Luckily we all woke up feeling pretty good today and ready to tackle our 3 hour drive back up to Rome. I did the driving today and found that my driving style meshed nicely with the drivers on the Amalfi coast! We had a tour of the Herculanum with an archeologist scheduled for 9 am and it was already blazing hot when we arrived. Planning the trip, the guys had to decided between Pompei or Herculanum. We opted for the latter since we’d heard it was less crowded but still really amazing, plus much smaller so you can see it in a half day. Our tour guide did a great job, leading us around and planning stops between large groups so we had areas to just us. This city was covered during the same timeframe as Pompei but the material carbonized many wooden structures, resulting in extraordinary relics!

Some of my favorite sections were the mosaics in the baths, so intricate and still so beautiful!

Leaving the ruins behind, we made the final leg of the journey to Rome, arriving at our hotel early in the afternoon. The hotel reminded me of a former college building, I’m not sure of its history but not a typical hotel layout. Rather than drive around more or go walking in the heat, we had a quiet afternoon, sipping some espresso and writing.

Dinner at the hotel was fine, Josh scored the best with a chicken caesar salad! We all ordered a large bottle of something to drink… can you match the drink with the person??