Adventures in Naples

Naples and Campania region

Day 1 – we arrived. Heard Italian women train making jokes about Naples and clutching their purse. Then heard Americans talking about watching their bags while in Naples. Good start. First impression of hotel: dump. First impression of Naples: also a dump. Deposited our bags and walked down to the waterfront to investigate fares to Capri. Saw an old Spanish castle. On our way back to the hostel we walked through a large piazza and saw an old church and then found a restaurant where we got a 3 course meal for 7 Euro. Also remember fat girl falling off bike.

Day 2 – Bought Campania artecard. Walked to the archaeological museum. Saw lots of old stuff from Pompei and Herculaneum. Took funicular up to top of hill. Walked through a nice park. Great view of Naples below. Went back down. Walked through an old street in Old Naples. Then went to the restaurant next to our hotel and had pizza. Melanie had Verde bianco, and I had one with prosciutto. (note: we ate this place almost every night).

Day 3 – Pompeii

Saw the ruins of Pompeii all day long. We grabbed the circumvesuviana (at the station near our hotel) and got off at Pompeii Scavi. Had 3 euro cappuccino (ridiculous), and then bought 2 audio guides and went off exploring. Started out numerically on the map. Then realized we would be there all day and instead went for one of the preplanned itineraries from the map. Saw the forum. Some nice homes, a brothel, two theaters, the preserved tombs outside the city walls. I thought Pompeii is neat because an entire city is preserved, not just a few buildings. Had to high tail it out just before a massive storm. We have pictures. Then rode circum back to station in Naples and had dinner at place next door.

Day 4 – Herculaneum

Took the circum back out again this time to see Herculaneum – another Roman city buried by Vesuvius. This place is much more preserved, but smaller. First we arrived and walked down to where we thought the ruins were, had a very cheap and good cup of cappuccino. While enjoying we saw on TV that there was a 6.5 earth quake, east of Rome in L'aquila. Later we heard that the quake had killed over 220 people. After our coffee we got lost looking for the entrance to the ruins (the signs aren't very helpful). After the ruins we went back home and enjoyed another delicious pizza at our next door neighbors.

Day 5 – Capri

Took a fast ferry from Naples to Capri. Walked up the long stairs to the center of town from the dock. Did some more walking up to a great scenic point. Then went back down to the central piazza and tried walking down to the other side of the island to Marina Piccola. After a hike down, we had lunch (expensive!, but had a great view and a nice beach to hand out by). Then found an easier way back up to the top and back to central plaza. Took the fairy back, walked downtown Naples a bit before it got dark. Saw the royal palace, another large piazza similar to st. peters in rome. Then walked back home through Spaccanapoli (the old town). Had dinner at our favorite spot again.

Day 6 – Amalfi coast

We wanted to see the Amalfi coastal towns while in Naples, so we took the train out to Sorrento and hopped on a bus out to the town of Amalfi. You can get an idea of what the Amalfi coast is like if you've ever seen the movie Under the Tuscan Sun;they show the town of Positano, which is on the coast. We passed through there on the way to the town of Amalfi. The bus ride was pretty intense, lots of twists and turns along the rocky cliffs of the coast, but we had an amazing view. When we arrived in Amalfi, we decided that we would just take it easy and relax most of the day. We walked to the main piazza and saw the old Norman-Arab cathedral in the center of town. Then we just wandered around looking at souvenir shops and limoncello (a local liquor) stores. Later we walked around a bit more to find the panoramic spots, took some great pictures, and then relaxed with some gelato and a delicious caprese salad with a couple of beers. We also ran into this foreign family for the 3rd day in a row! Pretty unbelievable given that there are so many things to do around Naples.

Late in the afternoon, we took the bus back to Sorrento. Melanie was having difficulty with the twists and turns, and took care of that in a plastic bag we so skillfully concealed. That was it for day 6. Just a relaxing day (minus the throwing up).


Day 7 – Vesuvius

We decided early on that we wanted to see Mt. Vesuvius before we left. The way it works is that you have to take a bus about ¾ of the way up, and then walk the rest of the way. The bus ride was yet again another thrill ride. This time it wasn't so much the road as it was the driver. I guess he really wanted us to get up there quickly as he squealed is tires around every turn. At least he was entertaining though. After de-boarding at the parking area, we made our ascent. The walkway was very steep and difficult to climb with non-hiking shoes. On the way up, we were rewarded with awesome views of the Bay of Naples, Sorrento and Capri. Once at the top, we were able to peer down inside the caldera. There were even a few spots where you could see steam escaping through vents in the caldera. On the way back down, we saw the same foreign family yet again. I don't how that is possible that two separate parties can have the same itineraries for 4 days, but it happened.

Anyways, so after seeing the crater and the foreign couple, we hurried back down to catch the 2:00 bus back to Pompeii (or so we thought it was 2:00.) we ended up waiting for another hour for the bus in a dusty parking lot, but finally made it back down. By this time we were starving, so we had some overpriced sandwiches (Pompeii is like a camping resort with tourists traps everywhere). We then took the train back into Naples. After spending way too much in Naples, we went back to the restaurant we had dinner at on the first night, figuring that a 3 course meal for 7 Euro is still the best deal in town. We should have eaten at this place every night instead of the mediocre pizza joint next door.