I can tell that this trip is going to be an exciting adventure! Day two was no more mundane than day one.

Pompeii is a very interesting place – amazing really given the age of some of the buildings  dating back to 500BC. An earthquake hit in 62AD doing a fair bit of damage and then the volcano erupted in 79AD, burying the city under 4 to 6 meters of ash and causing complete evacuation of the city. Excavation and restoration has been ongoing since the 1700s and is still ongoing. Details of everyday life have been well preserved since the layers of ash ensured preservation from water and weather. When Vesuvius erupted many people sought safety in their homes. The next day, when tons of ash decended on the city, many were just buried in place.

Getting out of Pompeii and on the road to Sorrento was quite an experience – only possible because we have GPS. The entrance ramp to the highway was closed so we wound our way through street after street, turn after turn (including many mis-turns) until we found ourselves down by the coastline through the industrial end of town. It was quite exciting but between George’s good sense of direction and Siri…we made it.

The Amalfi coast drive did not disappoint despite the fact that it was a cloudy afternoon with intermittent rain. The trip is about 40 km of the narrowest winding road either of have ever been on. George excelled as the chauffeur in a standard-gear car, no less! The car survived without a scratch, although we did have a little scare when we rubbed against the stone wall. We decided it must have been the tire that took the brunt of that escapade. There aren’t many places to stop for pictures as the road is right against the cliffs with a 500′ drop to the ocean. Busses travel both ways, honkng their horns to warn oncoming traffic. Everything works well until two of them get to the same tight curve at the same time! Time didn’t permit us to stop and explore the small towns along the way – each seemingly have a special character of their own. We did stop in Minori so that George could rest his clutch foot and enjoyed hot chocolate made the european way with real melted chocolate. Right down at the ocean it was very cold and windy as we walked around town for 10 minutes.

Our stop for the night was Cassino, north of Naples. We arrived about 7pm, dropped our things in the room and left to find dinner. Would you believe the only place we could find was the Golden Arches! I guess people don’t eat out here. The only restaurant we found was called Al Capone, but it was booked for a private party. There were lots of cafes and pizzerias but they’re all take aways or have a few tables out on the street. It was a bit cold tonight to dine al fresco. So MacD’s won out and I broke my golden rule of never eating dinner there.

It was a fun day – full of exciting adventures – and between Pompeii, Minori and Cassino we walked over 17,000 steps! Definitely taking the pain pill tonight.