Naples

Our last full day on the Disney Magic would see us docking in Naples, where we had an excursion planned for Mt. Vesuvius and Pompeii. This would mean we would not get to see much of Naples itself, which was disappointing, but we knew it would be easier to visit Naples on our own in the future and the historical sites. We awoke for breakfast in Cabanas and then met our tablemates, who were doing the same excursion, so we could get on the same bus.

Hiking Mt. Vesuvius

After a very short wait in the theater, we were on a bus towards the mountain. The first stop, though, was a cameo shop, where we learned more about making cameos in five minutes than any of us needed to know, along with, of course, a shop where you could buy overpriced cameos. This was our last chance to use a free toilet, however, so we took advantage of that. After a long, winding drive, we arrived at the mountain. Our guide gave us our tickets and we took to hiking up the steep slopes. We decided they could have used one or two more switch-backs to break up the hike as the last part felt like a long, never-ending uphill climb. But with a lot of gorgeous scenery and plently of time, we stopped often to take photos.

Top of the Volcano

The views were incredible, minus the fog at the top, and realizing how much larger this mountain had once been made us glad we didn't have to hike to that height. At the top, we could view down into the crater itself, still an active volcano, but silent on this day. Our tablemates climbed the many stairs to get a view of Pompeii and J. R. followed, although didn't go all the way around as they did. Janie enjoyed the crater and did a little gift shopping, buying a lava rock dragon for her dragon collection and a Mars bar for Rebecca. Janie was heartbroken when we returned home and she could not find the dragon. We thought it was in our lost bag, but when it was eventually returned, it was not there. We thought we maybe left it on the bus, but then J. R. found it wrapped with one of his ties in the pocket of our garment bag, where he had placed it to prevent it from getting broken (and then forgot about when he emptied the bag).

Hiking Down

The walk down the mountain may have been worse than the hike up as it was easy to slide on the loose gravel. Luckily none of us fell. We reached the bottom and saw what was apparently one of the highest-grossing businesses in the area -- the pay toilets at the bottom of the mountain. A man was collecting a Euro each from a long line of guests needing the bathroom. We decided maybe that could be our retirement business.

Pompeii

The bus took us next to the town of Pompeii, where we had some free time before our tour of the ruins. We used this time to get lunch. This was probably some of the worst service we received on our trip, but the food and birra were good. We looked at some of the shops but weren't in the mood for haggling. We got a good laugh at one vendor trying to talk prices with Rebecca and Cat, two American girls who spoke no Italian and didn't have a dollar, Euro or lira in their pockets. We hope he enjoyed wasting his time. We entered Pompeii next for our guided tour. We were surprised at the sheer size of the place and realized we would only be seeing a fraction of it in this half-day. We had always envisioned it as a small town but it was a rather large city. The weather had turned very hot, so we kept looking for shady spots to hang out while our guide talked. After entering the gates of the city, we walked down the long Viale del Ginestre, looking at the walls of the city as our guide gave us a history lesson of Pompeii before the eruption.

Quadriporticus

Our tour began in the Quadriporticus of the theatres, otherwise known as the Gladiator's Barracks. This area, with its 74 Doric columns was a sort of foyer for the theatre shows.

Grand Theatre

We walked past the Grand Theatre itself and the Odeon, the small theatre, next, mid-second century constructions used for Greek/Roman comedies and tragedies.

Via Stabiana

Our tour continued down the Via Stabiana, where our guide told us about how the sewage would flow down the middle of the streets and pointed out the raised blocks which residents would use to cross the streets so as not to step in sewage. We decided at dinner there should be a chocolate lava cake called the "Streets of Pompeii" that flowed chocolate when you cut into it. Most people wouldn't know what it meant, but those who did would not order it.

Stabian Baths

We moved "inside" next to get an understanding of the Stabian baths, with their cold, medium and hot baths for the townspeople. We made a few comments about this being a real fixer-upper and they could achieve an open concept if they knocked down one of the walls. We watch too much HGTV.

Via dell'Abbondanza

A quick stroll down the Via dell'Abbondanza gave more insight into the daily lives of the residents of Pompeii as our guide told us about the various shops and stalls.

Civil Forum

We were brought next to the Civil Forum, the central core of the city and where all of the main public city administration, justice and business management buildings were located.

Temple of Jupiter

The Temple of Jupiter dominated the north side of the forum, with Mount Vesuvius looming in the background.

Basilica

We paused in the basilica area, one of the more recently-restored areas of the site, where Rebecca and Cat ran into another of their cruise friends, who was taking the same tour on a different bus.

Casts

We ended our tour with the most somber experience, the plaster casts of Pompeii residents. These were taken using indentations found during the excavation and include a young boy shielding his eyes and a dog trying to get loose from his chain as the volcano exploded.

Last Magic Night

The bus returned us to the Magic and we all went to the room to finish our packing. After that, Rebecca went off with her group and we went looking for some drinks and snacks. With no interest in Disney Dreams or Just John and Paul, we went to the pub for some alcohol and chicken wings. Steve and Christina joined us at our table and we all decided to skip 2000's Music Trivia and just talk and drink until dinner time. When we got to dinner, the girls probably thought we were abandoning them as they were there alone. It was the Rapunzel theme night which had Rebecca in high heaven as her favorite princess and Flynn came over to the table for photos and then the girls got up and joined the line dance with their cruise friends. After dinner, nothing was really appealing to us, and we were tired after a long day in the heat, so we turned in early to prepare for our trip to Rome in the morning.

Daily Navigator