Italy/Greece : Day 6 - Sorrento -> Assisi

Welcome to Pompei! Our day started at 6am, and our first stop of the day is Pompei. Fabrizio changed our itinerary so that we would be there first thing in the morning before it got hot and crowded.

We had a GREAT guide through the ruins! He told us stories and really had us imagine what life would be like in this city.

And it was a city, bigger than 100 football fields and buried under 60 meters of ash.

Actually 10% of Pompei is still buried... Who know what else they will find!

They have some buildings fully intact:


Now this was really interesting... they put all the pottery, statuary and other stuff they find in this gated area. It seems that the highlight for most people were the dead people. It was hard to get close to the fence.

Here is a great view of Mt. Vesuvius. The volcano is still active and people are living on the side of it... what are they thinking?!

By the time we were leaving Pompei, the tour buses from the cruise ships were just arriving... perfect timing again, Fabrizio!

Today is a travel day (5 hours on the bus), which is fine because as we drive back North we are driving into rain.

We did make a stop at the Cassino War Cemetery. I have to admit when we recited what we did this day, we always forget the War Cemetery. It wasn't memorable, even Fabrizio couldn't remember where it was, and the driver got lost.

It was only sprinkling lightly when we got to Assisi. It is a medieval town built on a hill. It is famous for the St. Francis Basilica.



We got a tour of the Basilica. We weren't prepared, so those of us in shorts had to buy a cover-up in the foyer for 50 cents. There must not have been photos allowed, because I don't have any photos of the inside. There are three churches in the Basilica, all built on top of each other. St. Francis is entombed in the bottom. We each left candles there.

Getting back to our tour guide, Marco. He was great! He was very enthusiastic and knowledgeable about St. Francis and the art there. It was a fun tour!

Our hotel was very nice. After Fabrizio kept warning us about the "moderate" accommodations, I expected the worse, but it was one of my favorite hotels.

After dinner, we took a walk in Assisi in the rain.

There are 14 churches in the one little town of Assisi:


It's a good thing all roads lead back to the Basilica, because we were lost! Yes, okay... we should have listed to Cheryl. Anyway, from the Basilica, it was easy to make it back to the hotel for a good night sleep.