Naples & Pompeii

You knew it was coming--the last theme song for my Italy posts is the classic, That's Amore. This song is especially appropriate here because it starts out, "In old Napoli," and that is exactly where day 4 of my break brought me: NAPLES!

(If the clip doesn't work right away, try reloading your page. If it still doesn't work, find it yourself on YouTube? Or just sing it yourself. I know you know the words!) 

Lauren and I found a good deal for a daytrip on Viator.com that would take us to Naples and Pompeii. Overall, the tour wasn't amazing; Naples was nothing special and the included restaurant lunch provided easily the lamest meal I had during my time in Italy, but the Pompeii portion of the trip definitely made the daytrip worth it!

The tour bus picked us up at our hostel at 6:30 AM. Since our hostel breakfast didn't begin until 7 AM, we snuck a couple croissants from the kitchen (don't tell). We were soon joined by a mix of other tourists, such as some college students studying abroad in Prague, a vacationing family from California, an older couple from Scotland, and a dozen or so others.

The bus ride to Naples took about 2.5 hours. We made a quick snack stop halfway through the journey, and a guide pointed out the sites along the way. I had a great view of Vesuvius from my window:

Mt Vesuvius

Again, Naples wasn't anything special in my opinion. A good portion of it was an industrial area with dull buildings and gray landscaping. The center of town was pretty empty, and we were able to drive through the whole town in half an hour. However, it was neat to see yet another part of Italy. Naples felt much more residential and real than the often-touristy Rome and Florence. Wet clothes hung out of windows, dogs roamed the sidewalks, groups of young Italian men smoked on street corners, and souvenir shops were outnumbered by cafes and grocery stores.

Industrial part of Naples

The bustling(?) center of town

Seeing the coastline was really nice. We basically just viewed Naples from inside the tour bus, but we got out by the water for some fresh air and a photo opp. The rocky shore was bright against the Bay of Naples, and the populated land jutted out into the blue.

We stopped at a coral shop to learn about this part of Naples' commercial market. We watched someone crafting a necklace, and Lauren found an "L" necklace to buy.

Coral shop

Goofing around

We made a short drive to Pompeii where we stopped for lunch. The plate of spaghetti, side of iceberg lettuce leaves (seriously, that was basically the whole "salad"), and over processed tiramisu left much to be desired. I don't mean to complain, but after being spoiled with genuine and delicious Italian food for a few days, I felt there was no time to waste precious stomach space on bad cuisine. I was also disappointed that we weren't given pizza, considering that Naples is the birthplace of pizza!!!  Oh well, you win some, you lose some.

The lunch may have been blah, but the ancient ruins of Pompeii were certainly not! This place was AWESOME. The city was buried by the two-day long eruption of Vesuvius in 79 AD, and was discovered/excavated in the 20th century.

Pompeii

Our tour guide Franco was a short, white-haired Italian man with a slow, drawn-out voice, a dry sense of humor, and a funny purple cap. Whenever other tourists wandered by our group, he would announce, "No free loaders. My group stay close."

We spent a few hours walking into ruined houses, baths, shops, temples, recreational areas, and gardens. I really enjoyed seeing an entire ancient village, rather than just a few old buildings here and there.

Original paint

Original streets

Bath

Not-so-comfy bed

We also got to see bodies of people who had been killed by the volcano. Their bodies left an empty space in the layer of ash, so archaeologists injected plaster into the negative space to create an accurate molding of the individuals. The original skeletons still remained.

Poor dog

Being a theatre nerd, one of my favorite parts of the city was, you guessed it, the theatre! (Notice how I spell it the British way instead of the American "theater" way.) Gotta love the dramatic arts...

Two thumbs up for drama!

Claiming my seat for the next show

I think I slept most of the three-hour drive back to Rome. When we got dropped off around 9 PM, Lauren and I were eager for dinner. We ended up in one of the first good-looking restaurants we found by the Trevi Foutain. It turned out to be rather touristy, but my food was still great! I ordered raviolli filled with pumpkin puree and practically licked the plate clean. We couldn't head home without indulging in some gelato, so we stopped at "Il San Crispino," hailed as one of the best gelaterias in the world. Accordingly, my scoops of banana and chocolate meringue were quite delectable.

Sunday went by quickly since we flew home that night, so I'll tag our last day onto this post. Our plan was to visit the neighborhood of Trastevere, but confusing directions from one of the hostel owners caused us to change our plans. Instead, we got on the metro and visited Piazza del Popolo. This vibrant area houses the twin churches of Santa Maria and once served as the main entrance to the ancient city.

A nearby stairway caught our attention, so Lauren and I hiked up to a cool viewpoint.

We walked down the main street of the city, Via del Corso. I found a pastry shop with mini cannoli, so of course I had to try one. Although it was satisfactory, the shell was a bit soggy and the cream was just okay. I think Mike's Pastry is Boston's North End is still my favorite place for a good cannolo :-)

Not in any rush, we leisurely explored the area. We came across some markets, the old house of Emperor Augustus, Piazza Navona, and a bridge across the Tiber river.

