Pompeii, Italy: Day 8, Part 1

This was our last excursion day off of the cruise ship.  It was definitely one of the best.  Our guide today, Paolo, was quite the character and everyone quite enjoyed his company and tour choices. 

Me and Caroline in the Forum of Pompeii

In the morning we made our first stop at the extremely well-known Pompeii attraction, situated right between the stunning Mediterranean and Mt. Vesuvius.  Pompeii was an amazing place, but also very crowded and touristy.  In the more famous parts, such as the very popular Forum and Goddess Rooms I felt mobbed by people from every country, clutching cameras.  I preferred the moments when we were walking on one of the smaller side streets with no people.  In the less densely populated areas of this landmark I was able to feel like we were a part of an older time, another world. 

Pompeii was originally an ancient city, located at the base of a mountain.  This, of course was Mount Vesuvius, a volcano, and it erupted suddenly, and violently, burying the entire city, which would be lost for centuries.  Because of this unique situation, the people of Pompeii were literally "buried alive" and when the forgotten city was discovered, they also found exact casts of the people, in the exact same positions they were in when they died.  The casts are now on display in some of the many rooms of Pompeii, where visitors can see these people, frozen in time.  After we had our fair share of learning and discovering, we left Pompeii, picked up some souvernirs outside and headed on to our next leg of the  amazing journey, the Amalfi Coast.