Pompeii and Vesuvius.

On 24 August in the year 79 A.D., Mt Vesuvius erupted and the commune of Pompeii was destroyed, completely buried in ash. The difference between Herculaneum (the popular tourist site) and Pompeii is that Herculaneum was burned from the lava flow, Pompeii was buried in ash. At the time, Pompeii had a population of about 20,000 people. It wasn't until 1749 that the remains of the city of Pompeii were discovered.

We took a guided tour of Pompeii and Vesuvius, so the day did not belong to us and we could only go to the places out tour guide took us too. It was a VERY HOT day...almost unbearable. The kids did great given the conditions.

Dylan ran and jumped all over the place. It was a waste to take the stroller with us.

Dylan enjoyed listening to the tour guide. He thought he could speak back to her through the receiver unit and kept speaking into it.

Staying cool on a very hot day was a priority.

Ethan was very concerned about our trip to Mt Vesuvius. He had watched a documentary on Pompeii prior to our trip, and was convinced we would die in a volcanic eruption. When the bus finally took us to Mt Vesuvius, I stayed on board with Dylan, who finally fell asleep after running all over Pompeii. Dan took Ethan on the 20 minute hike to the summit. Once they reached the top Ethan turned to Dan and said, "You made me walk the way up here to look at a hole in the ground!" Needless to say, he was not impressed, and was no longer fearful of dying in a volcanic eruption.