Italy
While we spent four nights in Positano, we spent our days on the road. Friday, our second day in Italy, was a very busy one. We started off with a quick tour of Pompeii. One of these days I'm going to visit Pompeii when it isn't so hot that it bakes you.
Here is one of the big temples, next to the forum at
Pompeii 
As you can see by the limited amount of clothing on the female tourist shown here, it was another baking day.
In fact, it was so warm that even the dogs of Pompeii couldn't find the energy to beg for food. Here they are, sleeping in the shade of the cafeteria.
Heat aside, Pompeii was its usual interesting self.
Our next stop, on this busy Friday, was Hercleanium, another one of the towns buried in the big eruption of Vesuvius. Unlike Pompeii, Hercleanium was buried in a mud flow. This picture gives you a good idea of how much stuff sat on top of this town.
The modern town of Ercolo is on the right and in the background.
One of the great mosaics uncovered in Hercleanium.
A bit of advice for the tourist-do not try to find the National Museum in Naples with a lousy map. We attempted this feat after our visit to Hercleanium but met with the success you'd expect. We got lost. Once we found ourselves, we drove on to Monte di Procida to visit with my former landlord and to have dinner in another favorite restaurant. This one does not appear to have a menu. Sometimes you can negotiate with the waiter and sometimes you get what the cook wants to cook. This visit was in the latter category and we had a great seafood sampler.
On our trip back to Positano, we ran into a major traffic jam on the Amalfi so we went another route, which in hindsight may not have been the best idea. It was very late when we slid into bed.
