From Rome, we travelled to Naples. We found 10 Euro tickets on a regional train and didn’t use a day on our Eurail pass. Someone said that tickets from Rome to Naples are usually 20-30 Euros, so we found a great deal. The train ride was quick and easy and you could see Mt. Vesuvius as you arrived into the city. You could also see a lot of graffiti and trash. I had read that Naples is “the ghetto” of Italy but I’m glad we went. Being the birthplace of pizza was the main reason I was initially excited to visit. Seeing Pompei and a day trip to Sorrento and Capri made for an even better visit.
We stayed at “6 Small Rooms” hostel – 6smallrooms.com. It was about 10 minutes from the main station. The rooms were huge, as was the kitchen. It was very cozy and we felt at home. Jenny, the owner, was very personable and helpful. Simon, the hostel cat, was great, and I’m not particularly a cat person. Fresh bread and coffee were provided in the mornings. There was also a large DVD collection to view for free.
Once again, my expectations were exceeded on our visit to Pompei. It was huge. I was expecting a few ruins and a quick glance. We spent almost 3 hours exploring this excavated city. Bryan did a great job navigating and took us off the beaten path for some beautiful scenery and views of the surrounding cities. We got lucky with beautiful weather and clear skies. The bodies found, although sad, were interesting to see. It’s amazing how they’ve been preserved for so long. There was also mention of the controversial indoor heated pool. We either somehow didn’t see it or didn’t notice but supposedly the paintings on the wall have been deemed by the Vatican as unsuitable for children. Later we realized why…they are very provocative. Not sure I’d want my kids to see it at a young age. Too many questions would arise. Pompei is definitely a sight worth seeing. We opted for an audio guide and it was well worth it.
We both really enjoyed Sorrento. Although the weather was a bit chilly and windy, it was still beautiful. We wondered the side streets and visited various vendors and boutiques. A popular staple item was lemon peel alcohol. It was a mix of lemon peel, liquor, sugar and water. I didn’t find it extremely appealing but I usually try not to turn down free samples, especially when it involves alcohol. They also had delicious chocolates and lemon candies to sample. Sorrento is much cleaner than Naples and catered to tourists. It’s a perfect place to sit for a meal or a drink and take in the views.
We took a ferry over to Capri and it was a quick 20 minute ride from Sorrento. Beware for those who get seasick…the people behind us didn’t do so well. The island of Capri is gorgeous. Many cliffs and pretty Italian homes nestled on the hill sides. There are tons of shops. Fortunately for Bryan and my bank account, many of the shops were closed due to being the off season. A lot of them were high-end…reminded me of the Garden's Mall directory or the “expensive side” of Mall at Millennia. I wouldn’t have been able to afford anything anyways. The Blue Grotto was closed as well, but I don’t think it would have been enjoyable due to the cold weather. I’m sure I’ve seen comparable water colors in the Bahamas. If you’re up for the hike, make sure you walk to the top of the city. It’s a narrow passage up the hill. I believe there is a bus you can take if you’re not up for the exercise. Leaving, there is an option to take the ferry back to Sorrento or go to Naples.
The trip home was nearly disastrous. We opted for a 6:50 train in the morning vs. 7:50 just in case our train was delayed or something happened. Our trip was supposed to be: Naples>(through Rome)>Milan>Zurich>Stuttgart>Munich. Again, we avoided Austria so that we didn’t have to pay extra money. The first train was an easy 5 hours. Since we took the early train, we have an hour and a half in Milan before our train to Zurich departs. I’m excited to have one last pizza while in Italy and we’re about to set out to find some. Bryan randomly turns one more time to the departure board and sees that the only train cancelled is our connection to Zurich. What are the chances of this happening twice?!? And both times it’s to get to Zurich. So we cancel the search for pizza (I’m very disappointed) and head to Customer Service. Of course, there’s nothing they can do. The train isn’t coming; we need to find another way to get home. Bryan gets major credit right here…in under 5 minutes, he finds an alternate route home through a totally different way. We take a train to Brig, from there to Bern, from there to Zurich. The train leaves in 15 minutes. We run across the station to get downstairs where ticketing is located. The line takes us 10 minutes to get through and we finally get the ticket with 5 minutes remaining to get to the platform. We are sprinting to get to the train, bags and all. I feel like I’m going to pass out. I know I haven’t been exercising like I normally do, but I seriously thought I was going to hyperventilate. We jump on the train and settle in, proud of ourselves that we made it. We get 30 minutes into the ride, the person comes around to check our tickets and immediately starts saying something in concerned Italy. I know immediately that we’re on the wrong train.
