Pompeii & Rome, Italy - Sept 4-7

After leaving Positano, we made our way through the mountains to the "lost city" of Pompeii. This was a large ancient roman city that was engulfed in a cloud of dust from an erruption of the Vesuvius volcano hundreds of years ago. They have excavated the majority of the city. We got a tour guide to take us around. It was impressive.

A large theatre.



One of the main shopping streets in the Pompeii city.



This is a main square and you can see the volcano in the background. The city was basically built at the base of a large volcano - not that smart!



Lots of columns everywhere.



This was one of the best restored buildings - a roman bath. It was very cool.



One of the fascinating but obviously tragic exhibits was both a man and a dog captured in the state when they passed away. The residue from the volcanic blast preserved them exactly as they were at that time.




After our visit to Pompeii, we continued on to Rome to culminate this great trip. Along the way, we had terrific meals. Italian food is one of our favorites. That said, even italian food can get old when you eat it 3 meals a day for 2 weeks straight with no variation. So, our first night in Rome we cancelled our traditional dinner reservations and went to someplace truly American.....the hard rock cafe.




After some good Rock n' Roll, budweisers and nachos, we walked around Rome. We saw the Spanish Steps......



....and the Trevi fountain.




We started the next day with something Anthony was very excited about - the vatican museum and St. Peters.



Once we got inside, Anthony showed Amy where he and his family sat on December 24, 1995 for midnight massive on Christmas Eve where the Pope was officiating. It as an incredible experience.



Anthony touched this saint's foot for good luck.



Back in 1995, Anthony told Amy that his father hadn't been to confession in over 20 years. While we visited St. Peters, they had confessional booths open for every language imaginable. After a lot of guilting, Anthony's dad finally agreed to go to confession (the rationale being, if not now, then when). There is a hilarious picture in the Civale family of Anthony's dad emerging from the confessional dripping in sweat 20 minutes after going in. I guess 20 years of sins pile up. Very funny then, but not so funny for Anthony now. The same logic was applied to Anthony in 2009 who also hadn't been to confession in a while. So, he went. And, yes, he did end up sweating upon emerging from the confessional. Thos priests are tough in St. Peters!



Some more pictures of St. Peters and the square. Very imposing and impressive.





Our guide told us that many of the major churches around the world had their names engraved in the floor of St. Peters. Here is St. Patricks Cathedral in NY.



After St. Peters, the touring continued. Next the pantheon.




Italian kings really love to make huge monuments in honor of themselves.



Even though the fort itself wasn't that interesting, the views from the top were spectacular.





Our last sightseeing adventure was to head to ancient rome. And, of course, a trip to rome is not complete without a picture in front of the colleseum.





The restaurant had great evening views of Rome which was a very pretty city at night.



Our last picture for our last meal in Italy.



It was a perfect 2nd honeymoon and a time we will always remember! Viva Italia!