Naples, Italy

(May 13th, 2015)

We set off from Rome to Naples for a quick stop to see Pompeii and eat some world renowned pizza. We took the train from Naples to Pompeii which has approximately 85 million stops along the way. After about 40 minutes on the worlds slowest train we arrived at Pompeii, picked up our audio guides (after what we learned in Rome), and set off to explore what is left of the ancient city. We walked all over the ancient ruins while stopping every so often to listen to what our audio guide had to say about what we were seeing.  It was interesting to see and hear about Pompeii’s advances in technology that wouldn’t be replicated again for thousands of years. Every home in the city of Pompeii, regardless of class, had access to running water (through lead pipes…but still) and they even put marble chips in the sidewalks to reflect the moonlight to help guide people at night.  Most houses had a similar layout, but just varied in size depending on wealth.  The road was set well below the sidewalks and raised stones were added for crossing the street so people didn’t have to step in the water and sewage covered streets.  There were several public baths throughout the city that had controlled water temperatures.  There were always separate changing rooms for the men and women, a cold bath room, a lukewarm bath room, a hot bath room and sometimes a pool and gymnasium.  We didn’t realize that the town had been thriving for about 600 years prior to Mount Vesuvius erupting and covering the entire town in 4 to 6 meters of ash.

To see where the demise of Pompeii began we decided to make the trip up to the top of Mount Vesuvius. We took a bus up the first part, then a massive offroad vehicle, and finished the climb by foot. The views were stunning at the top and you could barely see Pompeii in the distance now surrounded by developed cities. 

We hopped back on the train to Naples after our excursion into Pompeii so we could get some pizza before finally heading in to Sorrento. We decided to get pizza at L’Antica Pizzeria da Michele, which was recommended by some friends. It did not disappoint. The server came by and slapped down cups, napkins, and silverware on our table and let us know the menu was on the wall. They only make 2 pizzas. We had the option of marinara or margarita so naturally we got one of each and ate every last bite. Both pizzas were some of the best we’ve ever had, but the marinara pizza probably achieved legendary status in our minds (so simple, but so delicious). We’ll be talking about and trying to replicate the marinara pizza for years to come. 

We got into Sorrento from Naples late in the evening. Our host recommended some good restaurants and highly recommended a gelateria nearby. We were still full from the pizza in Naples but decided to head out for some late night gelato before calling it a night. Raki, is an organic gelateria that makes all of their own gelato in house with natural ingredients. It was delicious. I got lemon and mango and Allen got dark chocolate and some mascarpone flavor (we’re starting to lose track of the flavors). We inquired about a boat trip to the island of Capri before we left for gelato and were surprised when we had a response from the tour company at 11pm saying that there were two spots open for the next day!