Naples

Monday, July 18

We arrived to Naples, secretly said goodbye (and be well) to our Canadian girls, and trekked the 20 minutes to our Airbnb.

Right off the bat, Naples felt different than Rome. It felt a lot less touristy and grungier, though not necessarily in a bad way. It felt like a more authentic place.

We found our Airbnb and all the keys hidden in the lock boxes for self check in. The apartment was teeny tiny but it had a kitchen in the loft area and an AC above the bed that was powerful.

We set out to get groceries. The grocery store was conveniently close but also very tiny. I could feel our anxiety rise as we tried to navigate narrow aisles with our push basket.

Carl made a really yummy pasta with mushrooms, onions, and that cubed meat we don’t know what it’s called. We went out to the terrace where it was cooler than the loft kitchen. As we sipped the red wine our San Jimmy Airbnb host had given us we listened to the sounds of the neighborhood. We could hear classical music playing, a tv somewhere, a barking dog, and of course, a crying baby. We then watched the last episode of Stranger Things (!) and went to sleep early.

Tuesday , July 19

We woke up still not feeling great but powered through for a free walking tour. We met the guide underneath a Dante statue in Dante Square. He explained the history of Naples which originally was a Greek city and for a time was a province of the Kingdom of Spain, ruled by Spaniards that were originally French. So it has always been a very multi cultured mix of European and Mediterranean people. The guide explained that this is why Italian is such a fickle language- because it pulled from many different languages that were spoken in the region at the time.

Our guide led us into several different churches and pointed out the different architectural styles of Neoclassical, Baroque, and a Gothic church that was rebuilt after it was almost completely destroyed in WWII.

We winded through the skinny streets and were shown the location of the first pizzeria, music shops associated with the conservatory and the best restaurants to get pizza as well as authentic desserts.

After the tour we went to Attanasio, one of the pizza places he had recommended. We got a classic margarita pizza and it was good, but not the best we’ve had. Then we went to the next restaurant, Mazz, to get desserts. We got Babá, which is like a rum soaked cake, and Sfogliatelle, which is a crispy pastry filled with sweet ricotta and spices (cinnamon?).

Despite getting an espresso with our desserts I was still able to go back to the Airbnb and fall asleep immediately. We slept away the hottest part of the day and emerged again in the evening, when it was still hot but not an inferno.

We walked down to the waterfront to the Castel dell’ Ovo (Egg Castle). It’s called Egg Castle because supposedly Virgil hid a magic egg in it and said that as long as the egg didn’t break, the castle wouldn’t fall. No one ever found the egg, broken or not, and we felt like it was a pretty weird story overall. Yet, the castle did still stand, so.

We walked pretty far, past Mappatella ‘Beach’ (more like pile of rocks going into the water), and then turned around and walked back. We saw several people taking wedding photos with the view of Mt Vesuvius in the background and debated whether that would represent a good omen.

We had an uneventful dinner of leftovers and went to sleep early to prepare for the next day.

Wednesday, July 20

Capri

While planning our trip we debated whether to stay on Capri for a few days or to do a day trip. Then I looked at how much it cost to stay there, and it was exorbitantly expensive, so we settled on day trip.

We got a ferry out relatively early, at 8am. Still, it was busy and we could tell we were approaching the island along with hundreds of other tourists.

As soon as we got to Capri we found a booth selling boat tickets for a tour around the island plus a stop to the Blue Grotto. We had read tickets should cost about 20 Euro, and these were 21 so we went for it, hoping we’d be part of an earlier slot and beat the crowds.

We did not beat the crowds. Everyone had the exact same plan as us. The boat tour was nice though. Our boat driver/guide was joking the whole time and pointing out all the rock formations. He’d get the boat very close to the rocks but never managed to crash.

We went all the way around the island. The best part was going through the gateway rock. It’s good luck to kiss as you go under the gate, so we did, and the guide sang.

Finally we got to the Blue Grotto. We were told it would be an additional charge to go in and at least an hour long wait, maybe two hours. We said we still wanted to do it (we came all this way, heck). So the driver/guide divided passengers from our boat and another guide’s so that those that wanted to stay and wait could, and the rest went back to port.

It ended up being about an hour’s wait. Finally a man in a rowboat came up to our boat and asked for 2 participants to hop in. We eagerly jumped up and got into his boat. Another couple joined us on the other side and we all had to lay flat as we entered the cave.

Once in, we sat up and marveled at the glowing blue water. The sunlight comes into the cave only through the water below us, creating a cool effect where the water glows a bright blue, seemingly, on its own.

