Paul started the morning with a ride on a scooter. The guys at the car park in Maiori didn’t have his car ready as requested, so instead of bringing the car to Paul, they brought Paul to the car!

Big D and Miss M enjoyed one Euro cornetti (croissants) for breakfast and we headed out for the day.

Paul navigated the windy road to get us to Pompei. We joined a few families and hired Carmine, a tour guide for two hours. He showed us homes, artifacts and of course the brothel, all preserved by the ash from Mt Vesuvius’ eruption in 79 AD. Big D was responsible for taking photos with the good camera which means he took a lot of shots of stone penises and butt cracks on statues.

After Pompei, Paul brought us to Vesuvius so we could hike to the crater of this non-active volcano. A few times we had to reverse direction on the drive because of oncoming buses and sharp corners, but otherwise all good! It was a dusty hike, but well worth the uphill climb. The view of the crater was spectacular and it was so neat being at that elevation after spending a week at the beach. Miss M enjoyed the feeling of clouds surrounding her.

During the 90 minute commute back to Minori, along the winding roads and around the mountain, we drove behind a truck filled with tomatoes, another carrying fennel. We passed terraces of lemon trees and olive trees and grape vines, homes clinging to the side of the mountain, all scenery we’ve come to take for granted as repeat visitors of southern Italy.

We finished the day back in Minori at the beach, cooling off in the water and then strolling around Minori for dinner. Paul and I grabbed a container of mixed fish from the local fish fry, Big D and Miss M each had sandwiches from the local market (mortadella and mozzarella, and prosciutto cotto) along with a can of “esthe the limone” a lemon iced tea beverage they’ve ordered a lot on this trip.

We happened to be walking by Sal De Riso Pasticceria and lo and behold I spotted Sal! Some background: I’ve been a fan of Sal for many years, reading about his acclaim across Italy and international pastry circles, and when I discovered his origins were in Minori I just had to have his famous pear and ricotta tart when we were here six years ago. It was amazing. After the trip, Paul and I found the recipe online and tried to recreate at home, but it was a total fail. I’ve been looking forward to the tart and experiencing Sal de Riso’s store as we planned this trip, and bought my own ricotta and pear tart to have in the apartment this week. So meeting Sal and telling him how much we appreciate his talent was a real treat!

The kids brought the soccer ball to the beach at night, making a few friends and burning off the post-dinner gelato. Paul and I enjoyed some cocktails on the beach promenade at Crystal while the kids played. We people watched (more on that tomorrow) and then called it a night.