World Class Views, World Class Driving (More Italy)

We spent a few weeks in Italy and realized we had way too much to write about in a single (non-food) post, so we wrote this one about Naples and the Tyrrhenian Coast area – expect another post soon covering the rest of the country.

Capri

Capri is a beautiful island a short ferry ride off the coast of Naples, home of bright blue water, amazing vistas, and delicious food, but lamentably, no Capri Sun vineyards. It’s a popular destination for yachtsmen, honeymooners, and film stars, although the backpacker quotient is a bit lower in light of the disproportionately high prices. We spent three days there and had a lovely time full of dining, hiking, and swimming – and we managed to escape at a spend rate only triple our daily budget. We also had the good fortune to meet up with Ethan’s brother and his girlfriend along the way, who invited us over for some luxury poolside hanging and provided great company for a few excellent meals. Capri was a fantastic start to the Italian leg of our trip, and gave us a solid taste of both the luxury side of Italy and the rugged beauty of cliff hiking above the sea (of which more later).

One of the main beaches, close to the harbor

Capri is all about transportation. Getting from point A to point B is the major concern of the Capri visitor. This can be daunting. You start by booking a ferry over from Naples, and while there are really only a couple of options, each of the two companies that runs ferries appears to have a half-dozen different logos, with somewhat-conflicting signage. It’s a beautiful voyage though, with Vesuvius swelling above the aquamarine seas in the background, Capri ahead, and plenty of oligarch yachts bobbing in the waves.

Upon reaching the island, you need to get to your destination. This is not so easily done, since most of the places to stay at on Capri are some distance from the port. We stayed in Anacapri (the village on the far side of the Island where the locals live), at a lovely AirBnB hosted by the quintessential Italian nonna. She had spent her career as a flight attendant for Alitalia, and had traveled almost everywhere. Her English was a lot better than our Italian, but we got some excellent practice in, and stumbled our way to a pretty good understanding. To get there, we opted for the bus. Capri bus drivers are competitive with Formula One drivers in terms of raw driving ability. “Hairpin” doesn’t even begin to describe the roads, which are also only wide enough for one vehicle at any time, and the pullouts are more suitable for motorcycles than cars, let alone buses. But these guys get it done with only inches of clearance at hair-raising velocity.

Ethan sweating in the bus line, tantalizingly close to the beach. Since everyone gets of the ferry at the same time, it takes a bit of a wait to get a spot on the bus

The rare convertible minivan, a Capri institution at the intersection of luxury and function

Visitors to Capri typically spend a lot of time near the water, and we ventured to the beaches a couple times. The water is amazing, although somewhat deficient in sea life (a major positive for Jess give a minor case of icthyophobia). The beaches are pretty, but a little painful for the toes since they still need another couple million years to go from rock to sand. Above all, though, they are major social hubs for locals and visitors alike – the kids are cliff jumping while the adults are chatting, snacking and drinking, and everyone seems to know everyone after a few hours.

Note the rather intense card game taking place around a boat on the left hand side – a typical occurrence on Capri’s rocky beaches among the older gents. Note also that it is not sand beneath Ethan’s feet, but rather, pale gravel. Reflexology is a side benefit of the beach visits

In addition to the beaches, we did some serious vista-ing. We trekked up from the port to Anacapri several times, which was a pretty solid climb of a few hundred meters. It’s one of those weird feelings where your legs and lungs are seriously burning, and the Caprese salad you just ate is trying to escape, but you’re surrounded by amazing beauty on three sides that just keeps getting better as you progress.

Earning that pizza – we started at the port (that tiny, tiny thing in the background)

Above Anacapri, you can take a cable car (yet another mode of transportation) up to a mountaintop overlook that is simply amazing. 360 degrees of sea that merges into the Neapolitan coastline on one side, and the sky on all others.

A view from the summit – and proof at last that we were actually on the same trip at the same time!

Looking down with a case of serious yacht envy

Trying not to lose our flip flops on the chair lift

Anacapri in its full glory

We also did plenty of tourist wandering in the towns (Capri and Anacapri), and checked out some nice shops selling tasty morsels, limoncello, and hats, the last of which we availed ourselves of for the sunniest days.

Who are you calling “tourist?”

