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Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Naples, Capri and Pompeii

      All last week, me and 2 of my friends were getting antsy around Rome. It was that time that we needed to get out of the city and see somewhere new. So, me and 2 friends decided to travel south for an all day Friday and all-day Sunday excursion to Naples, the Island of Capri, and Pompeii, and man was it an adventure.
      First off, our train was scheduled to leave Termini (the central train station) at 5:40... AM! We got up in enough time, but calling a taxi was a nightmare. We called 3 different times, but within 20 minutes, no taxi came. Thank goodness a nice old man told us about a taxi stand a block away. By the time we got to Termini, it was 5:50, just missed the train by 10 minutes. However, there was a train that left at 6:15, and we decided to take that one, but we weren't sure if it we had to change our tickets or not, but remembered they were good for 4 hours, which was great!
      After a 2.5 hour train ride getting in at about 9am, we arrived in Naples, and walked to our hostel. Between the three of us, we had never stayed at a hostel, so we were a little anxious to see what was in store for us. However, we had nothing to worry about. Hostel Of the Sun was as good, if not better, than some of the hotels I have stayed at. The people working there were so helpful, giving us a tour and telling us about the services offered (including free breakfast!). With the hostel being right by the hostel, we dropped or stuff off, got information about a ferry, and hopped on to Capri!

Right on the shore of Capri.

Me by the water!

Stairs walking up to the top by the city center. 


Made it to the top!

      Capri was one of the most beautiful places I have ever been. We planned it so that we had better weather for Saturday in Capri, and we were so happy about that. The water was a fantastic blue-aqua color, almost matching the color of the sky, with the mountains and lemon trees scattered around the island. We walked all the way up (a SUPER long walk) to the city center, and walked around the island admiring the view, the shops, the animals that were meandering around, etc. It was absolutely wonderful. We got paninis for lunch, then caught the ferry back to Naples, napping the entire way back because of climbing up and down all the stairs and being on our feet all day.
      We also napped when we got back, then headed out in the town for PIZZA! We stopped at a pizzeria, and got delicious pizza. I was starving so I ordered one with substance; mozzarella, parmesan, ham and egg. I thought the egg would be scrambled-like, scattered around the pizza, however it was like they cracked the egg on the top and cooked it like that! It was delicious nonetheless. We got back, watched The Gladiator (there was a movie library in the main part of the hostel) and passed out for the night.
      The next day, we caught a train to Pompeii. Everyone probably knows about it's history and the destruction of the city due to an eruption of the volcano Mt. Vesuvius. This town was completely preserved, including the buildings and roads. All over you could see plants springing to life, destructed homes, a wood-burning stove (bread or pizza shop perhaps?), and all-over destruction. It was a bit eerie to be there, but the burned bodies that were kept there still were moved to a museum, which we didn't have time to see. After Pompeii, we went to pick up our bags from the hostel, and caught the train back to home sweet Rome.

Such a nice day in Pompeii.

There were stray dogs everywhere! There was a sign that said that dogs have always been welcome in the ancient city, they were fed and cared for. However, if you want to adopt one, you can! I should have gotten a puppy for me and my roommates!

Mount Vesuvius in the distance. It was weird seeing grass, because living in the city you barely see any!

Wood-burning stove.

    Notice how I didn't mention a lot about Naples? Well here's the ugly truth; I didn't like it there. All over there was trash, like it was next to a landfill. It was dirty, entirely TOO much construction going on at once, and it smelled like old dirty feet. Also, we were warned of the high chance of us getting robbed/pick-pocketed in the city, but thankfully it didn't happen. The three of us were extremely aware, and watched each other. However, I thought it was very nerve-wrecking walking around the train station, because the streets surrounding it were filled with a flea-market type shopping, but half of the vendors were selling very weird items. Overall it was not my kind of place. However, visiting Pompeii and Capri more than made up for the experience in Naples! (We also rejoiced in the fact that we made our train back to Rome!)

xoxo Erica

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