Pompeii lost again (in my blog)

In our haste to catch up on our blogging, Pompeii got lost and buried once again. When we arrived in Naples by train, instead of heading right to our hotel, we stored our baggage at the train station for a fee, and got on the famous Circumvesuvius train bound for Pompeii. Naples Central train station has 3 levels to it. First level is the Trnitalia which is the connector between Naples and the rest of Italy. 2nd level is for the Metro, or the local trams that go throughout the city. The third and final level down is our famous, or infamous Circumvesuvius or as Rick Steve's calls it, The Pickpocket Train. This is the local train connecting Naples with several stops in the city, then onto Pompeii! And finally Sorrento. We have never seen so many shifty characters in one place, in our lives. Be cautious or your money will be in someone else's hands. Keep your purses zipped and in front of you, use your money belt and stay alert. We didnt see anyone with sticky fingers so it must have been a pickpocket union holiday. No problems and we arrive at Pompeii Scavi to begin our tour. A thriving community of 35,000 people with a large city, central government area, theatre, and Coliseum for sporting events, was snuffed out by an explosive eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in 79 AD. A full 2/3rds of the mountain erupted one night and the next day blew away in an instant 5 miles away and the resulting debris and Pyroclastic cloud swept down the mountain and killed the populace. The photos on Facebook show fast food joints where people went to get there evening meals from insulated pots full of soup, stew and of course, wine. The grain mills in several locations in the city show the huge wheat grinders that were people powered to grind the wheat down into flour. We also toured the largest house in Pompeii at 29,000 square feet, with bronze statues, marble lined bathes, and formerly beautiful mosaics on the grounds. Toured the large theatre area and coliseum used for sporting events. Because of the quick moving gas and debris, everyone was smothered, killed, and entombed. People encased in this volcanic ash were exhumed and preserved and shown in their last moments. One touching set of remains shows a man shielding a girl with his own body; alas to no avail. A very sobering day, while at the same time, we were amazed at how advanced this city was. We left Pompeii and headed back to Naples to pick up our luggage and brave the crazy streets of Naples. We arrived safely and checked into our hotel. One last thought on Italian labor practices. It seems that Italy must have a 2 person for every job rule. Police always walked their beats with a partner, someone performing work anywhere, always had a partner with them, no matter how menial the job was, and Police in Piazzas drove in a circle around and around in a tiny Fiat never leaving the vehicle. The trash is taken out to the street by apartment dwellers and left on the street in stacks to be picked up by, you guessed it, 2 trash collectors who then placed it in the mini trash truck. Caio caio