We are up early today as we have a big tour booked for Ercolona , Oplontis & Pompeii. Our guide is Francesco ( frank) as he wants to be called he is an American whom has lived in Italy for the last 20 years. Once again he is a total book of knowledge. He explains how this place Ercolano was discovered & it has been salvaged for the last few years so that tourists like ourselves can only try to imagine what it must have been like to live for the people at that time before the volcano Mt Vesuvius erupted.... The mosaic tiles were stunning , the way that they reinforced the brink walls with terracotta because of the moment with the volcanos. we then drive onto Oplontis where we visit again the ancient ruins where NERO was the emporer at the time . The palace was huge & in really good condition . The wall paintings are amazing in these ruins as are the tiles . We were all really surprised that they had a swimming pool back then. Apparently only the palaces did. Then we moved onto Pompeii , k couldn't believe how big this city was & how close it sits next to the volcano that erupted in 79 AD. We seen 2 actual skeletons that had been vaporised by ash , truly amazing. To actually see this place in life is unbelievable . It has been hot again today do walking around in the heat & doing a tour from & 8 am to 5.30 pm is exhausting. But you have to do the tours over here as its the only way to skip the lines & also to gain the knowledge whilst walking around. There is so much to learn about these ancient ruins & also how they don't really know how many more ruins are hidden as they cannot excavate anymore as houses today are built over the top. The best ancient history lesson I've had for a long long time......