. We walked in and even though they tried to upsell us pretty hard, Aaron didn't buy a book with his face painted on it. He just bought a normal hand made leather bound book. We had some trouble finding an ATM. They were inside buildings that looked closed. By the time we made it to our third ATM, we realized you had to press a button to get in. After that we went to an Itallian resteraunt suggested by the receptionist. It was a fairly nice resteraunt. We're talking table cloths and everything. After we sat down we realized there was writing all over the walls. It was signatures from tourists, and as fate would have it, they sat us at a table that had previously been occupied by fellow Texans.
Howdy from Texas! Grazie!
The meal was great even though Aaron got a strange look for ordering a cheesecake and a coke for desert. From there we walked around the city a bit more, and made our way back to the B&B to write this blog. It took us a few hours because Kaylea was simultaneously trying to kill mosquitoes. She broke the bed by standing on it reaching for a mosquito with her flip flop. So that took a while. Once again, it's late, so we're going to bed. Boom.
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