Hello everyone and welcome to my Italian experience so far. Today we got the fudge out of Sorrento fairly early so we could go and see the important stuff. With that in mind we (and about 47,000 other people) arrived to see the ruins in Pompeii at around 9:35. We met up with our guide, a Greek which was odd, and after the old bloke figured out the microphone system we were away. Pompeii is all about using your imagination and since mine is usually focused on mentally undressing pretty women and coming up with witty zingers, I had to focus very hard. The place is ginormous and they are still uncovering and excavating large areas of the ruins. We first went through the old market square which led us to the plaster casts they have made of the original preserved bodies. There was one of a dog that Sal couldn't look at, but the rest were pretty tame. That was mostly because you couldn't make out faces and if you could I'm sure they would have been horrific. From then on we were really just looking at broken buildings, as they all looked the same except for the bathhouses which were quite pretty. Mount Vesuvius erupt in the first century AD and destroyed at least three towns, 2 from ash and 1 from volcanic mud. Pompeii is the best preserved of the cities which along with the mummies is why it is famous. We left around 12:40 after getting a lovely cold drink (it was high 30's again today) and I got to be tour guide for a few minutes as I led our group to the safety of the bus. We then proceeded to Rome I'm told as I had my eyes shut most of the way. When we arrived in Rome Sally and I immediately fell in love with the place. We dropped out bags and went on a walking tour to see the historical monuments (not to be confused with the ancient monuments). We were dropped of and as we approached an opening we hit a square and there was the Trevi Fountain. This thing is amazing and big and detailed and crowded. We threw our coins in with our right hand and over our left shoulder (throwing one coin means you wish to return to Rome, two is to be means you wish to be married soon and three is you wish to be divorced soon, we threw one each) took a picture or 7 and soldiered on up the street. After Sally was almost tricked by a gypsy we came across the Spanish Steps. Once again so much detail and so many people. We then wandered through the Piazza del Popolo (people's square) ad raced to save the priest from being killed with earth.... No wait, that's Angels & Demons, we just strolled through. We then went out to a fantastic 5 course dinner and the wait staff were brilliant as well as the flortist. We have absolutely had a blast so far and we are off to the Vatican tomorrow and then to see Ancient Rome before an afternoon off (probably by the pool).

Arrivederci
Alex