Pompei

I set the alarm for 6am so we could get to Pompeii before the heat. In the end we were a little delayed by the enormous buffet breakfast on offer, including mountains of pain au chocolat that Katarina rapidly excavated.

When we left for the train at 8.30 it was already hot but bearable. The train was packed and knackered but cheap and arrived without too much fuss. Inside Pompeii we were fortunate the sun was obscured by cloud and water was available from taps plumbed into the original fountains.

The whole site is overwhelming and disorientating. The city is huge and, considering its age, in amazing condition with frescos on many walls still clearly visible in full colour. It's difficult to know where to go because there's so much to see and also because the sign posting is atrocious. We spent 8 hours searching for our target destinations and the very uneven cobbled streets were hard work.

My favourite site was the House of the Tragic Poet, I think, which had a mosaic floor in one area with pieces so small that the whole picture (of Alexander the Great) had 6 million tiles, or so I read and also roughly counted!

In the end we (perhaps more I) had to give in to our sore feet and head back. Did it really matter that we missed another room with bright red and yellow frescos or another immaculate floor mosaic? I wouldn't say I was ever bored but it did become too much. It's an impressive site and I suspect our memories, without the sore feet and midday sun, will do more justice to the beauty of the city. I regret not having a better map or perhaps even a guide but we enjoyed the freedom. In the end, with out hats and sun lotion we survived without scaring, despite 8 hours in the sun.

Katarina: Pompeii is beautiful and hot but the main problem is the idea this city was once thriving with people then next all gone.