One of the highlights of our Capri trip was a boat ride around the island which gave us a wonderful view of the cliffs, grottoes, and the uninhabited side of the island. The hats were out in force, and we had also brought an excellent lunch of smoked meats (Ethan only), cheeses, fine bread, and beers, provoking the envy of our fellow voyagers.

“I don’t always drink juice, but when I do, I prefer Capri Sun”

Blending in, or trying too hard?

Scylla and Charybdis are out of frame

Many of the grottoes have white sand bottoms which reflect the sun, creating amazing colors

The ideal Capri composition – sea, cliffs, schooner

Nearing the return at the end of the boat ride, looking up at the cliffs leading to Anacapri (yes, we climbed that)

On our last full day, we took a big hike to the far side of Capri to look at a lighthouse and the sunset. This was helpful in offsetting the food-driven increase in our waistlines as well as the (also food-driven) decrease in our bankrolls. Along the hike there were also several forts, initially built in ancient times, but adapted for use during the Napoleonic Wars.

Jess basking in the rays of a sunset. Poking out of her backpack is the most expensive bottle of sunscreen we’ve ever encountered – anything above SPF8 is a rare find in Italy and priced accordingly

Looking down a fort on the far side of Capri along with a friendly quadruped’s hindquarters (cunningly camouflaged amongst the rocks)

Every hike in Italy involves at least one little Catholic shrine

Looking back along the path of our hike

Along our hike, we also got to swim in the famous Blue Grotto (La Grotta Azzurra to the locals), an amazing cave with a narrow entrance that opens to the sea. When the tide is low, you can go inside and see brilliant blue reflections on the walls and ceiling of the cave. During the day it’s monopolized by pricey rowboats, but being adventurous sorts, we waited until the early evening when swimmers are able to sneak inside. It’s a bit exciting since the entrance can close temporarily when a big wave comes, but we felt that if all the other people we saw going in could manage it, we’d be fine. It was beautiful.

The GoPro earning its keep. The light comes through that open area below and reflects off the sandy bottom of the grotto

Pompeii & Herculaneum

Italy is (no surprises) the best place in the world to view Roman ruins, and two towns near Naples, Pompeii and Herculaneum, are some of the best locations to view ruins in the country since they were both buried during the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 AD. Pompeii was blanketed by ash, while Herculaneum was covered by mud from the volcano. Both sites were frozen in time, and have been meticulously excavated, providing an amazing, if macabre, window into daily life in ancient Rome. We spend the better part of a day in each – both sites are enormous, especially Pompeii.

If a column falls in some ruins and nobody hears it..?

Pompeii is an enormous site and we found ourselves struggling mightily to plan a route that was walkable but saw most of the major sites. Cartographic intensity on display here

The original zebra crossing / crosswalk: raised stones so that the poor pedestrians didn’t have to wade through the liquid results of the second major usage of roads (drainage). Over time, wagon wheels eroded the stones into deep channels

Just your normal Pompeian parlor / art gallery. Colors were pretty well-preserved since the city was totally buried

The mosaics were a particularly big deal. This is a reconstruction (the original is in the Naples Archaeological Museum)

Vesuvius looming in the background and pondering reburying this street – apparently the volcano is overdue for another event

This is one of the most famous houses in Pompeii, with a raised central living area created by joining two smaller dwellings

Friends, Romans, countrymen…

The mummified remains of those Pompeians who were unable to escape and got buried in ash

Looking out at the garden from one of the more famous dwellings unearthed in Pompeii

While Pompeii was covered in ash which burned away most of the organic material and altered some colors, the mud that covered Herculaneum preserved a lot more of these things, revealing vivid hues.

Ancient Roman buildings were quite colorful. The image we all have of uniform white marble is totally off base – it’s just that in most cases the colors faded with time

A diptych covering the breadth of the many forms of human interaction…

The floor mosaics were amazing. You can see the reverse swastika here, which was a common ancient symbol

The Romans turned out to be pretty eclectic builders. Walls were built, repaired, added onto, etc. leading to some serious architectural fusion

Surprisingly these aren’t toilets, but rather, storage vessels for merchants who worked behind these counters – or at least that’s what the guides wanted us to think…

There were many beach cabanas like this in Herculaneum where locals unsuccessfully took shelter once Vesuvius erupted

More of the brilliant colors

Sorrento

No visit to the Naples area is complete without a visit to the beautiful cliffs around Sorrento and Amalfi. Combine sparkling water, craggy cliffs, colorful stacked dwellings, and greenery from vineyards and natural plants, and you have a pretty complete package for Italian coastal beauty. And for hikers it’s paradise since you get to punish your body on the uphills while taking in some amazing scenery, all with the promise of some very tasty feasting at the end, capped off with a glass of limoncello.

