Day 3 - Napoli

Buon Girorno! Today was our first day off ship and we were excited for our first destination – Naples! Although we had only been here once before, it felt like we were right at home, sitting at Chez Black drinking wine! The day started early, we wanted to take it all in and share the beauty of Naples with my family, who has never been here.

We met at 8AM and greeted our driver, who would be our personal tour guide for the day. He took us directly from the port of Naples to Pompeii. We had been here once before, but we didn’t go in, so this was a first time experience for us. Roughly 14 miles east of Naples and sitting at the base of Mt. Vesuvius, this was once the thriving empire of Pompeii. Tragically, in 79 AD the city was buried in ash after being destroyed by a volcanic eruption. And it wasn’t until the early 1800s that it was discovered. Sine this time numerous excavations have taken place and Pompeii is one of the best preserved towns of Ancient Rome. As a visitor, we could see the remains of Pompeii, from its Public Administration Building, to its temples, and wool factories and theatre. It was really amazing. Although our time was limited and we only had an hour to spend here, we got a great feel for how the city was designed and how the village functioned day to day. I would definitely recommend that anyone visiting Naples visit Pompeii.

Once we left Pompeii we headed directly for POSITANO!!!!! This is one of our most cherished places on earth. We have yet to find a place that can compare to the charm and beauty of Positano and we were really excited to share our love of Positano with my family. Positano is located in the Amalfi Coast, just south east of Sorrento. The drive from Sorrento to Positano is breathtaking, and is considered to be one of the most beautiful, scenic drives in the world. It is easy to see why, as you have the blue, Mediterranean Sea and the mountains of the Salerno coast to the North. Known as the “Jewel of the Amalfi,” it draws a rare, artist-type of tourist, which creates a much laid back and relaxing atmosphere. Full of local, family owned shops selling Limón cello, delectable Sicilian and Italian Pastries, as well as homemade Italian Leather sandals, this is a place where you come to relax, sit for hours drinking vino at one of the many outdoor cafés. Sitting back and just enjoying the landscape is not too hard and we did just that, as we sat and had a nice lunch at Chez Black. This is one of Jeff’s favorite restaurants in Positano. He enjoyed a nice entrée of flat noodles with four cheese sauce (you just can’t take the WISCO out of him) and nice glass of red….a priceless and enjoyable afternoon. I believe my family fell in love with Positano too, just as we had 4 years ago. How can you not? Look at the view!

We left Positano at 1PM, after lunch, and headed back towards Sorrento to catch the Hydrofoil Ferry over to the Isle of Capri. Capri is located in the Bay of Naples, roughly 17 miles outside of the city. After some confusion of exactly where our ferry was, we eventually found it, boarded and were off to Capri. Jeff and I had been to Capri before, but spent most of our time at the Blue Grotto. The Blue Grotto is located in the Mediterranean Sea, just minutes from Capri’s Marina Grande. It’s a cave with a small opening (literally a 4ft x 4ft opening) where the sun shines in and reflects off the water making the inside of the grotto a bright, aquamarine color. You hire a boat (which is a 2 person paddle boat) to take you inside the Grotto. Because the Grotto is small inside, sometimes you will literally have hundreds of tiny boats waiting to go inside. Once inside the “captains” sing Italian songs together and the tourists enjoy the scenery. It was our plan to take my family to the Blue Grotto this afternoon, but unfortunately, the grotto was closed for the day! We were so bummed. I think it must have had something to do with the large amount of rain they had had in the bay over the last few weeks. The water must have been too high for the row boats to clear the opening to the grotto. We were sad, but made up for it by taking a taxi up to the top of Capri. Capri is a large island, divided into two distinct sections: Capri and Anacapri. At the bottom of the island, where the ferries and ships dock, Marina Grande, there are several café’s and souvenir shops. Once you travel up to the city square, you are surrounded by high-end shopping such as Gucci, Prada, and Hermes. It was nice to see and we really enjoyed walking through Capri. My brother had his first gelato experience and I think he really, really liked it! We had an hour before we had to catch the 45 minute ferry back to Naples, so we sat at an outdoor café and enjoyed a few glasses of wine. When we asked “what kind of wine do you have,” they just simply said, “we have wine from our country.” HA! Okay, well I guess we at least drank some great Italian wine in Capri. I did learn after we got back to the ship that many of the café’s serve the Napoli local wine, which is called Lacrima Christi (Christ’s Tears) which comes from the slopes of Vesuvius.

It was a beautiful day in Italy. And it reaffirmed our love for this country and in particular, Positano. We will definitely be visiting again, The Amalfi coast is a special place!

We will be visiting Rome, The Eternal City, tomorrow. Since we’ve been to Rome before, Jeff and I may eat and drink our way through the day. Sounds good to me…the rest of the family will be visiting The Vatican, the Sistine Chapel, St Peter’s Basilica, the Colosseum, as well as the beautiful Trevi Fountain and world famous Spanish Steps.

Till tomorrow, Ciao.

XOXO

J&J