Up at the crack of dawn (along with all the non-sleeping schoolkids)
and we're off the ferry for a bus ride to Pompeii. We grabbed a quick breakfast at a pastry shop in modern Pompeii and I see another beagle! What is up with all the beagles in Italy? Wanted to take that one with me too, but I held back. Two's my limit. Couldn't handle surround sound howling. Vesuvius quietly towers over ancient Pompeii and the heavily populated bay of Naples. They say she historically erupts every 2000 years.
So I'm guessing she's gearing up to let off some steam (and more) sometime soon. I'm glad she waited another day to de-stress. It's unreal to see how a thriving population can be wiped out in an instant. How fragile we are. It's also unreal how thousands of people live in her shadow, knowing what she's capable of and that it will happen again. Back on the bus, lunch along the way at an Autogrill - Italy's version of a truck stop. Nothing like an American truck stop greasy spoon. Really good food, prepared fresh, with just about anything else you could need, but not hokey stuff. Digging the Autogrill!
Next stop was the Sicily Rome American Cemetery & Memorial. Almost 8,000 American soldiers are buried here, casualties of the fight to liberate Sicily and Italy in WWII. It amazes me that locals would visit an American cemetery. Would Americans do the same if the tables were turned? I don't know. I would hope so.
Then to my favorite garden of the trip, Landriana Gardens, just outside Rome. We were able to squeeze in a tour before the rain began to pour. This was an incredible oasis of lush green and color, very similar to a lot of the English style gardens I visited and loved last year. I could have wandered around there for hours, even in the rain. Back on the bus to find our hotel, smack in the middle of busy busy Rome on a rainy Friday night. Good logistical location and an interesting room (with 4 people -ugh!) with a giant bathroom but no shower curtain (wha?)
Dinner was great at a trattoria right down the street. I had some kind of pasta with red sauce and bacon! And bruschetta! Mmm. So full. But not so full that I couldn't fit some gelato in too. Mmm. Now I'm stuffed! Where did I pack the Pepto?
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