so to finish the Italian chapter of the bucket list, with the ruins and fossilised remains of Pompeii - plus a hike to the summit of Versuveus, the volcan responsible for the decimation..and, of course, a pizza in the bay of Naples.
Well worth the detour South, we were entertained by a tour of Pompei including the amphitheatre, town streets, plus various buildings including the local brothel, complete with picture 'menu' of services on offer.
The most memorable, and haunting, part of Pompeii is surely the plaster casts taken of humans (and a dog!) that were caught in the disaster - each frozen at the exact moment in time that the volcano rained down upon them, many cowering in fear.
To recover from that experience, we took a lung busting climb to survey the smoking crater of the volcano itself. And with the umpteenth pizza in a matter of days, time to return to Rome and finish the sights there..