A few weeks ago, Bill was sent to Naples for work.
Did I also mention he got to go to Venice for work in August?
No way was Bill going to go to Italy for a second time without me!!
Mt. Vesuvius over Naples. View from our hotel window.
I've been to Italy before, but never to Naples. When we were looking at orders a few years ago, Naples was on the list as a choice. Boy am I glad we chose England.
I arrived a few days after Bill got there. When he picked me up at the airport he warned me that the way people drive there was probably going to scare me. He was not kidding. I've seen some crazy driving in my life, but nothing like this. I don't know why they even bother with street lights or signs, because no one cares. One way street? Doesn't matter, go which ever way you want!! One lane of traffic? 2 cars can fit!! Completely unreal.
Bill was working nights while I was there so I spent a lot of time in the hotel on my own. We were not staying in the safest area and I wasn't really feeling up to exploring on my own in the pick pocket capital of the world.
We did manage to get out and do some sightseeing. There were a small group of people from Bill's work in town as well so after the night shift they stayed up and we did some exploring. On our walk to city center we passed mounds of trash everywhere just sitting on the streets. I'd heard there were some issues with trash collection in this city, but dang. This was nasty.
We got ourselves lost among the locals, stumbled through back streets and neat little neighborhoods.
So Italian.
The only thing nuttier than how these people drive is the way they park their cars. Can you tell that some of these are parked in the middle of the intersection? Nuts.
Little side streets with vendors selling their wares. Nativity scenes are very popular here. They like displaying them in globed cases.
The next day we got up early and the group decided to visit Mt. Vesuvius. We took an all-terrain bus most of the way up, but we did climb the final 890 meters (almost 3,000 feet).
Here I am, conquering a volcano 18 weeks pregnant!
My conquering pose.
It started raining shortly after we got to the top. The guides told us this was the first rain they had seen in 3 months!! It was much colder up there than at the bottom and we were a bit under prepared. Lucky for us they were selling these super chic ponchos.
Looking down into the crater of the volcano. With the rain we could see the smoke raising from the center. A bit creepy to think about since this volcano is still technically active!
After looking in the mouth of the beast, we decided to have a look at one of the towns destroyed by the most devastating of its eruptions in 79 A.D., Herculaneum.
This fishing village is on the coast. It was first buried in mud and then covered by magma. The mud preserved much of this village which was first discovered in the 18th century with excavations ongoing every since. There are parts of this village still buried under the existing city today.
Bill felt the need to demonstrate what these holes were used for.
Some of the frescos are still visible on the walls.
Can you believe this building is 2000 years old and still standing?? Unreal.
View down one of the streets. This area used to be full of merchant stalls.
Our final evening we went out for dinner to a beach town to visit an old friend who used to be stationed with us in England. We enjoyed some amazing seafood and had a great night.
Naples has an amazing history, beautiful churches, and some of the best pizza you will ever eat, but it is also very dirty, dangerous, and crazy! As a group we all agreed that our quiet, rainy, overcast England isn't so bad after all.
