Week Six: Pompeii, Vesuvius and Rome

When I was a little girl, I wanted desperately to be a volcanologist. I was convinced that I would spend the rest of my life studying volcanoes. In fact, if I had my way, I would have worked in Hawaii's Volcanoes National Park, lived perfectly contented on a volcanic island, and died in a volcano eruption or something like that. So it was with great anticipation that I planned a weekend to go see the infamous city of Pompeii and the still active Mt. Vesuvius. And it just so happened that I went to Rome, too. 

The Colosseum. Blew my mind. 

And the arch...

The Pantheon. Pretty cool. 

And here's the Roman forum! One of the most amazing excavations of the old city. 

Under this mound of rocks, my friends, lie the cremated remains of Julius Caesar.

The Trevi Fountain!

I'm now destined to return to the Eternal City...

It was bright and early Saturday morning that we made our way to Pompeii. After checking in to our hostel, we made the decision to climb Mt. Vesuvius, as the weather was beautiful, and we didn't want to risk cloudy skies on Sunday. The views were amazing. 

And that, my friends, is the Mediterranean. 

Here's the crater. In the photo below, you can see some steam rising from the side. Vesuvius' last eruption was in 1944, so it's due for an eruption. The volcano remains closely monitored for any signs reaction to seismic activity. 

Since climbing Vesuvius took us a few hours, we weren't able to see Pompeii on Saturday. So we spent Sunday morning in the ruins. It was my dream come true. I was like a giddy little school girl. Below we saw a few of the body casts, and a lot of excavated pots and household items. 

There were tons of statues still in tact. 

And behind this statue, you can see remnants of the "Pompeiian red" - such a vivid color. Researchers have reported that the remnants of the red color that is found throughout the town's frescoes and on painted walls, could possibly have been yellow - but reacted with the chemicals in Vesuvius' gasses, and then turned red. It's disputed, since some frescoes were deliberately painted with red, but they've found that others started out yellow. 

Below is some more of the Pompeiian red, with Mt. Vesuvius in the background. 

After we visited Pompeii, we made our way back to Rome, and had four hours before our train to Florence left. As such, we walked practically the entire city searching for the Vatican. Upon finding it, we were interviewed by Fox News on our opinion of the new pope. (Who has been elected, and is from Argentina, if you haven't heard.) 

It was beautiful. We got a short break in the rainy weather while we were there. We didn't go inside, and the Sistine Chapel was closed, thanks to the papal election, but it was such an amazing sight to see. It's gorgeous. 

So here's to another weekend of adventuring! I can't wait to report some more next week. And, I suppose I should announce my spring break plans. France, England, and Austria are on the menu! 

Living passionately, 

♥ Em