Vesuvius, Isle of Capri, and the city where pizza was born

Mount Vesuvius.

We took advantage of the Columbus Day weekend to zip to Naples, Italy.  Naples itself isn’t a prime tourist destination but is a cheap and easy flight away (thanks to EasyJet) and makes an incredibly convenient base for exploring nearby Mount Vesuvius and the ritzy Isle of Capri. We flew in early Saturday, dropped our bags, and then took the efficient and remarkably inexpensive Circumvesuviana train about 15 minutes south.  We hopped off at Herculaneum, the ruins of a resort town destroyed by the same epic Vesuvius eruption that buried Pompeii in 79 AD.  Both Pompeii and Herculaneum were essentially frozen in time from that massive blast, and although Pompeii is better known and much larger, Herculaneum is a better preserved site and much more manageable for the non-history buffs amongst us.  Whereas Pompeii was buried in volcanic ash and pumice, Herculaneum was covered by a thick crust of rock and volcanic mud that sealed and preserved even the organic matter within (wooden staircases and food, for example).  The archaeological site is quite literally in the midst of the current city of Ercolano, and Mount Vesuvius sits imposingly just a few miles inland.  We were immediately struck with how similar the ancient city was to a resort town of today.  There were fast food restaurants, bars, bakeries, and grand homes overlooking the Bay of Naples (although the eruption pushed the coastline back a bit so it’s not quite on the water anymore).  It also had three-story tall buildings, a well-laid out grid of roads, and colorfully frescoed and painted walls.  There was even a library filled with papyrus scrolls, 1800 of which were found intact!  The most amazing things to me, though, were the intricately tiled floors, some of which are still beautiful two thousand years later.  It’s really tough to grasp that what you’re seeing is literally from the time of Jesus. 

 

Herculaneum with the modern Ercolano in the background.

An old fast-food restaurant. 

Original paint on that wall... 2000 years later!

Modern-looking streets.

Absolutely gorgeous mosaic.

After a few hours listening to the audio guide, we left Herculaneum and caught a mini-bus to Mount Vesuvius with two other Americans and a Czech space lawyer (yep, there’s such a thing), all of whom were about our age.   Vesuvius is 1200 meters high and the road to the car park near the top is winding and narrow.  I did a little praying and a lot of inadvertent gasping during the 20-minute ride there.  From the car park there’s a tough 20-minute hike up a steep gravel path to the crater rim.  Traveling often involves all sorts of strenuous activity, and for the millionth time we were thankful to be fit!

Our first impression of the crater was that it was massive.  It’s 500 meters wide and 300 meters deep with very, very steep sides.  (An eruption in the early 1900’s gave the volcano its current shape).  Vesuvius is still a real threat and the plumes of smoke coming from the vents in the side of the crater weren’t comforting!  A trail follows the rim of the crater about half the way around, so we got some great views both of the crater and of the surrounding landscape.   I really enjoyed chatting to the Czech space lawyer on the walk back to our van.  Her life story and job were so interesting! Also interesting was the ride down:  our driver was obviously ready to be home and had no qualms passing busses or anything else in our way, usually around blind curves. 

Vapors rising from inside the crater.

A cloud came right over us!

Us in front of the crater.

We arrived safely, said goodbye to our new friends, and shopped for snacks at a local fruit market. Whereas Chris tends to be cautious about trying fruits and veggies he doesn’t recognize, I gravitate towards them. Besides, I was pretty sure the strange thing I picked up was edible raw. I pantomimed eating it and the guy at the stand nodded… what more did I need? (We bought some peaches as backup.) I ate it when we got back to the hotel: it was tasty and didn’t make me sick and I still have no clue what it’s called. After one last photo of the volcano, we took the train 15 minutes back to the main train station in Naples and walked the two minutes to our hotel. Naples is rough anyway, but like most places the area around the train and bus stations was the worst. I was glad to have Chris next to me!

Naples. Not the prettiest city!

