Vesuvius + Pompei

Pompei was hot. Pompei was too hot to be honest. Open sky, not a single tree offering a shadow as an escape. 

We took the Circumvesuviana train in the morning from Piano straight to Pompeii Villa of the Mysteries. That is the name of the station. You can easily reach the vulcano if you stop at Ercolano Scavi too. We decided to climb Vesuvius first, to avoid the midday sun. But honestly, that didn't make a difference. I believe that from the moment the sun rises until the moment the sun sets it's going to be unbearably hot up there. So bring a water bottle and get ready to get your clothes dirty and dusty. 

There are many touristic companies that provide the bus ride all the way through the vulcano hill, but you can only reach the peak if you walk. So the bus leaves you at a strategic point and then you just walk.  It's not a long walk, not too steep either, but can be quite tiring under the burning sun. 

Lovely views from above as you go around the vulcano, you can even see Naples bay from one of the sides of the hill! I guess I was hoping the experience to be more impactful overall, but I stood on a Vulcano and that's rather amazing to me!

It's very hard to get a picture of the whole cratera on your camera, because it is so wide!!! Probably that's what I was not expecting. I mean, I was expecting it to be big, but on the internet you can always see the whole thing in one picture, you know? ahah

And then, back down, walking first, bus next, until we were back in Pompeii. I was just so tiring, and dehydrated and hot and uncomfortable I didn't really enjoyed. I regret not having a guide or something/someone to guide me through Pompeii because I feel like I missed out on so much interesting information that could totally have changed my experience! So if you can, absolutely do that!

I think we were done by 3pm and honestly I just wanted to go home, take a nice shower and lay on my bed. From all days and thing we have done, if I had to exclude one, this would be it.  But looking back I am also very happy that I did it. 

On a side note, Lana Del Rey played incessantly on my earphones during this trip and here I am, reviving such lovely moments with Lana playing in the background once again.

It's been almost an year now... feels like yesterday to me.