The fourth morning of our trip we woke up, checked out of the hotel (leaving a few of our belongings safely behind, since we would be coming back to the hotel for our final night in Italy), and took a cab to the Roma Termini - the main railway station in Rome. From there, we boarded a first class only train (thank you, Rob) and spent the next hour and ten minutes prepping for our stay in Naples.
We arrived at the station early in the day. Unfortunately, we were not exactly sure where or how far our hotel was from the Naples train station. It turns out that it was right across the street on the other side of the square. This would have been helpful information before we got ripped off my a cab who neglected to tell us that we could literally walk to the hotel from the station. And there went another 10 euros.
This time we were staying in a more modern hotel - Una Hotel Napoli. The concierge was very friendly and told us about a great introductory walk to get a taste of the city. Well, it was not what I or my mother was expecting. It was a far cry from the boisterous, posh streets of Rome. To the contrary, the streets of Naples were lined with piles of garbage and scores of street vendors, which reminded me of canal street in NYC.
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| Salads and "Fantasy" Pizza |
At the end of our walk, we found a nice little outdoor restaurant. The menu offerings included some lighter-fare, which my mother and I were very happy about after stuffing our faces for the last few days. We ordered salads and a "fantasy" pizza (that wasn't on the menu) and turned out to be a simple crispy, grilled pizza with herbs. Everything was fresh and made up for our lackluster first impressions of the city.
After a long walk back to the hotel, we unpacked and relaxed. When it came time for dinner, we headed out to the Gulf of Naples where we were told there were nice shops and restaurants. We walked around and found a large square, which was on the way to an elegant restaurant situated near the waterfront. It was an upscale restaurant and the food came out better than expected.
The next day was the highlight of the vacation. Rob hired a driver to take us all around the Amalfi Coast: Pompeii, Sorrento, Positano, Amalfi, and Ravello. The scenery was exquisite. When we arrived in Pompeii we were approached by an elderly man and his 'agent.' He tried to persuade us that the man standing beside him, holding onto a cane, would be an excellent tour guide for....let's just say a hefty price. I was very skeptical and urged Rob to forego the tour guide, so we could explore Pompeii our own and just get going. But, to his credit, the tour guide was one of the best surprises of the vacation. He had been giving tours for around 70 years and was incredibly well spoken and informed. The cane surely did not slow him down! He showed us everything, and went overtime just to make sure we hit all of the highlights. Pictured left is what is left of a wine store - the hole is where the wine used to be kept. Rob pointed out the grooves in the road, which our tour guide said is a result of the countless times that the carriage wheels drove over the stone road.
There were also marks on some of the walls symbolizing what is original pieces of architecture and what the city had to restore. As seen in the picture to the left, below the squiggly line subsist the original stones and above are the ones that were replaced.
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| Dancing Faun |
Many of the original sculptures from Pompeii can now be found in the National Archaeological Museum, located in Naples. (We visited that museum on the following day.) This guy (pictured right) is called the Dancing Faun and was excavated in the 19th century. The bronze statue symbolizes a mythological character and is believed to have stood in front of a house that is now referred to as the House of Faun. The statue portrays a human body with a shortened tail and horns.
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| Grooves in Road (from carraiges) |
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| Pompeii |
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| Pompeii |
We then hopped back into the car with our lovely driver and continued around the coast. Here are some pictures that I took, while the car was in motion:
Better yet, the driver stopped off along the way at some rest stops to take pictures of the three of us:
I'm not quite sure where we were at this point....but it was somewhere in between Positano and Amalfi. Since we had spent so much time in Pompeii, we had to rush through a few of the other stops. But, the driver wanted us to have a taste of true Italian cuisine. The first place that he wanted to go to was closed, but the second place had a fabulous view and the food was not so bad either. My mom and I both ordered the linguine with fresh lobster.
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| View from the restaurant |
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| Linguine with fresh lobster |
Above the restaurant sat a ceramic shop filled with beautiful and authentic kitchenware. I wanted to buy something for my host mother there, but there were too many options and I decided to wait. There had to be more where this stuff came from, right?
From here, we were taken to the drivers hometown - Amalfi. We only had 10-15 minutes to look around, so I hope to go back there some day. The town was filled with cute little shops and a lot of great gift items. The lemons (pictured left) were humungous - Note: Amalfi is known for its limoncello.
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| Cathedral of Amalfi |
The final destination of the tour was Ravello. It was another cute little town with beautiful architecture and scenery. I was able to finally purchase some ceramic kitchenware for my host mother at a local and authentic shop. It was a shame that we didn't have more time to spend in the town. I simply had time to purchase a gift and then it was time to go. Thus, began the long haul home. We got stuck in a hefty amount of traffic. However, I was lucky and slept for the majority of the ride.
Once we arrived back at the hotel, we said our goodbyes and were handed a thoughtful present to remember the excursion and generous tour guide. It was an engraved ceramic plate, which he prefers to use as his business card - a smart marketing tool, indeed! We'll be sure to recommend him to anyone planning on trekking through the Amalfi Coast.
It was once again time for dinner. We were exhausted by the day's events and decided to finally try the famous Pizzeria da Michele. It was close to the hotel...within walking distance...and is frequented by tourists and locals alike. Needless to say it was packed. The restaurant requires its patrons to take a ticket and wait (outside) for their number to be called, which is a fantastic idea if you can understand Italian (so you know when it's your turn). However, I do not. Yet, thankfully, Rob knows a minute amount. We conversed with the individuals waiting outside and before we knew it, it was our turn to sit down. We were at a table for four, but a priest who came alone was asked to sit to my right. I suppose this was to enable the restaurant to reap as great of a benefit from its customers as it can. He did not speak a word to us and scarfed down his sizable pizza in under five minutes. The restaurant only has two choices--Margherita and Cheese. The three of us opted for the cheese pizza and successfully finished three medium pies, with only a slight sigh signaling excessive satiation. Nonetheless it was all worth it.
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| Cheese Pizza |
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| Est. 1870 |
On our final day in Naples, we had the chance to visit the Naples National Archaeological Museum. It is described as one of Rob's favorites and is one of the foremost reason why we decided to spend a few days/nights in Naples. It was brimming with impressive sculptures, many of which are the original sculptures that decorated the city of Pompeii. For our final evening, the three of us headed back to the seaside and explored what seemed to be a castle. From the top of the 'castle' we had an excellent view of Naples.
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| Antonio & Antonio |
When it came time for dinner, we walked all around the surrounding area and finally made a decision to sit down at Antonio & Antonio. I felt extremely bad for the waiters because they had to put up with our countless questions regarding the menu items as well as our never-ending requests to increase/decrease the strength of the outdoor heater. All in all we had a fun and delicious meal. Nevertheless, I was ready to move on. This time we would be heading from Naples to...Florence!