Naples is literally where pizza was invented, so we sought out a really highly recommended pizzeria and ordered the classic Margarita pizza they’re most famous for.  The pizza was a steal at €5, and together with side dishes of what I think was broccoli raab, a zucchini and parmesan dish, and bruchetta topped with vegetables (plus a bottle of decent Chiante), the whole meal set us back about $40.  It was totally worth it, but we actually weren’t floored by the food.  I admit we have high standards for Italian food, but it almost never disappoints.  After dinner we decided to skip going into the center of Naples and instead went to bed early to get ready for the next day’s adventure to the Isle of Capri. 

The Isle of Capri is about an hour’s ferry ride off the coast of Naples.  It’s a swanky sort of island where the rich and the famous hang out.  It’s also a great island for walkers because of its lush, dynamic scenery and multitude of well kept paved footpaths.  Despite the obvious wealth, Capri (as Chris put it) “could use a scrub and a fresh coat of paint.”  It did seem just a smidge grimy compared to the Greek islands, but maybe Naples had just primed us to notice?

Port of Naples with Vesuvius in the background.

The view from lunch - the sea, the cliffs, and Capri town.

We spent the majority of the day walking what was probably a 7-mile loop (not a bit of it level, either) from the harbor to Capri town to and then along the coast.  The first store I saw in Capri town was Prada, so was surprised to find a take-away sandwich shop nearby selling drinks and €4 baguette sandwiches made to order.  We both ordered the Caprese as it was the island’s namesake!  We ate our sandwiches on a bench overlooking the cliffs, Capri town, and the water.  The food was so simple (literally a fresh baguette sliced in half and topped with a thickly cut tomato, two thick slabs of fresh mozzarella, a drizzle of super-tasty olive oil, basil, oregano, salt and pepper) but was the best meal we had the entire weekend.  We lounged over lunch for more than half an hour… tell me we’re not turning into Europeans!   After lunch we bought what turned out to be chocolate covered hazelnuts and almonds from a roadside stand (total score!) and continued our walk.  The first bit was along a street whose houses fetch something ludicrous like $1600 per square foot, and we followed it along past the Arco Naturale, an 18 meter-tall natural limestone arch that juts out of the water along the coast.  The trail then went past another grotto (cave), then along the coastal path overlooking Capri’s famous limestone sea stacks.  From there the path cut into a really cute part of town, where we window-shopped for a bit before making our way to the Garden of Augustus, then along the scenic zigzagging Via Krupp and finally back into town.  At the end of the day we went back to the baguette place for a bottle of Prosecco and ordered two more of the exact same baguettes to take home for supper! 

It was late afternoon by the time we made our way back to Capri’s port and sadly we were ten minutes too late to take a boat trip around the island.  Oh well!  We had a cup of coffee and people-watched until the next ferry to Napes.   We spent a really quiet last night in Naples and were home by mid-afternoon Monday.   We totally regret not having stayed an extra day and going to the Amalfi coast since we were so close!  Maybe next time J

Arco Natural

Capri's sea stacks.

Gorgeous view of Capri!

Zigzagging Via Krupp from above.

Chris getting frisky.

Capri's port.

 

 

We had some really good belly laughs this trip.  Firstly: the coffee.  Italian coffee is amazing.   It’s the best.  The problem is you get served what amounts to one gulp or three tiny sips.  I know American portions are wildly out of control but can I just get a cup of coffeeeeeeee?  Thank you sir, and now I’ll take four more just like that.  J

That's a normal sized spoon and sugar packet... 

 

The second laugh was about trading photos with people.  If we want a photo together somewhere we use the age-old trick to take some other couple’s photo and then expect them to offer to return the favor.  The problem is, no one knows how to frame a photo.  We’re in Capri, right?  See those famous rocks in the background?  We want them in the photo!  The best was when we were in Egypt and someone took our photo and literally managed to use us to block ALL THREE of the pyramids out of the background.  I still don’t know how he did it.  The third laugh was me ALWAYS losing gin rummy.  Chris has won something like 14 games and I’ve won ONCE. Arrrrrrrggggg!!  We also got a little kick out of the olive oil recycling (only in Italy!) and the cable car driver who was texting the whole way down the mountain.   

Taking the text-and-drive to the next level. 



Greeeeaaat picture of us blocking the famous Capri landscape.

Only in Italy!