The rowboat guide paddled us around for about a minute, took some pictures of us, and then we had to lay down again to exit. All in all it lasted about 5 minutes. I don’t think it was quite worth the price + the wait but our FOMO would’ve eaten us alive if we hadn’t done it. And, it was really cool despite being overhyped.

Our guide led us back to port and from there we managed to get a bus up the hill to the village of Anacapri. While we waited in the line for the bus we scarfed down our homemade sandwiches. When the bus pulled up we laughed at how small it was but we quickly realized the buses HAD to be that small in order to fit up the crazy, winding hills.

We packed into the bus with mostly normal people and one guy who was like the Korean Mr. Bean. He was all of the place, talking to himself, and flailing around with every jerk of the bus. Another passenger asked, “why don’t you put your backpack down?” to which Mr Bean looked at him like he was crazy, turned around abruptly, and smacked the nice passenger and another one with his huge backpack hanging off one shoulder.

Finally we made it to the top of the hill. From here Carl smoothly navigated us to the Instagram famous chairlift. We rode the chairlift up to the very tippy top of the hill. The chairlift ride was actually really fun and it beat having to hike up, which I wouldn’t have been able to do in that heat.

At the top we took lots of pictures and then headed back, enjoying the views even more on the way down.

We walked around Anacapri a little bit but we were too hot to do anything. So we stopped at a restaurant and ordered some drinks and a large, cold bottle of water. When I ordered the water I must’ve looked crazed because the waiter seemed to giggle at the sight of us. After pouring ourselves a glass, chugging it, and pouring another, we took turns holding the cold bottle on our faces.

Mildly recovered, we took another bus down to the village of Capri itself. Another terrible bus ride, but no Korean Bean.

In Capri we walked down the big hill to a garden we had heard about. It was 1.50 Euro to get in and it was a total rip off. It was smaller than my parent’s backyard. But, it did have spectacular views of the coast. Had we not done the tippy top view point, this would have impressed us immensely. We still enjoyed it and took a bunch of photos.

We walked back up the hill to Capri village and decided to walk from here back down to the port, rather than take the Funicular. It was only about 15 minutes downhill and mostly in the shade. Still, we could hardly wait to jump in the ocean.

We meandered over to the public beach and it was absolutely covered with people. I think everyone had followed the same itinerary that we had. We managed to find a spot under a Roman arch to change and then a spot along a wall to sit against and relish the shade.

The public beach isn’t sand, it’s rocks. And it is terribly rocky. We both looked like baby deer trying to get into the water and not fall on a half-naked Italian. Once in the water though, it was sheer bliss. It was so nice and cool. We took turns swimming and then sitting in the shade and air drying.

Then it was time to get the ferry back to Napoli. We had a great day on Capri. We did all the things we wanted to do and we didn’t die of heat exhaustion. But it was expensive and absolutely swarming with people.

Thursday , July 21

Procida

Another day, another island. Of the three islands off of Naples’ coast, Procida is the smallest and least touristy. We’d heard it had nice volcanic black sand beaches and pretty coastlines full of colorful houses so we decided it was worth a visit.

Carl found cheaper ferry tickets through a site that was all in Italian. This was handy, until we weren’t sure where to pick up the tickets or get on the boat. After going to a couple incorrect spots we ended up running/speed walking to get to the ticket office (which may as well have been in an evil genius’ secret lair it was so hard to find) and were absolutely drenched in sweat when we finally got on the ferry.

Somehow there were still seats inside in the air conditioned area so we camped out there for the hour ride and tried to lower our body temperature. When we arrived, we peeked through the smeary boat windows to see that the coast really was as pretty as the blogs had said.

We followed one blog writer’s suggestion of walking along the port road for a little bit before cutting right and walking up a hill to a view point of the other side. At the top of the hill are a couple old cannons and a view overlooking the neighborhood of Corricella which was full of colorfully painted houses and little boats.

We went a little further, all the way to the top viewpoint, which gave a view of some abandoned buildings and the mainland behind. Then we walked down to Corricella. It was almost 1pm and we were feeling hungry so we decided to get a fancy lunch.

We found a place right on the wharf that had white table cloths and blue glass ware. We started with an Aperol spritz and a limoncello spritz (best one so far) and then ordered some seafood bites. We went with Tuna Tartar and a spaghetti with swordfish and green chili peppers. The noodles were doused in a really nice olive oil and they were delicious.

Then it was time to find a beach. We had to walk up the hill to the main road and walk along that for a bit until we saw signs for the beach. Down several sets of staircases we arrived at the black sand beach. It was beautiful, especially contrasted with the colorful houses, but it was gruesomely hot.

