Jon managed to finagle a TDY trip to Naples in mid-August for two weeks, and I was able to join him for 10 glorious days in this chaotically beautiful city. I had visited this southern region of Italy only once before as a day trip from Rome over 13 years ago, so I was grateful to rediscover this incredibly gorgeous part of Italy in greater depth. Naples is Italy's third largest city, and Europe's most densely populated. With almost no open spaces or parks and a haven for mafia families, Naples has long had the reputation of being a very dirty, polluted, crime-ridden city. In recent years, however, and due to the influence of an activist mayor, Naples has literally cleaned up its act as piles of trash no longer line the street and the public places are now swimming with police who patrol the city. Our hotel was near the harbor, on the waterfront in a lovely part of the city with an expansive car-free boardwalk and park nearby. It was the perfect location for morning runs along the water and each evening around 9:00 p.m., the area was packed with locals taking their passeggiata (evening stroll) along the restaurant-lined promenade.
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| View of Castel dell'Ovo from our hotel balcony |
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| View of the harbor front promenade from our hotel balcony |
On days that Jon worked, I enjoyed mornings exploring Naples' many pedestrian shopping streets and historical churches. The afternoons were spent on the hotel's rooftop pool soaking up the sun before Jon would return and we'd try to squeeze in a sight-seeing activity before closing time.
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| Perusing the stores at Galleria Umberto |
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| 17th Century Gesu Nuovo Cathedral |
As Pompeii is a mere 30 minutes away, we were able to spend a late afternoon here, which was the perfect time when all the big tourist crowds had left. Pompeii was once a thriving commercial port of 20,000 and an important Roman city. It was buried under 30 feet of hot mud and volcanic ash in the A.D. 79 eruption of Mt. Vesuvias. Pompeii was rediscovered in the 1600s and excavations began in 1748. It is amazing to explore an entire city of well-preserved ruins, imagining what life must have been like during that time with chariots lining the streets of elegant homes, shops, and bath-houses.
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| The Forum - Pompeii's commercial, religious and political center |
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| Cast of a volcano victim |
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| Cast of a volcano victim |
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| Roman baths |
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| View of Pompeii from the hillside |
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| Using the Roman-style crosswalk |
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| Pompeii Theater |
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| Pompeii Forum |
Another evening, we visited Naples' Archaeological Museum, which contains Pompeii's best art and artifacts that were excavated from there in the 1800s.
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| Battle of Alexander Frescoe that decorated the floor of a house in Pompeii |
The day I departed Naples, Jon spent that afternoon hiking up Mt. Vesuvias, mainland Europe's only active volcano. The top of the 4,000 foot summit is desolate and lunar-like with hot rocks, and occasionally steam can be viewed from inside the crater.
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| View of the Vesuvias crater |
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| View of Naples from atop Vesuvias |
After evenings of sight-seeings, our nights consisted of searching for the best pizzerias Naples has to offer. And considering Naples is the birthplace of pizza, there are plenty to choose from. Our favorite pizza came from Pizzeria Trianon, where we had mouth-watering delicious pizzas baked with just the right combination of fresh dough, mozzarella, and tomatoes in traditional wood-burning ovens.
And of course, no summer Italian evening would be complete without gelato. Visiting the decadent Gambrinus Cafe was a highlight and its location across from the beautiful and expansive Piazza Plebescito was the perfect setting for our passegiata.
Jon had two free days during my time there, and the first day we spent on the island of Capri. We took an early-morning ferry from the Naples harbor and were in Capri a mere 45 minutes later. As we were visiting in August when tourist crowds are the worst, we were worried about being able to see the famous Blue Grotto. As soon as we landed in Capri, we made our way to the ticket booth where we waited to board a small boat that would ferry us and 15 other tourists around the island to the entrance of the cave.
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| Making our way around the island of Capri to the Blue Grotto |
Once there, we wait in "line" again with several other boats to be ferried to the entrance in a tiny rowboat with two other passengers. We enter through a tiny hole all leaning as back as flat into the rowboat as possible so not to scrape our heads on the rocks.
