June 2005
Naples, Italy
From 17 to 22 June we went to Naples, Italy. We visited the Campi Flegra area and the ruins of Pompeii, went to the top of the Vesuvius and around the island of Capri, swam in the Blue Grotto and saw lots of castles, churches and museums.
|
1/30 On Friday 17 June we arrived in Naples in the late afternoon, and walked around the Chiaia area. We saw the Castel Nuovo and Castel dell'Ovo, but they were closed.
|
2/30 This is the Galleria Umberto I.
|
3/30 Piazza Plebiscito.
|
4/30 On Saturday we took the metro from Piazza Garibaldi to the Campi Flegra area where we got out in Pozzuoli.
|
5/30 Our first stop was the Vulcano Solfatara, which is one of the 40 ancient volcanoes that make up the Phlegreaen Fields. Here we saw a bubbling mud pit, an ancient Roman sauna and lots of water vapor coming from the rocks.
|
6/30 Three hours and a lot of bus rides later we arrive at Il Parco Archeologico di Baia, where we found this upside down fig tree in one of the ruins.
|
7/30 Not far from the tree was this impressive round covered Roman bath, Tempio Mercuro, still filled with water. There were big gold fish and even a turtle in it.
|
8/30 Still at the ruins of Baia.
|
9/30 After Baia we took the bus back to Pozzuoli where we made a short stop at the Anfiteatro Flavio, the third-largest Roman ampitheatre in the world, after those at Rome and Capua.
|
10/30 Back in Naples later that afternoon we visited the Museo Archeologico Nazionale, with a stunning collection of finds from Pompeii and Herculaneum.
|
11/30 On Sunday we took the train to Ecolano and from there a long bus ride to Vesuvius. The bus had a hard time climbing up the winding roads, and we even had to stop somewhere for 20 minutes to let the bus cool down.
|
12/30 After the bus dropped us off at the end of the road, we made a hike up to the top of Vesuvius.
|
13/30 We followed the long narrow path around the rim of the crater.
|
14/30 From Vesuvius we took the bus to Pompeii where we arrived at 12:30. Pompeii is a HUGE area, and we walked around until it closed at 19:00 and only saw the main sights.
|
15/30 There were many tourists at Pompeii, especially a lot of big groups, but because it is so wide spread there we lots of quiet areas. Here we are at the large theatre.
|
16/30 On Monday we did a walking tour of Naples. Here we are in one of the streets close to our hotel in the oldest part of Naples.
|
17/30 We visited many churches and several archeological sites.
|
18/30 Here we took one of the steep Funicolare trains up a hill in Naples from Toledo to Fuga.
|
19/30 A view of Naples with the Vesuvius in the background.
|
20/30 On Tuesday 22 June we took the ferry to Capri island, where we rented a motorized boat and went around the island, which took us about two-and-a-half hours. We went out in one place to snorkel.
|
21/30 A view from our boat of three big rocks (see also photo 26) off the coast of Capri.
|
22/30 Around the island are lots of caves. This is the most famous one: the Blue Grotto. During the day boats take you there from the harbor and they take you in a smaller boat to go into the cave. After 17:00 you can go in yourself, which is what we did later that day.
|
23/30 Back in the Grande Marina we took the Funicolare up to Capri Town.
|
24/30 From here we had a great view of the Gulf of Napels.
|
25/30 We did a lot of walking around the narrow steep paths of Capri Town, which reminded us of Venice, as you can easily get lost.
|
26/30 On the other side of the island we had a nice view of the big rocks that we had gone through with our boats just a few hours ago.
|
27/30 A typical street on Capri.
|
28/30 When we got back in the Marina Grande we took a bus up to Anacapri, the second town on the island, where we took another bus down to the Blue Grotto. Here we walked down steps to the water and swam into the cave. Looking back to the hole gave a magnificent view, as all the water inside the cave was lit up bright blue.
|
29/30 From the Blue Grotto we took the small bus back to Anacapri and back to the Marina Grande. The bus ride was hilarious, as we often had to back up to let other busses and cars pass on the narrow roads. From the harbor we took this ferry back to Naples at 19:50.
|
30/30 On our last day, Wednesday, in Naples we did some last-minute shopping and walking around the historical center of town.
|
