Fortunately, our room was very nice and when we awoke the next morning, we saw a different side of Naples. Actually, in time, we felt that it was the closest place we'd been to New York City outside of the U.S. Naples has that same vibrant, buzzing, gritty, and sometimes seedy feeling as the Big Apple. Now, it's no Manhattan, (maybe Queens), but it still had some charm.
We didn't see much of Naples itself that morning, but headed straight for the train station and our day in Pompei. Pompei is really a neat place to visit, because you really can really see how one second it was a bustling city and the next, deserted. They even have some of the plaster casts from the bodies of victims who were buried there, which adds a note of realism.
And from the forum, you could just make out Mt. Vesuvius in the background, which gives an idea of what the locals might have seen when the volcano erupted.
Among the highlights were a temple to the Egyptian goddess Isis (very ancient) -
the amphitheater -
and the House of Mysteries, which is known for it's frescoes depicting what appear to be strange religious rites.
We couldn't stay in Pompei too late because we had opening night opera tickets at the famous opera, La Vedova Allegra. We got all gussied up at our hotel and then headed out to see some of the nicer side of Naples, like the Castel Nuovo, and the church of Francisco di Paola, and then sit for a fancy dinner.
Alas, we were thwarted again by the 7:30 rule and after a lengthy search, we decided to eat at a chain called "Buffalo Brothers". Amazingly, it turned out to be one of the best meals we had the whole trip. Everything was made with buffalo meat or buffalo cheese. And on our appetizer platter there was a huge ball of fresh buffalo mozzarella that may be the best cheese I will ever eat. You never can tell.
Well satisfied from dinner, we walked over to the theater only to find that there was a strike. It later turned out that due to proposed cuts in funding for the arts, all shows were striking on opening night. At the time we didn't know that and we were skeptical when the manager assured us that the show would go on the following night and that our tickets would be honored. Heavily disappointed, we walked back to our hotel, stopping only to catch a night shot of the duomo, which was near our hotel.
The next day dawned bright and sunny for our trip to the island of Capri.
In addition to treacherous bus rides and hiking some rugged trails to the sea -
- we took a chair lift to the summit of Mt. Solarno for some spectacular views.
Capri, which is known for being pricey, had a nice little surprise for us in the back alleys. We found a hidden restaurant with great prices, excellent food and wine, and we lucked out and got a the only table with a view over the island. What luck!
After lunch we hiked down to the Arco Naturale -
- and then down a steep set of stairs to a cave where the rulers of ancient Rome sometimes conducted mystical rituals -
- before hiking along a trail with breathtaking views around the island -
- to catch a boat back to the mainland where we hoped to see an opera.
When we got to the box office, they confirmed the show would go on and that there were seats available, but not the ones we had originally. The girl at the booth said the replacement tickets were just as good and we decided to go for it rather than take the refund. By that point we didn't really have time to go back to the hotel and change, so walked along the coast to the Castel d'Ovo for some great views of the bay of Naples and the city itself.
We managed to time dinner perfectly, arriving at a restaurant famous for being the birthplace of the margherita pizza right at 7:30. It really was wonderful pizza. Unfortunately, the late dinner time didn't leave us time to linger so we hurried over to the opera.
We felt under dressed at the opera, but those thoughts left our heads when we saw our seats. Instead of sitting on the 4th level on the far left, we were on the 2nd level, just to the right of the Royal Box seats. That put is in the best seats you could have outside of being the king or queen back in the day.
Sometimes things just work out. In this picture I took from down below, you can see Stephanie leaning out of our box in the pink shirt.
The theater was stunning and the opera was great.
On our last day in Naples, we took a bus down the Amalfi Coast to Amalfi itself. This, again, was easier said than done as it took well over an hour to figure out where to get bus tickets and where to catch the bus. Everyone had a different opinion, but after awhile, a common thread emerged and we made it. When visiting Amalfi, half the excitement is the journey itself as the roads switchback along cliffs high above the Mediterranean. The bus driver had to constantly honk to warn other drivers of our approach on the narrow roads and blind curves.
When we got there, we learned that there was only one more bus that would take us back to Naples in time to catch our ferry to Sicily, so we made the most of it, wandering around and taking in the sights.
We didn't even stop to eat, but bought some delicious pizza to eat on the bus.
The return trip took a different route, so we got to see all new scenery.
This time, our bus driver didn't honk as much, but he cursed a heck of a lot more - at least that's what it sounded like.
Since the windows were tinted, I had to keep the top of mine open to get pictures. It was a beautiful day anyway, but this woman behind us came and told us to close the window. we weren't willing to miss out on the pictures so we suggested she sit in front of us instead if she didn't like the breeze. She went back to her seat for awhile and then finally moved to the front, stopping to sarcastically say "Thanks a lot" on her way past. Oh well.
We made it back to Naples in time to get our bags and go visit the Duomo. This was also one of the nicer churches we saw.
It's the cathedral of San Gennaro, for whom I believe the festival in NYC's Little Italy is named. It was a great place to spend our last minutes in Naples before heading to the port to board our ferry to Sicily. From the ferry we got some last good views of the city. 
The boat seemed overrun with wild unchaperoned teenagers, (how old-mannish do I sound?), they were everywhere like an infestation - but by the time we at the dinner we brought with us and went to bed, things were reasonably quiet.
The boat seemed overrun with wild unchaperoned teenagers, (how old-mannish do I sound?), they were everywhere like an infestation - but by the time we at the dinner we brought with us and went to bed, things were reasonably quiet.Click here to continue to Sicily: http://theroadmoretraveled-nicksblog.blogspot.com/2010/05/sicily.html
Cinque Terre: http://theroadmoretraveled-nicksblog.blogspot.com/2010/05/cinque-terre.html
Pisa: http://theroadmoretraveled-nicksblog.blogspot.com/2010/05/pisa.html
Florence: http://theroadmoretraveled-nicksblog.blogspot.com/2010/05/florence.html
Tuscany: http://theroadmoretraveled-nicksblog.blogspot.com/2010/05/tuscany.html
Rome: http://theroadmoretraveled-nicksblog.blogspot.com/2010/05/rome.html
Pictures:
Part 1
 |
| Italy 2010 JPGS |
1-151: Venice
152-224: Cinque Terre
225-286: Pisa
287-384: Florence
385-606: Tuscany (Gropina, Siena, Massa Maritima, Chiusure, Montepulciano)
607-960: Rome
Part 2
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| Italy 2010Part 2 JPGS |
962-1040: Pompei
1041-1054: Naples
1055-1106: Capri
1107-1129: Naples
1130-1168: Amalfi Coast
1169-1186: Naples
1187-1233: Sicily (From Catania to Puntalazzo)
1234-1282: Sicily (Mt.Etna and Puntalazzo)
1293-1354: Sicily (Enna and Agrigento)
1355-1391: Sicily (Catania)
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