DAY 24 - Naples

Friday, 13 May 2005

Capri
Capri is gorgeous! We took the boat ride over from Sorrento and we could see our hotel from the boat as we arrived. We had an ocean view room, tiled floor, robes & slippers, very nice! We took the funicular up to the top of the mountain and had dinner overlooking the coastline below. This was definitely one of the highlights of the trip so far!

Pompeii
Talk about lost & Pompeii in the same sentence and that about describes Al & my initial foray into finding the ruins site. We spent 1.5 hours the first day trying to find the site without success and another half-hour the following day before finally being able to locate the site. We found it more interesting than the site in Rome. Very interesting how the original city was laid out but not too many artifacts. These are in a museum in Naples that we didn´t have time to visit.

Pompeii Ruins
The dead man's pyroclastic cast illustrates Mount Vesuvius' power...


Naples/Napoli
Didn't get to visit the city center and heard from another couple that we didn't miss much. It's about as chaotic as other large Italian cities are. However, the surrounding Campania Region is incredible – from Pompeii to Capri to the Amalfi Coast, it is an area rich in beauty and history.

Car Mileage: 4000 miles @ 15 miles east of Naples

San Marino
This little country is really beautiful. We visited Castle/Torre Guaita at the very top of the city of San Marino and had a spectacular view of the surrounding country below. Truly beautiful.

Crazy Italian Drivers
On one of Naples' highways, a driver in an old Seat is in the left lane and we're in the right lane. We're in a construction zone, so concrete barriers are on both sides. He all of a sudden veers left and hits the left concrete barrier. Then – as if a rock glancing off the pond surface – he rockets over to the right lane in front of us and continues driving as if NOTHING HAPPENED. We couldn't believe our eyes, and then while passing him we look over and he's talking to himself loudly. Wow, what a crazy driver!

Al's meltdown
The lovely ghetto towns of Torre Annunziata & Pompeii is where I had my meltdown. After driving in Italy for a few days, I had it with the crazy Italy drivers and roads. Too many darn mopeds trying to pass on your left or right, or riding your rear bumper. Too many skinny alleys that barely allow your car to fit thru, so you have to fold your mirrors back for that additional 6" of space. Too many roads that simply become a one-way heading the other way. Too many roads that are way too skinny and with too much traffic (including huge tour buses coming at you). Too many streets with no street signs.

Yesterday, I finally caved in to the driving pressure and had to take a 5-minute breather to collect & compose myself before driving again. Once I'm done with this trip, I shall NEVER drive in Italy again – at least I hope!

I later found out that Torre Annunziata is the headquarters for the Camorra organization, an Italian mafia – yikes! No wonder we were getting stares as we drove by and there were no other tourists besides us. We were quite fortunate to stumble upon a local museum for Italians. Though the staff didn't speak any English, she drew a simple map for me to get back out the city, as the signs were pretty much non-existent. I'm very grateful that someone was looking out for us...

-- Locke & Al