Naples, Pompeii and Amalfi Travel Journal
| This is the second part of this trip. Prior to this week we've been to Rome. |
> to Pompeii
07-05-2010 Last night we wanted to sleep early at our new camping spot under the olive trees, but our airbed had other plans. Yvonne got the impression she heard some air leaking right after she stopped pumping, but at that point Peter was still in denial. However, as soon as both of us lay down on it denial was no longer possible: with a loud hiss the bed deflates in only a few seconds.Luckily we kept the repair set, when we bought this airbed last year in Croatia, as we had the same problem back then. A look at the tiny tube of glue learns us to not have too many expectations: made in China. For thirty minutes each of us holds a round sticker with glue in position and we pray this will work. Luckily we've already got some experience in sleeping on hard Indian beds, so we will survive a night on the ground as well. We're pleasantly surprised when we inflate the bed and the stickers remain stuck, even when we carefully lie down on the bed again. As still as possible we lie there and when we wake up in the morning there's even some air left inside.
Our navigation system shows us the way to a large supermarket, where we expect to find airbeds on the shelves as well. Once there the selection doesn't seem too extensive. Our options are limited to a super de luxe, 50 centimeter tall aerobed with electrical pump or a children's airbed to float on the water. Well, a bit of luxury when camping is not too bad after all.
The supermarket is only a few kilometers from the ancient city of Pompeii so we visit this site as soon as we're done shopping. In the year 79 A.D. this entire city was buried under a layer of ashes and lava when Mount Vesuvius erupted and they are still excavating parts of this place. It's an impressive site, with houses, wallpaintings and mosaics still in extremely good shape. The ruts are still visible in the pavement and the shops are still very recognizable. It's just like there were people living here only yesterday.People who didn't have enough time to escape were found in several places and they are now displayed to all visitors of the city. We walk around for hours to see everything, before we get back to our car. We parked it outside, a block further down the road, where you're allowed to park for one Euro an hour. When we arrived there were several men waving and jumping up and down, while yelling the "Parking" for Pompeii was right there, but those men are only hired to get customers for one of the many private parkings of clever inhabitants of modern Pompeii. Their price is 3 Euros an hour by the way.
> Amalfi Coast
08-05-2010 Today we drive along the wonderful Amalfi Coast, where tiny villages are situated along the rocky coastline. Unfortunately it's a bit hard to stop at the nice spots, as the road is narrow and there's barely any parking space. Still it's a very nice tour and we take lots of great photos during the few stops along the way.
09-05-2010 We think it's time for some vacation and we don't do much. We do walk to Sorrento, the village near to the campsite, to do some shopping.
> Naples
10-05-2010 For a moment we consider to drive to Naples in our own car, but we decide to take the bus and the train.
As soon as we arrive in Naples and see the chaos they call traffic here we're happy with our choice. We're not surprised at all to see so many cars with scratches and dents.The city itself also looks damaged and old. De stad zelf maakt ook een gehavende indruk. There's hardly any paint left on buidlings and other objects and there's a great lack of maintainance. Especially the area around the central station looks poor. The old center consists of narrow alleys and tiny squares. In one of the little streets we have difficulties not to burst into laughter. We see shop after shop stuffed with handmade, shoddy souvenirs, all of them resembling some sort of elf land.
Still this city has some kind of charm and in its own way it's kind of pretty. We visit the old Basilica and next we go to the National Museum, where we admire finds from Pompeii from up close.
> more Amalfi
11-05-2010 After a full day in a busy city we find it time for some nature today. We drive to Nerano, a pituresque little village near the Amalfi Coast. From there we walk to a peninsula full of gigantic cactae and Euphorbia. We also see many flowers along the way and a snake every now and then. It's very peaceful here and the views are lovely.
12-05-2010 Today we go for another walk in the surroundings of Sorrento and we enjoy the spring sunshine. We visit an ancient Roman settlement near our campsite, right on the shore of the sea.
13-05-2010 Since we're quite far from home and we have to get back to work on Monday we pack our tent and drive northward today. We spend the night in Siena, in a mobile home, and eat some delicious Italian pizza.
14-05-2010 We leave Italy and through Switzerland we go to Mulhouse, where we stay in the same hotel, to continue our trip home tomorrow.
> More Info
Also check our Italy info page, where you can find a lot of information about Italy and come see our Naples Photos.