Pompei and Vesuvius Day 8.

We shared a hire car with new best friends Jude and Paul, and set off for Pompei. The pictures tell the story.

Street bar

Frescos decorating a house

Here you can see the ruts left in the road by the wagon wheels. The large stones in the middle of the road were for crossing the road in the rain.

Beautiful mosaics at the entrance to the house. The forerunner of the door mat.

There were many street fountains. All had a different head and were used as meeting places.

For instance, “lets meet at the cows head”.

Many houses had the penis symbol in the brickwork.

It was thought to be a good luck sign.

Our guide for the morning was 80 year old Nicolas. He was born in the grounds of Pompei where his father also worked.

After Pompei we took of for mount Vesuvius. Some 17km away, Vesuvius errupted in 79AD, covering Pompeii and the nearby town of Herculaneum with its ash and molten lava.

Mount Vesuvius from Pompei

The views of the Bay of Naples were amazing, and to imagine the molten rock flowing from the mountain as it errupted was very real as we stood atop the red folded, rocky land.

We enjoyed a beer at the cafe which had a great display of local tomatoes for sale.

That evening our local restaurant was hosting a christening party for Gabriele!

What ostentation!