Domus Augustana

For my last meal in Italy, I chose a classic margherita pizza.

Full disclosure: Although my taste buds LOVED the food in Italy, my stomach did not. I think I'm a bit lactose-intolerant, hence all the cheese and gelato meant that I had some sort of tummy ache every day. Nothing bad enough to ruin the trip, just an annoyance. At this last lunch, I actually decided to peel off most of the cheese topping...probably offending my Italian waiter as a result. Oh well!

Another note about this meal; while waiting in a long line for the restaurant's washroom, the old Italian woman behind me through up her hands in exasperation and impatiently exclaimed, "Mama mia!" I loved hearing this phrase being genuinely used. I gave a "Mama mia!" in return. Consequently, the woman must have thought I was Italian, because for the next few minutes, she continued speaking to me in Italian. I just kept nodding and saying "Si. Si." I could've been agreeing to marry her son for all I know.

We had to have one last gelato before leaving, so I got a cone of strawberry and nutella by the Trevi Fountain. I think the nutella flavor was my favorite overall.

We picked up our luggage from our hostel and headed to Termini station, where a train took us to Fiumicino airport. I was back in my London dorm a little after midnight, where I immediately went to sleep since my internship started in the AM. And so ends my Italian adventure! Overall, it was truly an amazing experience, and I hope to go back someday!

Until my next post, ciao!

Day 2 in ROME

Our second day in Rome began with a free breakfast at our hostel. Italians do not have any elaborate morning meals. Instead, they usually start their day with a pastry and coffee. Clearly, our meal was in this style:

Croissants, pastries, hot cocoa, and OJ

A bright blue sky and a beaming sun made me even more excited to be spending the first part of Friday in the Ancient City! We decided to walk the 40 minutes from our hostel to the Colosseum. It wasn't too tricky to find. I mean, it's pretty big...

I see you!

Visiting the Colosseum was definitely one of my favorite parts of the Rome trip. It was just so massive and overpowering. This building was able to seat 50,000 spectators, and could be efficiently filled in only several minutes. Fenway Park is pretty sweet, but this big guy was a bit cooler.

Turns out I'm not the first Isakowitz to pose in front of the Colosseum. Recognize these young lads?

My uncle and Dad!

We spent a good hour walking along the different levels of the building. The line to get in only took about twenty minutes, another perk about visiting during the tourist off-season.

Fossils of animals who fought in the Colosseum

Following the Colosseum, we continued exploring the Ancient City. We saw Palatine Hill, Capitoline Hill, the Roman Forum, the Appian Way, Arch of Constantine, and the beautiful scenery.

Doesn't this remind you of Lion King?

Walking around the ruins for hours worked up our appetites. We ate outside at a pizzeria, and I must say, pizza in Rome was even better than pizza in Florence. The dough was thin and crunchy, yet the gooey cheese didn't soak through it. The sauce and the cheese melded together so they tasted like one ingredient, and artichokes on top was absolutely a good choice. Dominos and Papa Johns has nothing on this Italian creation.

I remember this meal being particularly wonderful. The outdoor meal let me soak in the Roman sunshine and watch the Italians (and tourists) walking around. I was wearing my new blue tunic which I felt channeled a Mediterranean vibe and was reminiscent of Julia Robert's look in the Italy portion of Eat Pray Love (I really liked that book, if you haven't been able to tell already). Lauren and I didn't stress about school or internships or other weighty issues; instead we just enjoyed the day and appreciated life. I hope everyone finds time in their week to do the same, whether in the States or Italy (although if you can, I'd recommend doing so in Italy ;-)).

Right by our restaurant was our next stop: the Pantheon. Built in 126 AD, this structure still boasts the largest unreinforced concrete dome in the world.

The Pantheon

Inside the Pantheon

The oculus

This temple also contains the tomb of the artist Raphael. his epigraph reads, "Here lies Raphael, by whom Mother Nature feared to be overcome while he was living, and while he was dying, herself to die." Impressive, no?

Raphael's tomb

We continued walking and checked out the Spanish Steps in Piazza de Spagna. Scaling the 138 steps to the top was nothing in comparison to the 414 steps to the top of the Campanile.

Spanish Steps

View from the top of the steps

 The weather was so nice that we spent a good hour just sitting on the steps and soaking in the sunshine.

Our feet finally got a rest when we took the metro back to our hostel for a late afternoon nap. For dinner, we met up with our guy friends (same ones who came to Prague with us) and a new friend we made at our hostel (who goes to Northeastern, of course) and dined at a nearby restaurant. We ordered bread and wine for the table, and I personally ate a yummy gnocci and a spectacular tiramisu.

After dinner, we decided to get our dance on in the neighborhood of Testaccio. The club Alibi provided fun music and dancing for a few hours.

We only got a few hours of sleep Friday night because we had to get up early for our Saturday trip to Pompeii. Prepare for my fourth and last Italy post...