The morning still had that hazy glow when we woke up, 15 minutes earlier than expected, woken up by a call that never failed to make me jump out of my skin. The street lamps were still illuminated as I watched a stray train rumble past. I was going to miss that train even with all the annoyance it granted.
Some of us rose directly after the wake up call to shower and pack. Others however needed a little more encouragement.
We quickly packed what remained of our luggage and headed down to breakfast. Where we had more of the amazing coffee and croissants they serve everyday.
We finishing gathering our belongings and moved down to the lobby to wait. By 7:45 there were only a few people in there, even though we were all supposed to meet at that time. Enrica had us go on ahead to the bus where we waited for everyone else.
After some confusion about the location of the bus we all managed to get there and head off the Vesuvius.
The empty shells of once occupied buildings populated the road to the top. The sharp twists and turns of the road twisted and turned our stomachs to the point where looking out the window was difficult.
Vesuvius was beautiful though, the rolling cliffs of the mountains carved out by years of weather and lava flows. The trees were packed tightly together, breaking only for the occasional farmer and their field.
It was much colder than every other day once we got out of the bus. The height was slightly sickening but the view was too amazing to pass up. After gathering our stuff and getting some water, we started our steep hike toward the top.
The walk up was tough. The dusty path was steep and the altitude weighed down on our chests. The wind chilled our cheeks and stole our breath. The path was just as curvy as the road but made of brown rocky sand. Every step hurt my calves and it was hard to keep balanced. It felt like it took forever.
But it was all worth it. Once we reached the top the view was breathtaking. On one side was the most amazing view of the city and sea below. All the building were dwarfed into small white dots and we could see everywhere all around.
On the other side there was the crater, it was surrounded by high walls of rock with sulfuric steam leaking from the slightest cracks in the rock. I was expecting it to be a deep hole, extending out of sight. But instead we saw a pit sealed with a layer of rock and gravel, the bottom clearly within the line of sight. There were a few gift shops scattered across the top one at each end of the path and the other in the middle.
Walking down the path with only the sound of the crushing of the rocks under my feet and the wind I felt like I was on a different planet. I walked the perimeter of the crater, each view of it drastically different than the last. The grey gravel and stones gave the appearance of the moon and color leaked in deep in the crater.
Our time up there was too short, and we had the head back down the way we came. We let gravity do most of the work for us and struggled to keep from slipping. We were down in no time. We jumped onto the bus and prepared our stomachs for the sickening ride down.
We sat outside at a restaurant half way down the mountain, warmed by the sun at our back, we were all ready for a nap.
Our food took slightly longer than it did at many of the other restaurants that we'd been to, which only intensified my feeling of coming sleep.
We started off with salad, which I are eagerly. I hadn't realized how hungry I was until I started eating. The tomatoes in the salad were amazing, and I could've eaten many more than I was given.
We were then given the option of pizza or ravioli. I got the pizza and it was just as amazing as the last pizza. These were slightly smaller and much more manageable to eat the whole thing. I shared with my table mates and waited until the gelato came.
I wasn't quiet sure of the flavor of gelato but it was yummy and some time of berry I think. I preferred the other type we've had, but, like everything we've eaten on this trip, it was still amazing.
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