What are the chances of this: Two trains headed for “Brig.” One of them is headed to Brig, Italy and the other to Brig, Switzerland. The train we wanted should have said “Geneve.” How in the world are we supposed to know this, that was not our destination??
Back to Milan it is. We have multiple options, none of them good. To save you time from having to read all them, we decide to suck it up and go through Austria straight to Munich. We didn’t get reimbursed for the accidental train we took. The lady in Customer Service said that it was our fault we didn’t ask someone on the train. Those of you at Anspach, I hope you understand how furious this made me. Whatever, let’s get home. We catch a regional train to Verona and from there, go through Austria and finally make it to Munich at 10:30pm…before our original train would have arrived. Oh, and we didn’t get penalized going through Austria. J
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We’re pretty spoiled when it comes to tropical settings. Being from Florida and havingbeen to many tropical destinations, we didn’t find Capri all that impressive. Yes, it was gorgeous and we’re glad we saw it, but we now know it won’t be the destination for a future tropical getaway. I do predict that we will return to Naples for pizza and Sorrento for another day trip. We will explore other tropical areas in the vicinity instead of return to Capri. We are excited to see the Almalfi Coast and Cinque Terre. Also, don’t expect Florida beaches at the above mentioned destinations. The beaches that do exist are rather small and we heard they get packed in the summer time.
An upside to traveling Italy in the winter is that there are minimal tourists. Not only are prices usually lower for accommodations, but we didn’t wait in any lines our entire trip. We had a lot of photo opportunities and didn’t have to worry about having crowds ruin our photos. Although I was ready for a short break from the cold weather of Germany, I can recommend visiting Italy in winter if you only want to sightsee and not spend your time in a bathing suit.
The subways and public transportation of Italy:
In one word…dirty. I was kind of shocked the first time a train rolled up in Rome, it was covered with graffiti and not clean. Isn’t Rome supposed to be the city of romance? I imagined Rome to be so much cleaner. (Don’t get me wrong, I still loved Rome.) It made me realize how clean and quiet the rail systems are in Munich, as well as how much I missed them. Then we got to Naples and I realized how clean Miami is in comparison. Just to put it into perspective. Not only were the rail cars covered in graffiti, there were piles of trash in the streets as we passed through on the local trains. I still love Naples for the food and how Italian it felt, but if you’re looking for 5 stars, Naples isn’t the place. It doesn’t matter how clean Rome is…it’s Rome. But I think we’ve both agreed that we’re so happy we settled in Munich.
Public restrooms are not frequent in Rome or Naples as far as I saw. You either have to pay to use them or be a customer. You may be lucky and a restaurant will let you slip in real quick. So I suggest you keep that in mind if it may be an issue for you. Also, we noticed that a lot people thought the sidewalk was theirs. A lot of people made no effort whatsoever to give you a little space as you passed. We were shouldered and run into a good amount of times.
Onto food-my favorite subject! The pizza in Italy is amazing…my favorite food on earth! I could eat pizza for breakfast, lunch and dinner…which I did while in Italy. The pizza sauce was light and the cheese melted right off the slice-it was heavenly. I did have some pasta and other things, but pizza was my favorite! Bryan had delicious veal with prosciutto in a white wine sauce that is definitely mentionable. There are so many different flavors of gelato and I wish I could have tried them all! My favorites were cannoli, biscotti and nocciola. In Naples, there were these really big donut-looking things with large granules of sugar, called something like “graffe” - also amazing and very filling. Bryan enjoyed a fried rice ball that seemed to be common. There were also bottles of wine available as low as 2.50 Euro. I’m definitely fond of the prices of alcohol in Europe so far.
Overall, Italy was wonderful. We can’t wait to explore more cities and eat more pizza.
Sounds like you guys are having the time of your lives. Meredith and I are thinking about you both. --Coe
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