I laid my towel down on the black sand and when I stood on top of it, I cried from pain of the hot sand scorching my feet-through the towel! So we covered our stuff with other bits of our stuff as best we could to shield from hot sand and sun and we ran into the water. The water was nice and cool and got cooler the further we swam out.

The beach is actually in a kind of bay and there are volcanic rock jetties protecting the shore from waves. So we could actually just sit in the shallow water and relax without getting knocked around. It was a nicer beach than the one we had been to at Capri, but it would probably be best to visit on a cold day when you want the sand to be warm.

We could’ve grown mermaid tails and lived in that water forever but we decided we should get back. So we packed up, hiked back up the hill, and back across the island to the port.

We still had a little time before our boat so we went to a cafe and got some spritzes and some ice cream. Carl tried a green spritz that had some strange liquor in it, but he liked it.

Finally it was time to get the ferry back. All in all, Procida was a tiny, cute place that was nice to visit and was definitely less stressful than Capri.

Friday, July 22

Pompeii and Vesuvius

We read a lot of blogs and ‘how to’s’ for visiting Pompeii and Vesuvius and came to the conclusion that it would be best to go with a tour group. Going solo would’ve been cheaper and given more freedom but it also would’ve meant navigating potential scam artists at entrances to both and navigating a hot bus system in the middle of the day. We got a tour from Get Your Guide and were glad we did.

We met the group at about 9am next to the city’s main train station called Girabaldi. There were 32 of us on the tour, and the guide, Nuncia, did an excellent job herding us. She led us to an air conditioned bus (praise be) and it was about 40 minutes to Pompeii.

When we entered into Pompeii just after 10am it was already mercilessly hot. Nuncia said there is about 8 hours of things to see in Pompeii but we would only be there for two hours so she would show us some highlights. We walked down one of the main roads to an area of villas that were thought to be owned and lived in by rich families.

We went into one of the houses, Casa del Menandro, so named because one of the rooms had a large painting of the writer, Menandro. Our guide showed us the garden courtyard, the summer dining room, winter dining room, chapel, and spa. Many of the rooms still had their red and yellow painted walls, that were actually better preserved thanks to the volcanic ash layer. We could even see some details of the paintings, including the one of Menandro.

In another house we were shown a clay recreation from a mold of a teenage boy who had died during the explosion. We were surprised there were not more of these recreated bodies on display but Nuncia said most of the things found in Pompeii are actually viewable in Naples’ archeological museum.

We were also surprised to learn that of the estimated over 11,000 people that lived in Pompeii, only about 1,150 bodies were found. Vesuvius erupted in a series of events with the first being a shower of pumice rain that people could have escaped from.

We were led up to an intersecting main road and then to the Lupanare, a brothel. I was about to ask Nuncia how they knew what the building was used for when she pointed out a series of phallic way finding signs and, inside, a ‘menu’ of options for customers to choose from. The preteen boy in our tour group then had a really hard time opening his water bottle before running off in embarrassment.

We ended the tour at the main plaza area and what used to be a basilica used for political meetings. Then we were brought back to tourist land and most of the group ate at the prepaid lunch while Carl and I ate our homemade sandwiches on a shaded bench in the parking lot.

After lunch we piled back into the bus for a 40 minute ride to Vesuvius. The bus took us most of the way up the mountain (1,000 meters) and we hiked the remaining 300 meters. Although it was the hottest part of the day, there was a strong breeze up there and a big cloud that gave us some shade.

We took our time going up, reading all the signs and enjoying the volcanic nature. Then we hiked around the crater’s edge to the other side. Looking into the volcano itself was not that impressive. The crater is massive and the volcanic formations are beautiful, but the real thing to see was the view from up there. Walking around the crater gave us panoramic views of the south part of Naples, the bay, and the backside of the Amalfi coast. We took lots of pics and prayed for another 100 or so years of it not erupting, and hiked back down to the bus.

Another 40 minute bus ride and we were back in Naples. We said goodbye to our guide and the group and went back to the Airbnb to chill until dinner.

For dinner we followed recommendations from our Airbnb host’s food guide. They had recommended a casual spot near the apartment called Antica Trattoria da Carmine. We ordered the pasta and potato and the clam spaghetti. The spaghetti was good, because the clams were fresh. The pasta and potato was really good and tasted kind of like homemade mac and cheese.

