Temple of Apollo, Pompeii

You can't really make a five-night trip to Naples without visiting Pompeii, so we have spent much of the final day of our wee holiday at this huge archeological site.

True to form, we came with a plan. This included: arriving at midday to dodge the morning coach parties; ignoring the aggressive ticket sellers/guides outside the main gates to avoid being ripped off; deploying our 'Disney technique' on entry to get away from the crowds; and focussing on a few key sights within the town to ensure that our visit was an enjoyable experience (and not a chore).

Our site hit-list comprised the Antiteatro (amphitheatre), the Casa del Menandro (the house purported to belong to Nero's second wife), the Orto del Fuggiaschi (the garden of fugitives), the Foro (forum), the Lupanare (brothel), and the Villa dei Misteri (one of the houses with the best friezes still in situ). As we walked from one place to the next, we also took in other parts of the site, including the Basilica, the Tempio di Apollo (temple of Apollo - blipped with Vesuvius in the distance), and various areas used to store findings such as amphorae and body casts (human and dog).

Pompeii is truly amazing, if somewhat overwhelming. We were pleased that for most of our time we managed to keep out of the way of the large guided parties, and that we were not here at the height of the tourist season in the summer heat. However, I have to say that we both enjoyed our visit to Herculaneum two days ago on Thursday so much more. The problem is that you can hardly go home and say ' Yes, we've just been on holiday to Naples. No, we couldn't be bothered to go to Pompeii'.

Inevitably, after our return by train to the city, our rather late 'lunch' was yet another ice cream. This evening we enjoyed Neapolitan pizzas for supper for the last time.

*first head straight to the furthest corner of the 'park'.

Exercise today: walking (23,358 steps).