The other huge benefit of hiking is that it means that you’re no longer in a moving vehicle. Driving in the area is simply terrifying since the roads are tiny, with voids of hundreds of feet below, drivers are insane, and the average vehicle is a full coach bus having the maneuverability of a terrestrial manatee. We didn’t actually witness any deaths, but we assume that a large number of the shrines near the roads have to be devoted to drivers whose luck ran out.

An exemplar of three dimensional urban planning

The before picture – we’ve learned that sunglasses are key for selfies since they obviate the need to actually look at the camera

Hiking up the cliffs, you pass through a series of villages with locals going about their daily business (which apparently consists of selling lemonade to tourists and moving heavy rocks up and down stairs on special big-wheeled wheelbarrows)

Trees, sea, and sky – and some innovative farming

No caption necessary

Our now standard sweaty hiking selfie, this time with an improved background

The view from the top of the cliffs

Heading back down – the luxury flotilla at anchor

Another shot of the water off Sorrento after sunset

Heading for a victory swim. As in Capri, the beaches did have rather coarse “sand” as you can see here – locals naturally develop a decent pain tolerance with sufficient training (or Aperol)

Naples

We arrived in Naples with some trepidation – stories abound of pickpockets, overflowing ad hoc garbage dumps and, of course, the notorious Camorra. Clutching our valuables tightly, we made our way to the hostel, which was conveniently central (i.e. far too close to the rather sketchy central rail station area) and provided a great view of the inside of the apartments opposite, most of which were massively over-occupied and blaring music. Not a great start. But, as we quickly discovered, while it is crowded and somewhat chaotic, Naples is absolutely bursting with energy and fun, not to mention fascinating history and culture.

Wading through the crowds can be a little overwhelming…add to this a few scooters buzzing through at breakneck speed and the odd van inexplicably attempting to drive down the narrow streets and you have a passable extreme sport

One of the first things you learn about Naples is that Neapolitans are extremely proud of their city and, in particular, its heritage as capital of the southern Kingdom of Naples. It’s common to see the 18th century flag flying from buildings as a reminder of the period of peak influence, power, and respect for a city which underwent massive change following the unification of Italy. The sentiment of the people we spoke to was fairly uniformly that Naples represents the “real” Italy – they have the pizza and the passion (read: extremes of emotion and volume) and, unlike Milan which has recently succumbed, they will continue to resist Starbucks to the death.

A particularly enthusiastic building

Naples is full of character and fun – we quickly realized that the optimal way to spend our limited time in the city was to wander the streets observing life, stopping occasionally for some absolutely incredible street food (mostly of the deep fried variety).

The Neapolitan version of bobble heads, depicting the greatest and most scandalous (often the same) people

One coffee shop is centered around a Maradona shrine. Apparently the proprietor was on a flight sitting next to Maradona – Maradona left a lock of his hair on his seat, which now serves as the centerpiece of the shrine

Above all, Naples is packed with architectural beauty, and it’s easy to stumble across some wonderful churches, forts and piazzas while picking your way through the crowds.

Piazza San Domenico Maggiore, which sits in the center of the city along one of the original Greek roads 

The facade of the Chiesa del Gesú Nuovo, which lies in the western expansion of the city overseen by the Spanish. The mystical symbols on each pyramid spell out a musical score together

When we were in need of a little respite from the mobs of tourists, vendors, and Vespas, we visited the 250-year-old National Archeological Museum. Housed in a beautiful former university building, the museum provided a treasure trove of outstanding statues, paintings and mosaics – much of what was found in Pompeii, Herculaneum, and the surrounding area was brought here and remains in unbelievable condition.

Who wore it better?

For those of you who studied Latin, we can basically guarantee that you saw this mosaic in one textbook or another