Naples, Pompeii, Amalfi Coast, and Sorrento

On the morning of the 14th I headed on a train down to Naples. It was only an hour and 10 min train ride from Rome and when I arrived I immediately found a bus that would take me to the hotel I was going to stay at. I muttered some italian to the bus driver so he would let me know where to get off and after 15 minutes I arrived at my seaside bed and breakfast. And I mean it was literally right next to the sea -- the only thing separating the building from the water was a road and a sidewalk. It was fantastic! I had such a great view of the water from my room and it ended up being a really great location to stay as I was near a lot of good restaurants, shopping areas, 2 castles, and the largest piazza in Naples. I went for a long walk to check out everything later that day and saw all the cute Italian couples next to the bay celebrating Valentine's Day. All of the restaurants along the water were decorated with red and hearts--it was so cute. Oh and I ate some excellent gelato :) of course.

The next day I went out to see what I could see in Naples. First I walked over to the castle nearest to me (Castel dell'Ovo) and took a gander which was neat then walked to the large square called Piazza del Plebiscito which has the Chiesa di San Francesco di Paola. When I got there it was closed so I couldn't go inside but I took some pictures and strolled in the sun for awhile before going across the way to Palazzo Reale and Parco Castello. I got lost trying to find the Biblioteca Nazionale in Palazzo Reale but eventually found it and walked through the quiet halls. Then I headed outside and sat in the park for a little bit and from there I could see the second castle -- Castel Nuovo. I then went to a large indoor shopping area called Galleria Umberto I and looked around at some stores before walking along Via Toledo which leads up to the Capodimonte Museum and Park. It was really beautiful there--I had a good view of the city once at the top of the hill and walked through the museum and watched kids playing soccer and people walking their dogs int he park. I walked back down the hill to Piazza San Domenica Maggiore and took a stroll around Castel Nuovo before heading back to the hotel. It was a pretty good day overall -- but I felt like it was a great disappoinment compared to Rome. It was also extremely dirty and run down (at least the part I saw) and I didn't enjoy myself very much. But that night I ate at a great pizzeria called Rosso Pommodorro and had pizza with bacon and baked potato toppings. Delicious.

I had heard there was going to be rain on the forecast for the following day so I asked the hotel staff and it was confirmed that it was going to rain ALL DAY. Darn--I really wanted to take a ferry to the island of Capri but that didn't end up working out. However, it was nice just relaxing in the hotel room the next day, watching the rain fall and the waves crashing against the rocks. I did make an appt for a haircut though at a place that spoke English in the area. So at 5 in the afternoon I went and got my haircut and had a great conversation with a lady who was there and was friends with the owners. She was from the U.S. and moved to Naples about 5 years ago.

On Thursday it was my last day in Naples so I made the most of it by doing an exploration of the ruins at Pompeii, 3 towns on the Amalfi Coast, the city of Sorrento, and then back to Naples. Pompeii was absolutely amazing. I did a guided tour and was amazed to see the ruins of an ancient town destroyed by the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius looming in the background. We saw the the baths, ruins of houses and shopping areas, and the main square and forum. I saw the theatre and the school where gladiators trained and learned about the aqueduct system and how they got around when it rained without a drainage system. It was very interesting -- maybe the most eerie part was seeing skeletons of some of the people who were poisoned by the gas from the volcano then covered in lava which later turned into rock.

Going on to the Amalfi Coast, I saw the most spectacular views. As we were climbing the mountains along the peninsula we stopped to take in the view of Mt. Vesuvius, the towns below, and the water. The first town we stopped at was called Ravello so I strolled around and took some pictures. During the winter season, not much is open on the coast because it is now mainly a tourist area so it was quiet but I think it was better that way. I then ventured to the town of Amalfi and saw the church of St. Andrew in the square and got a huge piece of pizza with fries on top and bought some lemon souvenirs. Driving along the coast, you saw lemon trees EVERYWHERE -- as well as oranges but mostly lemons--what the Amalfi Coast is known for. We then kept going to the last town on the coast called Positano. I was just amazed at everything I saw and my driver was able to tell me some great history about the region. Some of the highlights were seeing the ruins of lookout towers where people watched for pirate invasions, and the rock formation of the Virgin Mary, and the tiny Nativity Set towns that were splattered in the rocks along the road.

We went back down the mountainside at the end of the peninsula to the city of Sorrento where I spent an hour wandering and shopping in some neat crafty stores and then my driver took me to the port in Naples where I got on my boat headed to Sicily!