Today we departed Rome for Pompeii. After breakfast, we boarded our coach around 8:00 am. As we traveled to Pompeii we saw the Bay of Naples and the Isle of Capri. It was very hazy so the Isle was hard to spot. As we came closer to Pompeii, we got a great view of Mt. Vesuvius. It is quite impressive, equally impressive as what we were about to see. When we arrived at Pompeii the actual city was not visible, only the area around the most elevated part of the city. I personally had no idea how large a city it was. We walked up many winding streets paved with large stones. Stepping stones were placed across the streets for the pedestrians.  There were ruts worn in the road from the many cart wheels that had traveled up and down the roads. There were bakeries, pharmacies, hospitals, bordellos, bath houses, and several other businesses. There were many small homes and as we made our way up the the highest part of the city, we were able to walk through the homes of the Patricians. It was fascinating to hear all of the stories from our guide Pepe. After some refreshment in the new Pompeii, we left for Naples. It was not what I would have expected. The city lacked charm, but did have many beautiful buildings. This was the first opportunity I had to upload information to the website. Hopefully I will be able to update daily from now on for those of you following along. Tomorrow we head for southern Italy.