Edd's Travels: Pompeii & Herculaneum, Italy

That last blog (from Naples) was a bit grumpy, wasn't it? I'm glad to be able to balance things out by reporting that Pompeii and Herculaneum, both just a short ride away from Naples on the commuter train, do absolutely live up to expectations and are a must-see if you're anywhere near this part of the world. Of the two, Pompeii is bigger and more famous and more isolated from the surrounding present-day towns; whereas Herculaneum is better-preserved, generally less crowded, and its smaller size makes it more manageable. Ignore all the online forum chatter about which one to choose. Visit both.

Here, much more so than anywhere in Rome, you can wander around in relative peace and quiet, and imagine what it was like to live here nearly 2,000 years ago. Of course, you have to remind yourself that the ancient Romans didn't live in bleak bare windswept ruins: these places would have been teeming with activity, with men and women and children, plus pets and livestock, and all the sounds and smells of everyday life, right up until that moment in 79AD when the sky went black and Vesuvius began releasing molten rock and hot ash at the rate of 1.5 million tons every second.

We have a first-hand account of the eruption from Pliny the Younger and it makes for sobering reading. Our understanding of exactly what happened to the residents of Pompeii and Herculaneum (other than the very few who escaped in time) is still evolving, but basically when you're engulfed in a pyroclastic cloud, the cause of death is not being burned but being cooked. It's quick, but not necessarily instantaneous.

Apologies for renewing the gloomy mood. Still, it puts Storm Darragh into perspective, if you'll forgive me for saying so. I trust you're all unscathed back in the UK. Meanwhile I still have a few more places to check out before going home for Christmas.