Our overnight train from Venice had us change trains in
Rome. When we got to Naples they were in the midst of a huge construction
project right across from the train station. WARNING: Naples is notorious for
pickpockets (and my dad had his wallet picked while on the bus our second day
there), keep your stuff very secure in your front pocket and carry your purse
over your shoulder across your body and zipped up.
We planned to spend 2 nights in Naples, but very little
time in the day there. In Venice, I had booked a tour for the two of us to take
us from Naples to Pompeii, give us a guided tour and lunch, take us to
Vesuvius, and then drive us back to Naples. I pretty much just looked online
for “naples pompeii tour” and booked from there, I’m not sure how I decided to
choose Euroquest but that’s what we booked.
They also have day trips from Rome (but see my recommendations at the end of
the Venice section). The reason I booked a tour was so that we could have a
guide. I don’t know if Rick Steves has an audio or book guide for Pompeii but
if he does, I didn’t have it. If you want to save money, you can take a train
from Naples to Pompeii, a cab from the train station to the old city, and a cab
to Vesuvius, but since we were paying for a guide anyway, it was easier (though
more expensive) to go the guided tour route. Our tour guide spoke excellent
English and was very thorough; the only drawback is that when you’re on a
guided tour, you’re on his schedule, not your own, so you only stay in one spot
for as long as he wants and you only go where he takes you. We spent about 90
minutes in the city (I would have preferred longer so I could linger and
wander, but we had a schedule to meet).
The volcano was a tough climb, about 30 minutes on a flat
but sloped path; if the weather cooperates, it’s an amazing view at the summit
(we unfortunately had some fog and clouds). Then we had about 30 minutes at the
top, and 15 minutes down. The time at the top was based on when the van was
going to leave to go back to Naples, which was when the mountain closed to
hikers.
When we got back to Naples, we got our bags from the
lockers and tried to figure out how to get to the hotel. With no internet, I
only had a paper map and it didn’t look THAT far to walk, but due to the
construction the taxis and bus schedules were all fubared up (if they even go
by the schedules) so after waiting 20 minutes we decided to walk. Turned out we
went the long way and it was about 1.5 miles of walking with our rolling
suitcases down the city street, took us over an hour (and a lot of it was
walking up hill). By the time we made it up to the room, we had to rest (mostly
for my dad).
Fortunately the place for dinner was only a 10-minute
walk. If you’re in Naples, you MUST go to Pizzeria da Michele, which is famous
for being the place where they actually invented pizza. This is the classic
margherita pizza with just sauce, mozzarella, and a basil leaf (red, white, and
green, the colors of Italy’s flag). The pizzas are really cheap (4 euros) and
they’re done in minutes – it literally spends only 45 seconds in the oven.
Chances are there will be a line but it’s worth the wait.
Here are my pictures from the day.
(Originally posted 5/13/14 at 8:44pm, Houston)
Here are my pictures from the day.
(Originally posted 5/13/14 at 8:44pm, Houston)
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