Upon debarking in Naples, we immediately hooked up with a couple who were also heading to the train station en route to Sorrento and Pompei. On the way to the station, the taxi driver attempted to broker an agreement in broken English to drive us to our destinations at a per person price that would only be a few Euros more than taking the trains. 
Julie had decided we would go to Pompei in the morning while it was cool and seaside Sorrento in the afternoon when it would most likely be warmer. The other couple had transplanted from the United States to Cancun, where they now sold real estate to Americans looking to move or buy a vacation home. As such, they wanted to go to Sorrento first, because they wanted to go shopping, and the stores would close in the afternoon. This impasse resulted in all of us being dropped at the train station as originally planned.
We bought our tickets, went through the essential step of validating them, and headed for Pompei, the ancient city destroyed around the year 200 when Mount Vesuvius erupted and buried the town in ash.
The blanketing of the town was so complete that it essentially froze it in time.
The streets have been excavated, and along them are houses, stores, restaurants, bakeries and even a brothel.
Many of the wall paintings remain, some with surprisingly vivid images.
Beautiful statues have been uncovered. Some urns remain in tact. 
There's also a smaller version of the Colosseum and a separate area nearby similar to a soccer field surrounded by columns.
People with horrified expressions obviously knew they were dying.
It is truly a remarkable site, one which further encouraged Amy to consider anthropology as a major when she goes off to college next year.
Julie had decided we would go to Pompei in the morning while it was cool and seaside Sorrento in the afternoon when it would most likely be warmer. The other couple had transplanted from the United States to Cancun, where they now sold real estate to Americans looking to move or buy a vacation home. As such, they wanted to go to Sorrento first, because they wanted to go shopping, and the stores would close in the afternoon. This impasse resulted in all of us being dropped at the train station as originally planned.
We bought our tickets, went through the essential step of validating them, and headed for Pompei, the ancient city destroyed around the year 200 when Mount Vesuvius erupted and buried the town in ash.
The blanketing of the town was so complete that it essentially froze it in time.
The streets have been excavated, and along them are houses, stores, restaurants, bakeries and even a brothel.
Many of the wall paintings remain, some with surprisingly vivid images.
Beautiful statues have been uncovered. Some urns remain in tact. 
There's also a smaller version of the Colosseum and a separate area nearby similar to a soccer field surrounded by columns.
People with horrified expressions obviously knew they were dying.
It is truly a remarkable site, one which further encouraged Amy to consider anthropology as a major when she goes off to college next year.
