So on our first day in Positano, since the weather wasn't too cooperative, we decided to head over to Pompeii. We were more confident this time in taking the bus so we went to the little station, got our tickets, and hopped on when it came. Now there's only one bus that goes through here so there was little thinking involved. However part of the way through our journey we pass another bus, going the other direction, that says SORENTO on the top. It was then we realized that we were on the wrong bus. So we got off at the next stop, bought new tickets (which were sold in a phone store down the road) and got on the *right* bus that brought us to Sorento. We hopped back on the same train and after a few stops we were in Pompeii.

Now I figured it was gonna be pretty cool here, but I have to tell you, it by far exceeded my expectations. When all the ash for the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius covered the city of Pompeii, it preserved everything by keeping out air and moisture. So the conditions you are able to see these houses in is remarkable. Going from the Roman Forum where there are only a couple of big rocks left to this was really cool.

The Romans were really into art and so all of the houses of the wealthy are decorated to the nines. You can still even see a lot of the paintings on the walls, which are done with such rich colors and detail. I can't imagine what it would be like to wake up and live in a house like that everyday.

Another interesting thing was how ginormous the houses of the wealthy were. They all had a bunch of rooms that surrounded an elaborate (and big) garden in the middle. I could go on and on about how cool - and slightly eerie - it all was, but I don't want to bore you.

My take home message is that visiting Pompeii gave me a lot of insight into how the Romans lived, especially the wealthy, and I could have spent another couple of hours looking around. I mean its an entire town and there's a lot to see!

We treked back to Positano (this time without incident) and when we got off the bus, the wind was absolutely visious. Being on a mountain there was no protection from the wind or the pelting rain that started as we got off the bus. With chattering teeth we basically ran down the hill to a restaurunt right near our aparment. Overall another good day!