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| Rowboats waiting their turn to enter the Blue Grotto entrance |
Once inside, we're paddled around the surprisingly small area for a couple minutes, all while our rower is singing "O Sole Mio" to emphasize the incredible sound in the cave, while I'm trying to capture the brilliant blue on the camera. Eventually I give up trying to take pictures, and enjoy our brief stint in this remarkable cave. The whole experience is, as Rick Steves says, a scenic hoot. But, it's another "1,000 places to see before you die" we can now mark off our list.
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| The brilliant blue water reflected off the limestone bottom |
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| The chaos existed inside the cave as well with as many rowboats crammed in there as possible |
After the Blue Grotto, we took a bus to the hilltop town of Anacapri, where we rode a chairlift to the top of Mount Solare. From here, we could experience the lush vegetation of this beautiful, blossoming island. It's no wonder this island was the vacation hideaway of Roman emperors.
From Mount Solare, we hiked back down to Anacapri, before boarding a bus to Capri Town where we perused the narrow winding streets and beautiful scenic overlooks. Back down by the water, we spent about an hour on a rocky, crowded beach before taking our ferry back to Naples.
On Jon's second day off, we drove the incredible Amalfi Coast. I was a bit nervous about doing this drive as the guidebooks recommend taking a bus to avoid the hair-pin curves and oncoming tour buses. But, Jon handled the drive beautifully, though I feel bad he didn't get to enjoy the breathtaking scenery quite like I did.
Due to the chaotic August crowds, we were not able to stop in the towns of Amalfi and Positano as there was no parking available. No parking in the town or even along the road on either side of the town. It was absolutely nuts! I had, however, done some research on some secluded beaches and we managed to find a place to park on the road near some 400+ steps that led steeply down to Laurito Beach. Not only was this a gorgeous, pebbly beach, but it also had an incredibly delicious restaurant, Da Adolfo, where we enjoyed a fantastic lunch.
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| The beach in the town of Amalfi |
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| The start of our descent down to Laurito Beach and views of Positano in the distance |
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| Laurito Beach |
Most people arrive to this beach from a 5-minute ferry boat from Positano, which we could see from the distance. Jon was in heaven swimming around the many rocks and even found an emerald grotto further down the coastline. It was the perfect day, watching the sun glitter off the crystal clear water, on this gorgeous stretch of coastline.
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| Positano |
Though I don't remember a great deal from my day trip to this area 13 years ago, I do remember the beauty of the quaint coastal town, Sorrento. I wanted to visit this beautiful place again, and ventured here on my own one day. I took another quick 30 minute ferry from Naples to Sorrento and enjoyed a day of re-discovering this relaxed town with a spectacular cliffside setting. I enjoyed strolling through the piazzas and old town streets filled with shops selling leather, lemon products, and hand-made sandals. I also visited a beautiful lemon grove where they harvest lemons and even offer free tastes of limoncello.
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| Sorrento Street |
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| Lemon Grove |
But, the highlight of my time in Sorrento was searching for an inlaid wood piece, Sorrento is famous for. I stumbled upon a humble shop with gorgeous hand-crafted music boxes, jewelry boxes, wall hangings and trays. My eyes immediately gravitated on a beautiful green and gold tray with a delicate floral design. The artisan/owner was so very friendly and though he couldn't speak much English, I enjoyed hearing about his work. I am so pleased with my purchase and every time I look at it, I will remember my beautiful day in serene Sorrento.
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| Me and my new friend, showing off some of his handi-work |
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| View from my ferry leaving the cliffside town of Sorrento |
I can see why this bit of Italy is such a popular destination for travelers. It is Italy as its best. The coast with the most. Gorgeous scenery, historic ruins, and an in-love-with-life attitude by all. It was a glorious 10 days visit in Naples and the surrounding area and the best part was, I got to experience it all with my love. Ciao, Napoli!
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