Italy
30 Sept - 7 October 2012
Campania in Southern Italy - home to some of the most beautiful views on the planet. We visit Sorrento, the Amalfi Coast, Capri and the throbbing heart that is Naples. A spectacular week in the sun - full of swimming, walking, sight seeing and delicious Pizza... perfect!
Here is a day by day run down of what we did:
Sunday 30th September - Up at 2:45am to catch cab to Stansted airport. We get a coffee and wait to board the 6:05 easy jet flight to Naples. We touch down in sunny Italy 15 minutes earlier than our scheduled 9:50 arrival. Pick up luggage and board bus to travel to Sorrento. The first glimpses of
Vesuvius are spectacular as we wind our way through the industrial outskirts of greater Naples. We arrive in
Sorrento central bus station and have a quick walk down the hill to the
Grand Hotel De La Ville, our home for the next four nights.
The main harbour at Sorrento
Dave makes a new friend!
The views over to
Vesuvius from our balcony are breathtaking. We unpack and prepare to explore the beautiful cliff top town in the sunshine. We find it tricky to make our way down to the quay and the clear blue
Mediterranean, but eventually we find a narrow cobbled road that leads down to the pretty grand marina area. This place is picture postcard perfect, and home to quite a few well looked after kitties! We enjoy a beer then head back to our hotel. Quick rest then off out to dinner at
La Lanterna restaurant in the old town.
The busy centre of Sorrento - early eve
Monday 1st October - Up early to enjoy the breakfast buffet and start exploring further afield. A local train strike scuppers our plans to visit
Pompeii, so we brave the mad queue's to purchase bus tickets to
Amalfi. The bus is packed! We start to wind our way up thought the streets of Sorrento, getting higher and higher, the clouds are below us as we start to head down the south off the headland... The spectacular (and scary) road twists and turns it's way towards Amalfi. Sheer drops over the cliffs are our reward as we get closer to the tourist hot spot. We eventually arrive at the harbour and it is beautiful,
well worth the hair raising thrills and spills! It feels a little faded here, as if it has had it's day, but the views are still wonderful and the atmosphere up-beat and relaxed. We want to get to the beautiful gardens at
Ravello, a short bus trip up from the port. Dave convinces me that it will be worth the journey. I insist that we first purchase ferry tickets for the return trip to Sorrento,
"ain't no way you getting back on those cliff hugging roads in a bus!" Again we start to climb up along the twisting narrow streets. Once at Ravello, we visit two Villas that are within a short walking distance from each other.
Villa Rufolo is fabulous and the views from the terraces are breathtaking. Next up,
Villa Cimbrone, more spectacular views and classic planting. We team up with some fellow tourists to get a mini-cab back down to the port. We make it in good time to join the queue for the fast ferry back around the coast. Once on board, Dave enjoys a cold beer and we lap up the views of the wonderful coast. Back in Sorrento we pick up treats at the local supermarket and enjoy a relaxed eve in our hotel. The views north towards mount Vesuvius are wonderful as the sun sets and the moon rises in spectacular fashion, perfect.
Amalfi harbour
Snack stop on the harbour front
Exploring the back streets of Almalfi
The classic view from Villa Rufolo
Dave relaxes in the gardens of Villa Rufolo
Alex enjoys the view at Villa Cimbrone
Tuesday 2nd October - a slightly overcast morning, but we are up and out early to maximise exploring time. First we visit the
Museo Correale di Terranova and enjoy the fine collection of archaeological finds, paintings from the Napoleonic era and local costume. Next up a fabulous walk along the coast. We head west up and out of the bay and soon enjoy the wonderful views. We stop off at
Capo and head down to the Roman ruins of
Villa di Pollio Felice and have a walk by the sea. We get lost in the olive groves as we try to make our way back to the main road, not a real hardship,
we have been lost in worse places! We continue by foot to the next bay and are soon heading down a steep path to a pretty harbour at
Marina di Puolo. We have a coffee in the shade and make our way to the furthest end of the bay to enjoy a relaxing swim from the beautiful quiet pebble beach - wonderful! We enjoy the sun for a few hours and walk back to Sorrento. A sun downer on our balcony and a lazy dinner at a small restaurant in the old lanes is the perfect end to a fun day.
Dave along the coast from the Villa di Pollio Felice
The pretty bay at Capo
Swimming is a treat in Italy!
Wednesday 3rd October - the sun is out and we have breakfast outside, what a great way to start the day! The train strike is over so we make the most of being able to use the local service to
Pompeii. Our fellow tourists are out in force, but the queue's for the site are not too bad. We enjoy a sneaky
cappuccino in the cafe before exploring the ruins. This historical gem is incredible, the scale of the excavations are phenomenal and the total site covers some 163 acres. We spend a good four hours walking in the foot steps of the Romans who once lived here. A truly unforgettable experience. We head back to our hotel and pick up snacks on the way.
Pompeii pots
Dave enjoys the wonderful Caldarium bath
Alex walks the streets of downtown Pompeii
Thursday 4th October - another sunny day and our last in Sorrento. We breakfast outside and plan the second leg of our holiday. We catch the fast ferry from the port over to the wonderful Island of
Capri, our home for the next few days. A smooth crossing and we arrive in the main port before midday. The streets are busy with tourists but soon get quieter as we head up towards Capri town. We huff and puff our way up the 300 steps and steep streets, the views from the top are worth it! Now we start to walk down from the town towards Marina Piccolo, we struggle in the heat but soon spot our next hotel. The
Hotel Webber Ambassador is located just up from the pretty
Marina Piccola. We marvel at the views, stunning limestone stacks protrude from the turquoise Mediterranean Sea to our left and sheer cliffs tower above us to the right...
