Italy Part III- Pompeii and Amalfi

So our second full day in Italy we rented a car with our friends, Greg and Barbie, and hit the highway out to the coast.  Rome was a little tricky since it was rush hour but luckily Matt but his Bulgarian driving skills to work!  There are a TON of mopeds in Rome!!  We decided to hit up Pompeii on our way to the coast and boy am I sure glad we did!  It was a gloomy day so we couldn't see Mt. Vesuvius but it was so very cool to see all of the ruins and to imagine how things are still standing 2000 years later!!

We wondered the ruins of the old city for a while.  Crazy to imagine what the town must have thought when the volcano erupted!!

There were so many vineyards, must have been a huge wine production town (surprise, surprise in Italy!)

This was about the best shot of Mt. Vesuvius we were going to get that day....

 There were lots of "stray" dogs, which I always have a soft spot for...

The craziest part of the archaeological site was the imprints of volcanic ash of the people when the volcano erupted.  It's crazy to think that these people were just carrying on with the normal daily routines.  It's even crazier to me that these imprints have survived so long with very little care...

 The one below is actually a skeleton and ash.  Matt wanted us to get in a picture and we weren't quite sure how to pose!!

Next up, Amalfi Coast!!