Monday 28 May 2012 Naples

Today we travelled by bus just over half an hour to Pompeii for a tour of about two hours. To refresh your memory, this city was buried in ash in 79 AD by an eruption of nearby Mount Vesuvius. They have excavated about 150 acres/66 hectares so far. It was a very interesting tour when you have someone to explain details for you.

It was raining when we returned about noon, but we dug out our umbrella and took a short walk to the main square. There we found an 1890 version of a shopping mall. Although it was Monday, at least three wedding parties were taking their pictures there. Celeste managed to sneak into one of their pictures. She is convinced they were gypsy weddings judging by the brides’ and attendants’ slutty dresses, like those shown on TLC’s reality show “My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding."

We returned to the ship for lunch at about 2 PM then went to our cabin where I downloaded pictures and wrote blog while Celeste caught a few winks. We went up to the Crow’s Nest bar for “sail-away.” People gather to watch the ship’s departure while the head tour guy provides commentary on what you can see. Before the actual departure the cruise director led a game of trivia and Celeste wanted to play. I didn’t think we were doing very well, but when the points were totalled up we were tied for first with two other teams of about eight people each. We came second in the tie-breaker.

At dinner we sat with two pairs of Aussies and had a very enjoyable time. Aussies are probably the second largest group aboard, after the Americans. Two of the four were immigrants and two were first generation born in Austrlaia. At yesterday's lunch we sat with four Aussies and a Swiss. At least two of the Aussies were also immigrants.

From dinner we went to the Showroom for a full cast production of pop songs from the last four or five decades. After that we went up to the Crow’s Nest again to hear a guitarist/vocalist that we enjoyed very much. Then it was back to the room for blogging.

Weather: overcast and 20 degrees C on the bus display when we left; still 20 degrees when we returned; very light sprinkle of rain when we left Pompeii, becoming light rain by the time we got to Naples and moderate rain after we returned to the ship. The people we sat with at dinner were on a longer tour that did Pompeii later and got soaked.