Dormant?

We finally visited the local volcano this weekend, Vesuvius- the one that destroyed Pompeii in 79 A.D. We can see it from base on a daily basis, well, as long as it's a clear day- so it's about time we made it there!

Little back ground: now there is Vesuvius, the volcano, and Mt. Vesuvius, the mountain right next to (semi-connected to) the volcano. Before it erupted in 79 A.D. "they say" it was all one enormous volcano, but the eruption was so massive that it caused it to split... Viola! And then there were two...
We had nothing on the agenda for our Saturday, and the miserable summer weather is gone so we were on our way! The drive to the base of the volcano is quick and easy. The drive up however, is about 15-20 minutes of slow driving, steep skinny streets and sharp turns. Not to mention there were quite a few tour buses going up and down- I would hate to be them on those hillsides! Although, it was of course worth it, and the views are incredible.

However, the volcano can be rather shady and the clouds like to congregate at the top, so when we got to the top the views weren't so clear... But that will come later.
Eventually the street dead ends into a parking lot, where you pay a few Euro, park and then hike up! (which you also have to pay for...) The hike is steep!!! I might have turned back but there was a group of old people behind us- that'd be embarrassing! So onward ho! The hike was about 15 minutes at my hurry-let's-get-this-over-with pace. Once at the top you can circle the top of the crater and check out the many views in...

and down the volcano...

...etc...

Notice the clouds... so cool :-)

Once we were done, we thought that instead of walking back down, it might be easier to just roll down into the abyss...

Ok maybe not- we've all heard not to walk into the light...
But with the steam (or whatever that was) coming out of the center, I did question the trust we put into the people who say that this volcano is "dormant."

But hey, what do I know about eruption calculating?
PS. Please don't tell my mom ;-)
XOXO