Greetings from Italy!

As some of you will know, I am in Italy this week with the Form 2 Classics trip. In fact, right now I am sitting in the foyer of a hotel which is right over from the main gate of the amazing excavations at Pompeii. I have taken lots of photos and will post them after I get home. For now, however, you will need to settle for a sort of diary. Here's what we've done so far.......

Thursday was mainly spent travelling - from Edinburgh to Heathrow and then on to Rome followed by a bus journey to Pompei and a late arrival at our hotel. On Friday we spent much of the day exploring Pompei - with Vesuvius loomimg over it,it is very much a place where Geography meets History. We then took the train along the coast to Sorrento and returned in time for dinner.

Yesterday morning was spent at Herculaneum - another Roman settlement which was wiped out by the AD79 eruption of Vesuvius but this time by a lahar mud slide which buried the settlement under metres of volcanic 'concrete'. Many of the excavated buildings still have traces of carbonised wood - evidence of the heat surge which would have killed the inhabitants of Herculaneum before they were buried by the lahar.

In the afternoon we climbed Vesuvius and although it was very cold and cloudy on top, the volcano was obligingly smoking away from its many fumaroles around the crater.

Today we took a drive along the Amalfi coastline which certainly lived up to everything I have heard about the area! The afternoon was then spent at Paestum where we visited a number of Greek (yes, Greek!) temples and sampled the mozarella cheese which is made in the area. Sadly, not a buffalo in sight, though.

Tomorrow we head back to Rome.....

Hope you are all enjoying your holidays.