Southern Italy: A whole new world!

Annie and I decided that we could summarize Southern Italy in a few choice words: lemons, beaches, heat, the mafia, short tempers, and midly creepy guys - quite a mix, huh?

It takes about 6 hours to get to Naples, so our only option was to go during our 4 day break between July and August classes. We left early on Friday and got to the Naples train station around noon. From there, we walked to the center of town, to go to the restaurant that supposedly invented pizza. We split a pepperoni-style pizza, which was one of the best I've had in Italy. Just down the street from the pizza restaurant was the tour office for Sotterranea Napoli which does underground tours of the city. We started our tour by visiting the ruins of an old Roman theater that now have apartment buildings built on top of it. Then, we descended into the former Greek and Roman aqueducts of the city. When mass epidemics of cholera broke out in the 1800s, the 5,000 year-old aqueducts were no longer used as a water supply and were turned into an underground garabage dump. Next, during World War II, the garbage was covered with some form of concrete and the tunnels were turned into a bomb shelther. We got to see a small stretch of the tunnels - one part of our tour was through a 100-m tunnel that was unlit, so we had to carry candles! Of all of the tours that I have spent money on in Italy this was definitely one of the most unique and worthwhile choices. After the tour, Annie and I wandered around Napoli, making our way toward the water. Tons of American cruise ships were lined up along the harbor. While we were walking, we noticed how on edge everyone in Naples seemed to be - people honked their cars like crazy and yelled out the windows at one another. It really was night and day different from Siena where everyone keeps to themselves. It was hilarious to finally see some Italian passion in action.

Close to the water in Naples, is an old castle called the Castel Nuovo. We checked out an art museum there and took and elevator to the roof for a view of the whole city. Annie wanted to check out some designer stores, so we did a little shopping before hopping on a bus back to the train station for our connection to Sorrento.

Because Naples has a pretty well-known reputation for crime, we decided to stay across the harbor in the vacation-friendly town of Sorrento. Our hotel was high up on the mountain, but we had a free shuttle to and from the center of town. Plus we had a pool! When we got off the train in Sorrento Friday night, we were starved and found a place to eat. After dinner, we stopped by a dessert shop where I ate a very delicious cannoli - one of the South's specialities. On Saturday, we lazed around by the pool and ate lunch at the hotel restaurant. In the evening, we took the free shuttle to city and explored Sorrento. I was amazed at how many people were out and about and how late everything stayed open - it was very different from the north! We had risotto for dinner and then sampled limoncello (a very acidic liquor famous in the South) at an outdoor bar. I can't say that I was crazy about the limoncello but I did rather enjoy my non-alcoholic lemon granita, which is just like a slushie. Sitting at the bar, it was great to just sit and people watch.

On Sunday, we had decided to get up early and head to Capri, a gorgeous resort island about 20 minutes off the coast. Again, we took the free shuttle down from the hotel to the center. On the way, we met a really friend British couple who were taking a "second honeymoon." They have kids close to our age and wanted to hear all about our trip. Coincidentally, they were also heading to Capri, so we followed them to the ferry, which saved us from tring to figure the way out on our own. Once on Capri, we immediately decided to take a boat cruise around the island. A particularly famous spot at Capri is the Blue Grotto, a grotto that you can go into by rowboat that shimmers a bright blue. We selected an island cruise that included a stop there. Jetting around Capri was unreal - I felt like I couldn't snap enough pictures; everything just seemed so breath-taking. When we got to the Blue Grotto, we climbed off our big boat and into row boats in groups of four. Of course, I almost fell into the ocean trying to move from one boat to other. Once in the rowboat, we had to lie almost completely flat because it was high tide and the entrance to the grotto was very small. I was really nervous going in, becasue the water seemes rough, but our guide definitely knew what he was doing. Inside the Grottto, the color was incredible. It was like being underwater looking up at the sun. Also, the whole time we were inside the guides sang songs like "That's Amore." We paddled around in there for a few minutes and then had to squeeze back out. Back on the main cruise, we saw a bunch of neat things including Capri's lovers arch and the Dolce and Gabanna yacht. After the cruise, we took a long hike to main town center where we caught a bus to the far side of the island. There, we could rent a beach chair right on the water for the whole afternoon. I spent my time reading Harry Potter and taking occasional dips into the crystal blue water. We took a 6:00 ferry back to Sorrento, grabbed some dinner, and went back to our hotel.

On Monday, we packed up our bags and headed to the train station in Sorrento. Our plan was to go to Pompeii for the day, leaving our bags in Sorrento at the bagagge hold in the train station. Then, we could return to Sorrento for dinner before catching a late train to Naples. On the shuttle ride down to the train station from our hotel, Annie and I started talking to Giorgio, a guy who had been working the front desk of our hotel. He was heading to the train station to meet his sister and told us that he could show us the way. He turned out to be extremely helpful - the whole way to the train station he carried my bag and once we got there he bought both Annie and I cappucino's. We had some time to kill before the train to Pompeii, so we sat at a table with him while he waited for his sister to arrive from Naples. While we were talking, he told us all about how he was originally from Georgia (the country) and moved to Italy to work. He also asked about our travel plans for the rest of the day, and when we told him that we had tickets to catch a late bus out of Naples, he seemed really worried. He told us that we need to be extra careful around the Naples train station at night and that we should let him know as soon as we got back to Siena. Even though it was nice to have someone concerned for our safety, I definitely didn't feel good about travelling to Naples after our conversation!

Around noon, we said goodbye to Giorgio and caught a train to Pompeii. Let me just say that if you are every anywhere near southern Italy, Pompeii is a must-see. The ruins are INCREDIBLE. I could not believe how advanced their society was in 79 AD! They even had their own version of McDonald's, where people stopped in to pick up hot food "to go." The temples and judicial buildings were also incredible. Perhaps one of the most interesting, but heart-wrenching parts were the bodies frozen in volcanic ash. We also got to see the insides of elaborately painted houses and the Roman-style theater in town.

After Pompeii, we arrived back in Sorrento for a quick meal. Dreading our trip back to Naples, we finally boarded a train around 10:30. This gave us just enough to get to Naples and make our bus without having to kill any time there. When we first got on the train, I remember thinking to myself "This isn't so bad" - there were tons of families and people around. However, as we got closer and closer to Naples over the next hour, almost everyone got off the train. When we finally pulled into the Naples train station, there were only 2 other people in our car, and neither of them looked very friendly. Toward the end of the train, Annie and I spotted a family with small twin boys. The dad looked like he could handle a threat, so we decided to stick close to them while were we walking out of the station to the bus stop. That planned worked until we reached the entrance of the train station, and the family peeled off and went the opposite way. We were left standing outside in Naples close to midnight with the eyes of about 35 creepy looking cab drivers and other random guys locked on us. I told Annie to just walk as quickly as possible to the hotel across the street where the bus was picking us up without making any eye contact. We managed to get over there pretty easily, but as we were heading into the hotel to wait, a police car pulled up behind us. One of the officers got out, approached us, and asked me if I spoke English. I said yes, and he says "THIS AREA IS EXTREMELY DANGEROUS." I wish I were kidding! He then went on to tell us the Italian version of 911 and made sure that we got into the hotel OK. I could not have been more relieved when the bus pulled up and we were safely on our way back to Siena!

More updates soon!

Love,

Brittany

Pizza In Naples!

Underground Tour in Naples

At the top of the Castel Nuovo in Naples - overlooking the whole city!

The Blue Grotto in Capri

Hanging out on our island cruise around Capri!