Rome to Vesuvius

Rome never ceases to amaze me. I’ve been to the city enough times now that I actually have “old haunts” and am able to navigate my way around without a map! However, I still find something new every time I visit. My goal yesterday was to visit the Galleria Borghese, but unfortunately they were sold out until Thursday. I think yesterday was the busiest I’ve seen Rome – tourist season is already in full swing I suppose. Anyway, I wasn’t too upset about missing the galleria because along the way I found a beautiful park with wonderful views of the city. I visited my favorite pizza place at Campo dei Fiori and had four different gelati – nocciole, cocco, limon, e mango…mmmm. I think my Italian must be improving as this was the first visit where everybody I spoke with responded to me in Italian. Usually the city dwellers would respond to me in English, but not this time – maybe it has something to do with my Caribbean tan!

Today I hiked to the top of Mount Vesuvius, an active volcano. It was incredible and steam was still coming out of the rocks. There were some of the strongest wind gusts I’ve ever experienced and a few times it felt like I might fly away. Luckily, as a good Coloradan, I brought a jacket with me as I know how the elements on top of a mountain can be, but a lot of the British passengers were not as smart. I’m not sure how they survived in short sleeves and shorts. After Vesuvius we went to Pompeii to see the devastation that the volcano can cause. It was nice to be back in Pompeii and see more of the site than my last visit. I missed the “red light district” on my first trip, but today toured a “happy house” (as our guide put it) from 79 a.d. The brothel had 6 small rooms with beds and very erotic frescoes over the entrances. It was hidden from the main street and they even had a phallus that pointed the way from the main square. Another detail I missed on my first visit were the grooves in the road worn down by the chariots. As I was walking through the city it struck me that Rome and most of our cities are still planned in the same way. We have a main square or downtown, shopping districts or malls, bars/restaurants, and residential areas. I also wondered if in 2000 years (assuming the earth still exists) people would be marveling at our culture and traipsing through a buried city. I capped my day off with a pistachio gelato – just want to make sure you keep track of all my culinary delights!