My apologies for not updating my blog in... forever. I was battling the flu (la grippe) last week, and have been catching up on work and attending carnaval in Nice. To continue where I left off:
We arrived in Naples, got to the hostel, checked our e-mails, and went out for the most delicious pizza dinner: Gino Sorbillo. You have not lived until you have eaten at Gino Sorbillo. Not only was the pizza the best, it was cheap! After devouring pizza, we returned to the hostel and passed out. We woke up early, and made our way to the interesting Naples metro #4 to get to Piazza Garibaldi, so we could take the Circumvensuvia to Ercolano and Pompeii. Down under the metro, we met up again with our fellow American photographer who we first encountered in Rome. And he had friends! They were two other guys who go to University of Tennessee, and one was from Nashville. Needless to say, we felt a bit at home with our fellow Tennesseans. Getting by with my elementary knowledge of Italian and ability to read confusing Italian transportation signs, we found our way to Ercolano (aka Herculaneum). Similarly to Pompeii, Ercolano was also destroyed when Mt. Vesuvius erupted about 2,000 years ago. However, Ercolano is much better preserved than Pompeii, and had the most beautiful mosaics, selon moi. Unfortunately, my camera battery decided to die on me in Ercolano, so my photographs are mostly mental. But I did steal some photos from Eszter, who had been smart enough to actually charge her camera the night before. We spent some time in Ercolano with les autres garçons, had some more pizza for lunch, and made our way to Pompeii. Now, don't get me wrong here. Pompeii was also great, but it was so massive, it was raining, and without a guide, you are basically lost. We saw the brothel and the really neat house with the frescoes, but aside from that, a lot of things were closed off (like the large theater) or hidden from view. However, we did have some delicious orange juice. Who knew they had oranges in Southern Italy? After a day of touring ancient ruins, we took the Circumvensuvia back to Naples, and relaxed for the rest of the day.
Mosaics in Ercolano
For our Day 2 in Naples, we traveled to the beautiful island of Capri, just off the coast of mainland Italy. Normally it is sunny this time of year, and Capri is quite the sight to be seen. However, due to the permanent cloudy presence over the entirety of Europe, we couldn't really see very much in the morning. We got to Capri, and decided to hike to the Villa Jova, and old Roman fortress/castle. My Routard Guide said that the hike to Villa Jova is beautiful with all of the gardens and homes. However, it was so foggy we could barely see anything. It was still beautiful, especially the orange and lemon trees in the mist, as well as the little mosaics personalized for each home. The island is so interesting to walk through, because there are very few streets, and there are houses everywhere. There are specially-designed one-row cars to get people around the island, and even that is cutting it close space-wise. And it is so hilly! I can only imagine trying to carry groceries back home, or walking back from the center to anyplace near Villa Jova, which was a good one-hour hike. Villa Jova is also known for its great views of the island and coastline because it is at the top of the mountain, but unfortunately we just saw fog. Tant pis. Next we had lunch, and then when we finished lunch, voila! the fog was gone, and the sun came out. It was perfect. We walked to the Natural Arch, and then attempted to find the Roman Grottos. Capri is known for its Blue Grotto, but because of the unfortunate weather conditions, we didn't do that. Instead we tried to find a different grotto. On the way to the "grotto" we passed by a collection of rocks and caves, but kept on walking. We continued walking for about 30 minutes, and then realized that we had indeed passed the grottos and were taking a lovely tour around the ENTIRE east coast of the island. So. Many. Stairs. But the views were beautiful, and we got such a great workout! We literally had to run to catch our ferry back to Naples, but we got there just in time, and rewarded ourselves with some delicious gelato. :) For dinner we went to a bookstore/cafe, and had more delicious Italian food.
Cute little signs outside of the homes in Capri
View
Day 3 in Naples was actually spent in Naples. Unfortunately, no offense to Naples, there is not much to do there during the winter, because many things are closed. First we hiked to Castel dell'Ovo, which was a let-down. It was free, which was nice, but there was nothing for us to see, just a look-out point. It was very windy, so it was difficult to stay there very long. Next we went to Palazzo Reale, which was the most beautiful thing to see in Naples. A definite must-see for any visitor! It was originally built for a King that never actually came... so instead other members of the Royal family resided there. There were rooms upon rooms of elaborate tapestries, wood-work, oriental doors, gold-leafed everything, paintings, ceramics, you name it, it was there. Oh, and did I mention that the entire foyer was marble? It was beautiful. Afterwards we attempted to see the Theater, but its closed for tours in the winter. We also tried to go into some other churches, but they were either closed during the week, or closed during the winter. Just our luck. No worries, though. We did see our fair share of churches and chapels. And we also ate Hot Sfogliatelli. I don't really know how to explain them, but they are pastries with citrusy and cinnamon tastes. They are best hot. We also tried Baba Rhum, which is just cake soaked in rum. It was ok. We also visited the archaeological museum, and saw all of the lovely things that were missing from Ercolano and Pompeii. Unfortunately, the mosaic room was closed for renovations, but we saw a lot of frescoes, coins, and Roman sculptures. For dinner, we again returned to Gino Sorbillo. I think by that time they recognized us. We also left them 26 centimes plus the money for the bill. Long story.
Palazzo Reale
Day 4 in Naples was spent in Salerno and Vietri sul Mare. We woke up early to catch a train to Salerno, but had to wait an hour, because trains don't run very often between the two cities, or at least not for us. We got to Salerno around noon, and then decided to go to this really famous ceramic city called Vietri sul Mare. Unfortunately, the public transportation of Salerno was on strike until around 1, so we just shopped around and explored Salerno. If you ever get a chance to go, please go to Vietri sul Mare. It was beautiful, and has the most extensive collection of ceramics. I bought some nice things for the family. :) After Vietri, we returned to Salerno, went to the Duomo, tried to go to the Archaeological Museum (closed for winter), and Eszter bought a pair of awesome Italian leather boots. Jealous. Salerno was really neat and fun, but there was not much to do other than visit some churches, shop, and eat gelato. And that is exactly what we did. Definitely what I call a successful day! The Duomo was a beautiful church, with lovely marble. There was also a little kitten that followed us around. After another long day, we returned to Naples, had dinner at a restaurant that specializes in 'Art Food' (although we did not order these things because they cost an arm-and-a-leg), and passed out again.
Vietri sul Mare
Duomo in Salerno
Day 5 in Naples we went to the Monté de Pieta, another pretty little chapel that is only open on Saturdays and Sundays. We tried to go to the Naples Underground, but we had to catch a train, and the tour was delayed by about 45 minutes by a school group of 1st graders...we were very angry. But we did do some shopping, and say adieu to the city of Naples, and adieu to the end of the Italian Vacation. Adieu.
Monte de Pieta
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