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2 days in Naples

Today we move on to Florence. I’m behind with this email and two very full days have flown by since the last one.
A week in Napoli isn’t enough and we’ve tried to cram a lot in, sometimes ending up totally exhausted. So its back to Friday I think.

We went to a lovely Museum called Capodimonte. It is one of those museums crammed to the brim with surprises. Also ‘one of those Museums’ housed in a building that is as overwhelming as the Museum itself.

It is in superb gardens, in a wonderful Farnese Palace.

Unfortunately it was pouring down and it is quite hard to get to so we took the easy option and got a taxi (a rarity these days).
We spent hours there going our separate ways and getting completely absorbed in it all. I won’t go on any more, suffice to say I saw Caravaggio’s ‘Flagellation of Christ’…that was a highlight for me. But there were many because it isn’t just an art gallery it also takes you through the rooms of the palace with all their treasures….indescribable.

It was totally bucketing down when we came out, with water pouring down the streets. Notwithstanding, we walked downhill and got on a bus. We’ve finally come to terms with the public transport system which helps at times. We then found one of our favourite restaurants for a late lunch and some vino. Then walked back to the hotel. It was pouring and miserable so dinner consisted of a bottle of wine and chips in our little room at the hotel.

Yesterday was a bit along the same theme…we set off to another fabulous venue that is a museum on top of the highest hill tabove Naples. It is the Monastery and Museum of San Martino. Again, hard to get there so we got a taxi…it was raining again and is easier to work out how to find our way back than there. The views of Naples from up there are amazing, the monastery was amazing and the collection of art was amazing…let’s just say it was amazing and leave it at that!!

We then found a bus, followed by a Funicular (which we nearly didn’t find), that took us down the rather large hill. It was totally pissing down by then and very reminiscent of Milan, Rose. We walked through a massive Galleria just like Milan and went to the Opera House, the Teatro San Carlo…you’d think you were in Milan if was wasn’t seedy, chaotic, energetic and slightly delinquent Naples.

We did a marvellous tour of the Opera House with a man who was so full of enthusiasm and passion he almost made you laugh. It is the oldest Opera House in Europe…40 years older than La Scala. It is of course sumptuous and gorgeous. It was great. Then out into the pouring rain again and into the Palazzo Reale which is next door, former home of C16 Spanish kings and unbelievably sumptuous, dripping with amazing objects, frescoes, paintings etc etc. It is beautifully maintained and again quite extraordinary.

When we came out of there it was dark, pissing down and we were totally exhausted…such a huge day!! So we hopped in a taxi to come back to the hotel.

Last night we walked back to one of our favourite restaurants…Lombardi’s. They treat us well, give us free Limoncello and the food is great.
So now we are packing and getting ready to depart for Florence where we hear it is colder but hopefully not pissing down. But first our last great big hotel breakfast.

Florence is such a different city to Naples so it will be a very different experience I think….but more of the same adjectives!!!

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Of Pompeii and Herculaneum

Yesterday could seriously be called a totally MASSIVE day. That my little legs kept pumping remains a miracle, I thought my feet would completely seize up but no…I’m a living credit to my surgeon.

So… we set off on the train to Herculaneum. walked down a massive hill to the site and spent the next 2-3 hours there. It was amazing. Some real treasures in terms of frescoes and mosaics and a really lovely and preserved site. I was a bit frustrated because I wanted to spend some more time there but we had to move on if we were to also take in Pompeii. For me it was tempting to stay and go back to Pompeii the next day but Tull was anxious that time was running out (and it is!!) so onward and upward. We got ourselves back on the train and moved on to Pompeii. At the gate of Pompeii we did what turned out to be a very sensible thing. We joined 2 American couples and took a guide. It actually saved the day because it was efficient and informative and we saw the main sights. Pompeii didn’t have the same preserved treasures as Herculaneum and is a very spread out site, with a number of the houses closed for renovation which was disappointing. Notwithstanding, it was amazing. Just the whole story of it is mind-blowing. There are better archeological sites (Ephesus) but none with the extraordinary story that belongs to Pompeii. The calcified bodies and the horror of what they experienced is absorbing.

So, back on the train and collapse. We then had to walk from the train to the hotel. Not far but when your feet are screaming at you, something of a trial. A couple of hours with the feet up and then the decision that is a perennial one about whether to get your feet going again to satisfy your stomach. Guess which one wins…my stomach will always get me going!! There was an obscure restaurant that Chris had given us the name of that we set out to find through the winding back streets of the edgy Napoli. Anyway, we found it and were rewarded with a lovely little family run Trattoria. The ‘old man’ waiter insisted that we start with the fresh Buffalo Mozzarella they had just got in. We did and truly ‘to die for’.