We also got a bottle of the house white wine which was fine, except for the bits of cork floating in it. I think our waiter was on his first day on the job as he brought us two bottles of water, one of which the manager lady took away and seemed to scold him. He also opened the wine bottle back in the kitchen, brought it out to the table and just left it on the table. This was very different wine culture than every other place where we’ve ordered a bottle and awkwardly tasted the wine while the waiter watches, pretending like we know wine quality.

We sprung for a tiramisu desert and we’re happy we did because it was so good. Then it was time to go back to the Airbnb to try and fail to get an Italian movie with English subtitles on Netflix.

Saturday, July 23

Naples

Years ago I saw a picture of a sculpture of the veiled Christ on Instagram and had saved the name of the museum to be able to one day see it. Well the day had finally come! Lessons learned from Florence, we got tickets to the Museo Cappella Sansevero ahead of time but then realized we didn’t really need to.

The museum is just one room, a chapel, filled with art commissioned by Prince Raimondo di Sangro of Sansevero house in the 18th century. Actually, the whole building and the things inside were from his vision of creating the most beautiful place. Prince Raimondo was an interesting character who dabbled in art and science, wrote a book that was banned by the Christian church, invented things like paint colors and machines, and wrote his own (humble brag) eulogy.

No photography is allowed inside the museum, so we spent more time reading the museum explanations and staring at the sculptures. The veiled Christ wasn’t as impressive as I had thought it would be, but my expectations were high. The most impressive sculpture was one of a man coming out from a fishing net, where the net was all marble.

In a twist of events, the museum included a visit to the underground area where two life-size anatomical sculptures of a man and a women are kept. These sculptures show just their circulatory system and were so detailed that modern day art historians debate how they were made. It is clear they were dissecting bodies at this point but unclear how they recreated even the teeny tiny veins and placed them so accurately.

We finished the museum in about half an hour, which was much shorter than we had expected. So we went to a cafe (same one we had been to before) to get a babá, sfogiatella, and coffee.

Then we walked around for another hour killing time before our next scheduled museum tour. We walked down one street that had very perfect rows of laundry hanging above us. They seemed too perfectly spaced, and the laundry ropes tied too tight so we came to the conclusion that they were actually fake lines, for tourists like us to ogle at.

Near here we bought a tiny Naples red horn as a souvenir. These things look like chili peppers but it’s actually a really old school good luck charm to ward off evil spirits (one blog said a bloody horn of an animal).

When we showed up to the Lapis museum, they said we were at the wrong time and the English tour was at 3pm. So we went back to the Airbnb to chill ourselves and wait for 3pm. Carl got a haircut and I took a nap and then it was time again.

We had seen and learned about the Lapis museum on our walking tour. Our guide told us that the church was the lapis church because of a stone that was given to it, which now sits outside and you can rub for good luck.

The church has been renovated to be used as an art space and a museum for the history of the original aqueduct of Naples. We took the ‘water museum tour’ to see the aqueduct and the underground areas converted into bomb shelters during WWII.

The guide was knowledgeable and nice, but he talked as we were walking down stairs so we often couldn’t hear him. But it was cool to descend 30+ meters below ground to see the old water chambers and passageways. They’ve artificially filled a couple of these chambers so tourists can see what it would’ve looked like. For the others, the guide showed how people in WWII would have sat underground for hours or days waiting for the bombs to stop.

At one point the guide played a video for us, which projected onto the ceiling above us. The video was about 3 minutes long and was a scene of airplanes bombing the building we were in, with walls falling away and the blue sky being revealed. It was fine, but about 2 minutes too long. The guide said there was another video of a Napolitan husband and wife bickering while in the bomb shelter but the guide wouldn’t show us because it was all in Italian and the translation wouldn’t be as funny.

We were only underground for about an hour which was sad because it was so nice and cool down there. When we emerged again we debated sneaking back in to sleep in the caves at night.

Feeling peckish, we realized we hadn’t been to the world’s oldest pizzeria and that 4pm would be a perfect, not busy, time. We walked over to Antica Pizzeria Port’Alba and were happy to find them open and not busy. Turns out they do close at 5pm for a break between lunch and dinner, so our timing was perfect.

We got spritzes (Aperol and Hugo) and a DOC pizza to share. It had Buffalo mozzarella, basil, and the best pear tomatoes I’ve ever had. The dough was perfectly salted and chewy. There was no tomato sauce between the dough and the cheese. And it was dripping with oil. It was so good, and very likely the best pizza we’ve ever had.

Since we ate at a weird time we went to the store and got some mozzarella, basil, and tomatoes for a late night snack later. We went back to our Airbnb to enjoy the AC and prepare ourselves for the next day’s journey to the Amalfi coast.