Is this place paradise? It certainly looks like it. We check in and enjoy a cool glass of bubbles. The beach is calling... we pick up a thin foam matt to soften the pebbles, a towel and go grab a spot on the tiny beach. Splash, splash, splash - back in the cool med, bliss... A short sun bathe and then back up to our room. We have a quick drink on our balcony and do some pastel sketching as the sun sets. Dinner on the upper terrace is lovely and we get a chance to sample some local dishes too! We round off the evening with a sneaky drink down on the rocks and watch the moon rise up over the statuesque
Faraglioni. An unforgettable end to a perfect day. What a way to celebrate 11 wonderful years together ;-)
Cooling bubbles anyone?
perhaps a dip?
The view from our room... bliss!
Sunrise behind the Faraglioni
Dave captures the view
Alex has a go too
Friday 5th October - another perfect sunny morning greets us as we pull back the shutters. We go feast at the breakfast buffet and enjoy the unbelievable views.
This bay has to be one of the most beautiful in the world. We have the day to explore the Island so we pack our essentials and catch a ride on the free bus up to Capri town. We have a quick nose around and soon realise that the shops are aimed at the seriously loaded, luxury brands and exclusive hotels line the streets and the clientele travel around on the back of electric carts,
hilarious! We are soon heading up through residential streets towards the wonderful Roman ruins of
Villa Jovis. The views of the coast are stunning as we stop off at a spectacular vantage point to take some pictures. This historically important site is very interesting, the brightly coloured lizards that inhabit the many paths and walkways are also worthy of attention. We head back down the hill and get a
cappuccino in the shade. Next up - the impressive
natural arch and cliff side walk on the east side of the Island. The limestone arch spans 12 m at a height of 18 m above ground - beautiful! Next we head down to the spooky Roman cave of
Matromania. The coastal path back down towards Marina Piccola is incredibly beautiful and lined with wonderful wild flowers and trees. The Mediterranean is the deepest shade of aqua marine and turquoise as we weave our way down. Outrageous private villas have been plonked on natural stacks and exclusive hotels perch on top of the highest peeks. We make it to the
Augustus Gardens and enjoy more views over to the Faraglioni stacks.
Via Krupp is a wonderful stone walkway that takes us back down to sea level from the gardens.
The views around every corner get better and better. We eventually make it back to our hotel, drop off our stuff, slip on the swimming shorts and reward ourselves with a cooling dip. In the evening we get the bus up to Capri town and enjoy a drink and a pizza overlooking the main harbour.
Dave at Villa Jovis
Alex at the natural arch
Beautiful views around every corner
an early morning dip
Saturday 6th October - we take an early morning dip as the sun rises and breakfast on the terrace. We pack our bags, say good bye to Marina Piccolo and make our way to the main port. We are on the third and last leg off our adventure, the crazy mad City of
Naples is our next destination. We board the ferry and enjoy a smooth crossing, the views of Naples and Vesuvius are great. We arrive at the busy port around 12:30pm and get a cab to our hotel.
The Hotel Piazza Bellini is situated on a Main Street and is a perfect base to explore from. We start with the
Museo Archeologico Nazionale, just a short walk up the street from our hotel. The collection of Roman sculptures is wonderful, full statues and busts fill three huge halls. Next up the mosaics and fresco's from Pompeii. An incredible collection of beautiful artwork that really help to bring the whole Pompeii experience to life. These pieces exhibit wonderful colours, composition and craftsman ship. Daily life and scenes from the Greek classics fill the galleries and the naughty images in the secret room raised a smile or two! Next we stroll through the chaotic streets of the
Centro Storico district. Day light is scarce due to the towering buildings taking the sun from the narrow streets. Pizza vender's, fruit and veg and tourist tat overflow from every stall and outlet. You have to have your whits about you as the scooters, taxis and mini delivery vans swerve in and out of dimly lit arches and cobbled squares. This is a brilliant, mad and crazy City that will most definitely be getting a return visit! We catch a ride on the
Central Funicular up to the
Castel Sant'Elmo. The views from the battlements of the City and the bay of Naples are breathtaking. We head back down into the madness and make our way back to base. A quick rest then off out again. We want to sample traditional authentic street food,
after all, this is the home of Pizza! We walk past the most famous of the pizza outlets, it's 7:00pm and we decide to join the crowds that have gathered outside
Sorbillo. This simple two story restaurant is full within minutes. Our order is taken and we are munching away on fresh pizza within ten minutes of sitting down, we sup our beer, pay the bill and are out by 7:30...
The quickest, cheapest and most certainly the best pizza ever! We are shattered so we grab a bottle of wine from a authentic little wine kiosk and head back to our hotel via a stroll through the narrow lanes. We pack our luggage for the last time and put on the TV... What a treat to enjoy the Saturday night X factor fiasco that could only be done so brilliantly badly in Italy...
A great way to relax and enjoy our bottle of vino!
Naples delivery time
The shops are magical!
Vesuvius keeps an eye on Naples!
Sunday 7th October - our wonderful holiday is coming to an end, this is our last morning in Italy before we fly back to the UK. We are up early to grab the 7:30am breakfast slot then off in a cab to Naples airport. We have a great flight home to Stansted - writing our travel journal and enjoying some very happy memories of a perfect holiday.
10 out of 10!