So…we fell into bed!! Today we set off for the Archeological Museum to see all the treasures that had been removed from Pompeii. Indeed, all was revealed. It was amazing and it totally explained the lack of treasures in Pompeii. It is all in the Museum!! My God it was extraordinary. Magnificent frescoes all on display in the museum. Then I got to the Mosaic rooms and it blew my mind….magnificent, extraordinary mosaics that defy the imagination. When you put it all together it all makes sense and you can get an idea of how Pompeii once was. All in all there is no doubt about the amazing skills in all areas of the arts, architecture and engineering of the ancient Romans.

From the Museum we decided to try out the public transport system and get ourselves down to the waterfront. This was achieved with variable efficiency and we had a nice walk along the waterfront and a late lunch. I’m desperate for seafood so went for the Calamari again but it was tough and disappointing. Tull likes a Pizza down here and is rarely disappointed.

The weather held out for us for most of the day but rain is predicted and we got a bit at the end of the day. We keep thinking that ‘tomorrow’ will bring the bad weather. It is predicted but we are lucky to have dodged it to date.

That’s it…more museums on the agenda for tomorrow!!

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Amalfi Coast for a Day trip

We set off today from our luxury hotel (discount price!!) after the gourmet breakfast. We caught the train to Sorrento and then found our way to the bus for Amalfi.

It was a gorgeous day, the sun shone and the water reflected the blue, it couldn’t have been more perfect. There was some debate about whether we should get off at Positano and have lunch there as per a suggestion from Chris, but we wanted to go through to Amalfi and the option of going back to Positano for lunch looked rather too hard by the time you walk all the way down to the beach it would have taken hours. So…we opted to alight in Amalfi, we did a walk around the town and found a great place for lunch… Ristorante “Il Chiostro” for future reference…I had Calamari which is something I was really hanging out for and I was very happy!!

Then we looked up the bus timetable and realised we had to bolt so I went off to get the tickets and ‘stop the bus’ and left Tull to pay etc. We got the bus, made a perfect connection with the train in Sorrento that took us back to Napoli. We arrived back at the hotel around 6, had an hour of downtime and then went off to a terrific restaurant (‘Lombardi’ for future reference) where we got into a lively discussion with the waiter and other diners…finished up with a Limoncello and came home.

That’s it for another day. So much more to do in this part of the world. I think maybe to Pompeii and Herculean tomorrow as the weather seems to be good again.

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Arriving in Naples and an Adventure

There’s a bit of a tale to tell tonight, one that I’m sure I’ll dine on for a while to come.

So…this morning Tull and I set off for Naples. Chris had spent the days before we left telling us about the dangers of Naples.

A nice train ride and then a 10 min or so walk to our hotel. But this walk was through a very seedy area, as is the case around train station in most cities.

But Naples really is a fairly grotty area. So off we set and what happened is really hard to describe. Tull in front of me by a couple os paces. Unbeknown to me she had put her handbag in her little day pack on her back.

We were both lugging cases and then I caught sight of someone moving away from Tull. I didn’t see him do anything but for some reason I thought something was wrong and I moved towards him and held him by the arm. I looked up and Tull’s day pack was wide open so I realised what had happened (almost as a kind of transient illusion) and I started to yell at him. Someone next to him said something and he turned around and handed me Tull’s handbag with all her worldly goods inside including passport, money, cards etc etc. According to Tull I turned into a complete banshee and started yelling at him in a mixture of languages and he slunk away glaring at me.

The long and the short of it was that we retrieved Tull’s worldly goods and all was well but it was the closest call I have ever had and I still don’t know why I reacted so decisively when I didn’t really fathom what had happened.
As soon as we got to the hotel Chris rang and blythely asked if we had been robbed yet. I think our story has made her day if not her month. She couldn’t believe it and ‘it all worked out OK’!!!!

Amazing story really. But we then went out and walked around Naples. I think the area around the train station is particularly seedy, the rest of Naples is, I think, lovely. It is decayed, a bit seedy but alive, dynamic and interesting. I’m looking forward to our time here. the people seem lovely and helpful (when they aren’t trying to rob you). There’s so much to do I think it will be a busy time. We’re staying in a very plush hotel in the middle of the sleaziest area. We have a smallish twin room and Tull has busied herself getting our beds as far apart as possible…a little reminiscent of Rose!!!!

More adventures tomorrow but rest assured everything of value is now in the hotel safe!!