Pomp(eii) and Circumstance

Nothing in Italy comes easy. Nothing in this world that's worth having comes easy. A trip to Pompeii was worth having.

I honestly didn't know what to think of this trip, for several reasons. For one thing, we were going to Naples but not to Naples. Imagine going to New York, then staying in Armonk the entire time without venturing out to the City. This is what we were supposed to do.

Maggie said that she loved Naples, but she also wanted to make sure no one got robbed or shivved. Moreover, we were running on a tight schedule and there probably wouldn't be time for such a trip.

All of these concerns were put to rest by Pompeii. My only previous memory of Pompeii was this sixth-grade tale "The Dog of Pompeii." Google it for more details. For some reason, I'd had the misconception that much of Pompeii was burned, instead of covered in ash.

Pompeii is breathtaking. It's gorgeous, creepy, serene, and menacing all at the same time. I'll upload my pictures later. The Internet here has severe problems.

We're actually staying in a charming little villa outside of Naples. The staff here cooks us full dinners (pasta, meat, salad, bread, and amazing dessert) and even packed us lunches for today. Rural service = everything that urban service isn't.

The things I miss most, other than consistent Internet and my friends, are barbecue sauce and ice.

Last night, I dreamt I was on Jeopardy!, but my buzzer failed to work properly. The net result was that I had 3,500 in the middle of Double Jeopardy!, while my opponent to the left had 75,000. (This did strike me as odd.)

Double Jeopardy! was full of frog-related categories, like, "Frog Habits", "Famous Frogs", and "Frog Delicacies." But for whatever reason, I was unable to answer any of the questions. (I remember one question regarding which restaurants in France served frog legs that I completely blanked on.)

Kermit presented one of the clues in a category, but Steve Whitmire refused to talk to me because I lost.