Getting to Vesuvius is not a simple ride to the top. Leaving from Pompeii Scavi Train Station, you take a bus into the Mt. Vesuvius park then transfer to a hybrid jeep-bus for transport up the winding roads of the mountain. This is not for those of you who get carsick! The road is very windy and bouncy. Once you reach this point, you hike another 20 minutes to reach the summit. Good walking shoes and hiking practice recommended! On the day of my trip, it was raining and made hiking and visibility more difficult. As you hike you see beautiful yellow and purple flowers that grow on the mountain. Because of the fertile nature of the volcanic soil, there are many fragrant flowers growing in many places. Once you reach the summit, you can peer inside the crater. You can even see wisps of smoke rising from the crater. On the hike you are able to see paths of lava flow from recent eruptions, the most recent being 1944. Vesuvius is an active volcano. It has a long history of various eruptions. The type of eruption that destroyed Pompeii is called a pyroclastic flow, which is not a lava flow eruption like some you may have seen in Hawaii. Vesuvius has had many modern eruptions where lava has been present, which created these paths. For more information on types of volcanoes, click here.