Back in Old Napoli That's Amore!

Bright and early on Tuesday morning, the 15th of May, we packed up, had breakfast, and took off for the bus to Ischia Porto (the port) where we would get the hydrofoil to Naples. From there we would take the train to Rome later in the day. All four of us had planned to go together but at the last minute, Gianfranco had to stay behind, so it was just us and David. Gianfranco planned to meet us at lunchtime in front of the National Archaeological Museum of Naples. He had already selected the perfect place for lunch.

In the photo above, you can see one of the hydrofoils taking passengers from Naples to Ischia. There are many of these as well as "fast boats" and ferries that take folk back and forth between the two places. On weekday mornings and late afternoons the trade is mostly people who are going to/from work.

The next photo shows our approach to Naples. Early morning mist is lingering and those grey clouds eventually produced a couple of short misty showers as we toured a bit of Naples. Our objective was to get ourselves to the train station to check our bags so that we would be free to visit the museum and have lunch without worrying about lugging luggage. We took a taxi to the train station from the port of Naples and then a metro train into downtown Naples.

Alas when we got to the museum, at 5 minutes to the 10 o'clock opening time, the sign on the door indicated that the museum is closed on Tuesdays! None of us had thought to check! The plan was to visit the museum and there be able to see some of the treasures from Pompeii, including the "Secret Closet" where the "naughty bits" are now on display. Unfortunately, there was too little time to visit Pompeii itself, so that and Herculaneum will have to wait for our return visit.

In the two-and-a-half hours we had before meeting up with Gianfranco, David took us on a walking tour of downtown Naples. The downtown area reminds one of Manhattan in that there are many people, a lot of colour, a lot of traffic, and a lot of noise, but also a crackling sense of vitality. In the photo below, on the right side of the street, you can see a big old truck. These are people who have driven in from the countryside vending fresh garlic off the back of the open truck. The powerful smell of fresh garlic wafted all the way down the street to where we were!

Among the more scenic sights, however, were Dante Square (or Piazza Dante)
and Galleria Umberto I which dates back to the late 1800s. We stopped at a cafe in the galleria for coffee and to rest our feet!

We walked down one side of a main street and came back up the other side. Along the way, we did some window shopping, browsed through book and art stalls at Piazza Dante, and at a small jewelry shop, found me a pair of turquoise, coral, and silver earrings to match the necklace Don bought me for our 25th anniversary in Barcelona. By the time we got back to the museum to wait for Gianfranco, we were tired and beginning to get hungry.

We went with Gianfranco and his friend Brigita (who had picked him up at the port) to a little hole-in-the-wall restaurant off a side street which we'd never have found otherwise. Here we waited for one of the few tables for about 10 minutes. Of course, the owner is an old friend of Gianfranco's. The food was definitely worth waiting for. We had the most wonderful meatballs, pasta, and vegetable dishes, all washed down with mineral water and local wine. Disappointed as we were not to see the museum, we still consider that we had an excellent introduction to Naples to which we shall most definitely return.

After lunch we took a taxi to the train station where we retrieved our luggage, bought tickets for the train to Rome, and in very little time, boarded the train. It was about a 2-hour trainride and in our second class car, we were quite comfortable. We read and dozed. We were in a separate car from David and Gianfranco but met up again in Rome where we each hired a taxi to take us to the hotel Gianfranco had arranged for the four of us. I sat in the back seat of the cab with my camera ready to shoot and was able to get an amazing photo of the Colisseum and a temple.
You won't be surprised to learn that once we had lugged our bags up the long and steep curving stairscase to the reception desk and got into our room, we were ready for a nap!

David phoned later in the afternoon to say that they were going to bid us goodbye and that we'd be on our own for dinner. But they gave us directions to a nearby square where we would find numerous restaurants to choose from and a lot of local colour to soak up. We bid he and Gianfranco a fond farewell and thanked them profusely for all they did to make this the most fabulous of holidays for us. Gianfranco told us we were welcome to return to his house in Ischia even if he weren't going to be there. It wouldn't be the same without him and David but it was a most generous offer. I leave you with this early evening photo of Campo di Fiori, the square in Rome where we had our evening meal. Afterward we browsed up a few side streets and window shopped. We stopped for a last cone of gelato before heading back to our hotel.