Umbrella Pines, Palm trees, the Bay of Naples, and the world's most closely watches volcano... all part of a visit to Italy's second most visited attraction: the Pompeii Archeological Park. We were up early to meet our local guides who took us to see a few of the highlights of the city frozen in time by the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in 79 AD. To say we covered a lot of ground in a short amount of time would be an understatement!
On the way back to Rome, we stopped at the Commonwealth War Cemetery at Casino to honour the hundreds of young Canadian soldiers buries there. We spent a few moments thinking about who these you doing men were and why they took part in the battle to liberate Italy from Nazi rule. After finding their graves we placed a Canadian flag at the final resting place of the eight Calgarians ranging in age fro mm 20 - 32. It was our way of saying thank you to the families who paid such a high price for freedom and that of our friends in Italy. The kids did a great job of finding the graves and paying our respects, and we all had something to think about on the way back to Rome.
We had to improvise for supper given the traffic and our late return to the city. So I ordered 'the Italian Kings' at the Burger King in Rome (never thought I'd say that!) The kids didn't seem to mind after a huge late lunch on Napolese pizza just in Naples in the shadow of Mount Vesuvius.
I think it is safe to say we will sleep well tonight. Tomorrow is our Ancient Rome tour, the Catacombs of St. Calista, and a bike ride along the Appia Antica.
God bless you and thanks for being part of the adventure!
Bruce and the Team
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