... traveling with the fam in Pompeii

Ever since I was about 5 years old, I have been fascinated with Pompeii.  It has been one of the top 5 places I have always wanted to see.  After all that time, Pompeii did not disappoint.  To the contrary, it was shocking how well preserved everything was.

One of the main squares in Pompeii has a great view of Mt. Vesuvius.  

The next two shots are of restaurants they had, most likely pizza joints.  It was probably a Dominoes.  

I was amazed by how vibrant the colors still were.  They must have used Behr paint.  

Pompeii apparently has enormous lemons.  

After visiting Pompeii, our drivers took us around Naples for a little while until we found the perfect gelato place.   This is one of the famous squares in Naples.  It also happened to be one of the only places in Naples without garbage everywhere due to the fact that the garbage men were on strike.  That's not a good group of workers to go on strike.  I feel like if garbage men go on strike, you should give them whatever they want.  "A new gulfstream jet and a 100 foot yacht.  Yeah, that sounds reasonable.  Just please take our garbage.  Please!"    

... traveling with the fam in Sicily.

Messina, Sicily has one of the largest, and most famous astronomical clocks in the world.  At noon, all of the gilded figures, including lions, roosters, and even the 12 apostles, start moving around.  

There is a cathedral right next to the clock.  It has big doors.  

After watching the clock do its thing, we wandered around Messina for a little while with my parents.  We saw some cool buildings, 

some fountains, 

some artichokes, 

a view of our ship,

and a fabulous old building with a garden in front. 

Then we hiked to the top of a hill (a big hill) to find another cathedral.  There were some fabulous views of the entire city.  

... wishing I could jump in the lake.

It's been boiling in DC.  Absolutely boiling.  

I have been wishing, even more than usual, which is saying a lot, that I could jump in the lake.

  

... traveling with the fam in Dubrovnik, Croatia

It was raining the day we went to see Dubrovnik, but we didn't let it stop us.  Much to our surprise, we weren't the only brave ones that day.  

Dubrovnik is a walled city, located right on the water.  

We wandered around inside the city wall... 

... and we wandered around outside the city wall.  

Because we were so brave, battling the rain, we rewarded ourselves with some amazing Dubrovnik hot chocolate.