Pompeii and the Amalfi coast
Trip Start
May 14, 2008
1
8
17
Trip End
May 30, 2008
May 21 - Road trip. We take off for the ruins of Pompeii, which was buried under the ashes of Mt. Vesuvius in 79 AD. They also had an earthquake in 67 AD that they had not completely rebuilt from. It was a huge complex city and we got a feel for life there in the first century. We spent about 3 hours there and could have spent another 3 without seeing everything or hearing all the stories. On the way back we drive the Amalfi Coast. Great views and crazy driving on narrow roads with steep walls and no shoulders. The road is too narrow for tour busses but there were dozens of them. On the switchbacks the buses need the entire road to make the turn and the turns have mirrors so you can see what's coming around the bend. If you see a tour bus coming you just stop and give him room, but we encountered one bus/car collision where the car driver was not paying enough attention. It caused a major traffic backup in both directions and caused us to wait 20 or 30 minutes to get through. Gary drives like a native Italian, and I'm really glad I did not have to drive and could enjoy the great views.
