Naples,Italy

Naples, Italy    12-13 April 2011

In the words of the immortal Victor Herbert’s (?) Italian Street Song -” Ah my heart belongs in Napoli” -  As a cruise port, there are so many things to do here that even two days, as we had, only touches the surface.  Amalfi Coast, Sorrento, Ischia, Pompeii, Herculaneum, museums, pizza and more pizza.  I think this is our third trip here and on the other two trips we did not really see the city proper, venturing out to the tourist areas of Amalfi Coast, Positano, Ischia and Pompeii.  This time we decided to stay closer to the city.

Day one was sunny and bright, an ideal day for visiting Herculaneum, along with Pompeii a victim of the 79 AD Mount Vesuvius eruption.  At Pompeii, people were buried in the ash and really didn’t have a chance.  At Herculaneum, the city was buried in a slow moving mud, allowing residents the opportunity to flee.  As a result, structures are in a much better state of preservation at Herculaneum.  Some of the frescoes still remain on the walls of the homes and their colors are amazing.  Excavation here was first begun in 1736 and continues to this date.  While Pompeii is certainly better known, I enjoyed Herculaneum better and would recommend it over Pompeii if you could only do one.  On the way back to the train station to return to Naples, we stopped for a very enjoyable pizza at a tiny cafe.  Since the pizza was only 3 Euros, we figured they would be individual sized and so ordered two.  Big mistake!  Two full size (12”?) pizzas arrived which we knew we could not finish.  Wrong again!  Ate them both along with two beers and a jug of wine for 15 Euros.

Day two dawned overcast with spotty rain showers.  Undaunted, we put on our rain gear and commenced the 45 minute walk to the Archaeological Museum.  Just a few sprinkles along the way to the museum which was free for some unknown reason (as was Herculaneum).  The rooms we visited were artifacts that had been removed from Pompeii and Herculaneum plus some statues from the Farnese Palace.  A poorly organized museum with very little security and no air quality.  Reminded me of St. Petersburg.  We got drenched on the walk back which meant no second pizzas.

Off to Civitavecchia for Rome tomorrow.

Joe Wagg