Today was a good day. Exhausting though! We started by catching the metro into the central station and attempting to meet our Viator tour guide. Her directions were pretty good (holy crap Naples traffic is terrifying) and we were able to find the van with minimal issues.
Off we went to Pompeii. I was loving the small tour vibe (6 people) right up until we were combined with another group. From a cruise ship. Gah. We then had headsets to follow the guide around Pompeii with. Double gah. We followed the tour for all of…7 minutes before ditching them and going to explore on our own, which we thought was fine since we had been given a nominated meeting point to return to. Seems like we reeeeally offended the tour guide though! We were in the bad books for awhile after that.
just chilling…
i bet the romans thought “what a nice view of that lovely mountain”
sitting in a field surrounded by ruins…
beautiful
percy loved pompeii
Lunch was included in the viator tour, a giant pizza and soft drink. Then it was back on the (now giant) bus and off to Mt Vesuvius! Very exciting. We arrived in the upper car park and were given 30 mins to walk up, 20 to explore and 20 to walk back down.
It’s a mountain. Not an easy walk! Very steep! REALLY STEEP! So, for anyone who is considering it some things to note include:
- It’s about 2kms from the car park up to the top
- It’s steep pretty much the whole way, there is very few breaks or stopping points
- It’s a volcano so…sand and rocks. Be prepared with your shoes
- There are two bars on the way up where you can stop for water, souvenirs or wine. My postcard is from the very, very top!
- It’s worth it….the view over Naples and being at the top of an active volcano is wow….
view over naples
a very proud Percy (and me!) at the TOP of Mt Vesuvius
looking into the crater, yep thats smoke
Then it was dinner time at another local place in Naples. It’s very non-touristy here which is great because there’s no tourists but makes it hard to eat when you don’t speak italian! We went to another local eatery (Trattoria Toledo) where we had some communication issues but the food was pretty delish
amazing local wine (yes that is an empty bottle lol), delicious mixed entree, gnocchi for B and grilled chicken for me, mixed veg as a side
Now? We are listening to Hamish and Andy “the race that slows a nation” to see which horse suit won! And drinking wine 🙂
Mel
P.S. Laundry update: nope, no such thing as a self service laundromat in Naples. Since I REFUSE to pay 3€ to launder one item of clothing our room is now covered in semi damp, sink washed shirts.
P.P.S. For those considering Naples…it’s an interesting experience. Not tourist friendly at all, which can be nice but can also be confusing. Italian service is pretty much what we have come to expect though *shudder*
Mel's Travel Blog 