We had to rise early for our trip to Pompeii. One hour before our hotel serves breakfast and in this city of miracles, witnessed several before sunrise.  Firstly, the light over the ‘patron saint of parking’, and secondly the obvious benefits to those who believe.

Then on to the freeway in our new bus that was governed to 80km as it was a tourist coach.  A great piece of legislative insanity, we were even overtaken by two nuns on a Vespa.  I was wondering why it was a 6hr round trip. Speaking of nuns, the rumor about them and crossing the road in safety is a myth. The only time we tried it, her holiness hoiked up her habit and bolted across on a red light clearly believing in divine intervention leaving Ilze and I to wait cravenly for the light to change and then still cross with doubt and uncertainty.

We arrived in Naples at last and looked out across the bay to the Isle of Capri so there goes our immortality.

Vesuvius looms large over the bay, wreathed in cloud that looks ominous, and a present day threat to nearly two million inhabitants

Vesuvius still looms over Pompeii

We only got the quick drive around before being dragged off to a Cameo factory where the tour guide’s relatives tried to flog us stuff starting at E500.00.  I wonder where they take the posh tour?

On to Pompeii.  It is all you could expect, a moment frozen in time.  Extraordinary images preserved by twenty metres of ash.  The harrowing images you have seen of people at the moment of their asphyxiation are very moving.

“… are any left who still weep for me?”
Nay they are gone, long age gone.”
Keats.

The degree of preservation of the frescoes, the flooring and the alabaster bath in the caldarium makes the hair rise on the nape of your neck.  You can feel, the heat, smell the oils and soaps and it makes you wish you had bought a towel and there weren’t twenty other people in the room.

The caldarium.

Our three hours were not enough, I looked longingly down hundreds of metres of streets, walls still standing, and the hectares of ground still not fully excavated.

…street after street.

Our guide reported that further excavations have been put on hold while they attempt to preserve the areas already exposed and modify some of the earlier and cruder renovations.  Must come back in a hundred years.

Our driver got us back to Rome in the dark so he either knew the way or the old adage is right.

Picked up a couple of  E6.00  bottles of Chilean Sauv Blanc from our local store, bottom right hand shelf inside the door next to the Frascatis and Valpocellos, starting at E18.  The little man hisses at us but he doesn’t understand that we have no corkscrew and these have the screw cap. He tried to screw us E15 for a corkscrew but I have seen the 1.5 litre of plonk de blanc that we used to buy in the Venice supermarket for E3.90 on his shelf for E14.90. So I…

The next line didn’t come out right so I have deleted it.

Peter.