Forward to Naples and Pompeii

Yesterday was spent at sea, a time to catch up on hand washing etc, further exploring the ship and its various bars and shops, and visiting the spa. There I had my most outrageously priced pedicure ever, although I must say it was although probably the most thorough. My poor winter-to-summer feet were looking somewhat worse for wear. And now they look pretty fresh, with the obligatory blue toenails of course!

We made our way back though the straights of Messina, to dock in Napoli in the glow of dawn this morning. The warm colours of the buildings were enriched by the light of yet another perfect day weather wise. We have heard many reports of rain having preceded us to some destinations, but so far have been super lucky with no real rain at all (we had a few drops here in Napoli today, but not enough to send you running or for a brolly).

We chose to do a tour today, and took the HAL bus to Pompeii. After Ephesus, I was prepared to be underwhelmed, but it was really incredible. The preservation that has been possible under all those centuries of ash is amazing, and you can get a real feel for the structure and streets of the city. Some of the frescoes are still clearly visible in buildings, and highlight the purposes for what they were used for. A favourite? was the brothel, where several pictures illustrating the 'options' lined the walls to assist the clients who did not speak the language of the 'ladies of the night' in making their positional choices. 

The streets of stone were amazing, including the huge stepping stones that were necessary for folk to cross the street safely, because there was not sewage system. A real history lesson for us all, even if the guides-a thick-a Italiano accent-a made it tricky to understand her at times. 

From the town square of Pompeii, Vesuvius rises, and provided a great backdrop for photos.

We travelled again today with our friends Mark and Jenny, lunching on Pizza (of course) in Naples Old Town on our return from Pompeii. We didn't have the energy to do much mirth an that today, and as we are back in Naples again in 2 days, chose to go back to the ship at about 3p.m. Just in time for Team Trivia haha. One of the entertainment options held daily. I joined up with another couple of women yesterday, and we held our own. Today the ANZACs tally bombed, but hey, we tried.

Naples treated us to a spectacular sunset tonight. Unfortunately I had only my pocket camera with me on deck, and would have missed it altogether if I'd rushed back to the room for my proper camera. I do have a couple of shots on my DSLR taken from over Vesuvius, but at the time of writing have not done loaded them to my iPad and it takes forever, so another time.

Today was the end of the first leg of the cruise. Only 300 of the 1800 on board are continuing on to Barcelona. We had our final dinner with Jenny and Mark - and others, as we always do - and bid them farewell, knowing that we have made friends for life. We will miss you guys! Back into Roma tomorrow, and we will return to a whole new lot of cruisers on board.