Today we woke up still a bit tired from all of the fun of roaming around Rome yesterday, but we were excited to be in Napoli, and to see Pompeii today! Todd and I have been DYING to see Pompeii for a long time, and so when we found out that Pompeii was an excursion for this cruise, we were super happy about it! And to be able to show the boys!
We got ready and headed down to breakfast and at breakfast Tagg announced that he, "wants to be a Disney freak like Mom!" Ha! Oh boy. Fine. I'll just embrace it. I am a Disney freak. I am sorry but I can't get enough of the magic okay? And as far as wonderful family friendly vacations, they can't be beat. So I am just succombing, and Tagg is noticing! I have actually started to collect pins. I swore I would never do it, but I gave in. I got the cutest Disney Mediterranean pin at the gift shop and I am proudly wearing it on my lanyard. So there. Disney freak.
After breakfast we headed out with our Disney tour group on a short bus ride to the ruins of Pompeii. One thing was for sure...it was HOT. The tour today was only half day again, like Pisa and that was done absolutely on purpose. It was going to be waaaaay too hot for the kids for anything longer, and I knew it. I had heard that there was hardly any shade at Pompeii and that it can get quite miserable pretty quick, so we planned ahead and brought lots of ice cold water and lathered on the sunscreen. But c'mon we were in Napoli, and going to see Pompeii so it was a good day!
We got to Pompeii and headed off on our tour. The tour itself was so-so at best. Not the best tour guide, and it was a very large tour so you could easily fell behind and miss a lot of info, but with the kids I think it was the best way to go. It was quick and we felt like we got what we needed out of it.
You're pretty immediately in the thick of the ruins and it is just so cool!!
The best traveling baby...he was such a trooper today!
The city of Pompeii was destroyed by Mount Vesuvius on my birthday, August 24th...hmmmm...
Tagg loved running up and down the amphitheatre steps...
Some of the most fascinating parts of the tour to me were the living residences of the citizens of Pompeii. This one house in particular was awesome.
The original colors from the house.
It was amazing to see all the original designs and colors on the walls.
Todd and the boys in the courtyard of this home.
The staircase to the home completely preserved.
These are shops that were on a main road heading down the middle of Pompeii.
Ahhhhh, brothers...
Another way cool part was the bath house in the center of town.
They even have some preserved bodies (which is kinda nasty) but pretty fascinating as well!
The boys were a little traumatized! Ha!
(that guy in the plaid shirt seems absolutely amazed! Ha ha!)
The drinking fountains were pretty neat, the same original spot and stones.
Original street signs.
Towards the end of the tour the boys were getting tuckered out!
I really loved Pompeii and I am glad we took the boys along with us, it was honestly amazing.
There she blows, Vesuvius in all her glory!
At the end of the tour we all kinda wandered around the rest of the ruins for a bit, and then headed out to meet the tour bus.
Italian countryside. Is there anything more beautiful in the entire world? I think not.
This is our "we survived touring Pompeii in the middle of August!" picture...
We picked up a few souvenirs at the local Pompeii tourist trap, and then headed back on the AIR CONDITIONED tour bus which was LOVELY because we were tired, hot and SWEATY!
I snapped this pic of vesuvius on our journey back to the ship from the bus...
When we got back to the ship we were all beat from our fun and adventurous day of exploring! We stopped for a quick pic with Mickey in an empty ship lobby.
Tonight was Pirate Night on board the Disney Magic, which means everyone gears up in their best pirate garb, have a festive pirate dinner, and then on the top deck there is a pirate party with fireworks! When we went on our last Disney Cruise, this was definitely a highlight for the boys, they really got into it and loved it, so I knew tonight would be the same. Disney makes everything so fun!
Taters the pirate! Arrgghhhhh!
Cute Thatcher!
He won't be doing pirate dress up for very much longer, so I'll take it while I can!
Tagg in his own pirate world!!
We had a yummy pirate dinner, I can never tire of the wonderful Disney service and delicious food! After dinner the big boys wanted to go to the kids club, so while they were there for a little while, Todd, Tate and I headed out to walk around the deck.
One of my favorite part about the cruise has been taking walks around this deck and just staring out into the open sea. What is it about the vast open sea that is so absolutely calming and relaxing?
It was a beautiful night and we could see the Italian coast in the distance.
Taters!
After we went inside I creepily took pictures of other peoples kids meeting with some of the characters in their pirate gear. I just can't handle how FUN it is! I am a disney freak. Totally true.
We grabbed the boys out of the kids club and headed up to the top deck to the Pirate Party. The boys got all their pirate gear on and had a blast dancing with Mickey and Minnie and gang and then watching the fireworks. Oh Disney! YOU GET ME EVERY TIME!
To say we were exhausted and ready for bed was a complete UNDERSTATEMENT. We were SO ready for bed after having such a fun and great day!
Our towel animal for the night...
(kinda freaky in a cute way)
Tomorrow is our last full day onboard and it is a sea day which means LOTS of relaxing! Cannot wait!
