FLIGHT OF THE PHOENIX: Hidden Naples, Pompeii and Furore

Our home for the next 6 nights

This blog post was written a couple of days late on account of a knock out punch courtesy of a lemon spritz! So apologies in advance if the details are incorrect or missing as my brain seemed to have lost its ability to retain the information! And with that disclaimer in place...happy reading!

It was finally time to start the tour! It had rained overnight which brought much needed relief from the temperature and humidity. It was also something that the locals desperately wanted as it had not rained for months. We woke up to cooler temps and drizzle with the skies forcast to clear for the rest of the day. We had the morning to squeeze in some sights of Naples. Vincenzo gave us a brief history of the origins of Naples and took us for a walk across the historic centre. Being early on a Sunday morning in August when most of the city on holidays, it was a Naples that was quiet with no one on the streets! We were off to meet Priscilla, the guide of our MigranTour, seeing the city through the eyes of its new inhabitants. That walking tour was quickly followed by a quick visit to the ancient Roman city underneath the San Lorenzo Basilica. Like other very old cities, Naples was built multiple times over in layers. Underneath the church, we could see remnants of an old Roman market, and again in sections of the Roman ruins, we could see parts of the even older Greek foundation. We walked back towards the hotel to grab a quick bite, our luggage and the minibus to take us onto our next destination. It was only 1pm and we were already tired from the nearly 4 hours of continues walking or standing...

It was a decent continental buffet breakfast for a 3* hotel

There was a variety of options

My breakfast of choice

Noone on the streets

The Greeks built roads that ran in an East-West direction right through the city. It ends at the courthouse

Meeting Priscilla at Piazza Del Mercato

First stop, Church of the Carmine

Also known as the "Black Madonna" because at that time, a Palestinian is much darker and thus was considered "black"

People pray for miracle healing and once healed. They'd dedicate something in the shape of the body part healed

Apparently the tummy's represent miraculous pregnancies

So many secret rooms with amazing ceilings

A close up

And the beautiful cloister

This could very well be in Asia. Rapunzel Rapunzel let down your blue bucket

So I can put your groceries in it

The markets of the migrants

L'Antica Pizzeria, apparently one of the oldest and the best pizza in Naples. Thanks to social media there is always a line.

Underneath the gothic church is an undergrond city

can't see anything on the ground level

Remnants of an old market place

This was likely a laundromat

Apparently down there are the Greek foundations

This is where the mind is blank...don't remember where it is but it was built by a King with "virtues" depicted on the ceiling

Oh just 2 random roman columns over 2 thousand years old randomly being re-purposed

There was no time to slack off, we still had Pompeii to cover. By now, the sun had nudged away the clouds and taken its rightful spot in the sky. We were repeatedly told that we were so lucky because it was so much hotter just yesterday. Yeah...it was still hot! We last came here 14 years ago when Lara was 5. I showed her the photos and she had absolutely no memory of it. Quick recap of the facts - Pompeii is old, the city started around 600-700BC and became "Roman" around 2nd century BC. Vesuvius erupted in 79AD and that tragic event has given us a glimpse into Roman life with the city completely buried in volcanic ash. It remained intact until it was discovered in the 1700s.Unfortunately the 1st excavations either accidentally destroyed the site or the valuable parts were pillaged eg the marble and the frescoes. It was not until much later when better efforts were made to preserve the site. Pompeii is MASSIVE and it was tiring walking around the site in the heat. The whole group was relieved when we were finally able to exit, partake in gelato and pile into the minibus to head towards the Amalfi Coast. Our destination was Agriturismo Sant-Alfonso in Furore.

Still impressive and still hot

These stones were for pedestrians! So they could stay clean while crossing the streets from the dirty water and mud

The bank

One of the rooms of a spa

Double wall used to heat the room, with copper plates to retain heat

The ancient bar

The bakery

The mosaic work was incredible. This was in a villa

made to pop up in 3D

Intricate pictures

Um...a naughty room just off the kitchen

One of the best preserved frescoes retaining its rich colours

The panel to is about making perfume!

The detail is extraordinary. This is a different one to the one above

Where the streets have no names...just pictures on the strategically placed water fountains spread throughout

Um...let's guess what this building was

A plaster mould of one of the inhabitants trying to cover his face

Main forum with Vesuvius looking large in the background. The smiles were getting harder to keep genuine

Amphitheatre that is 150 years older than the colosseum in Rome

Today I went for green apple and mixed berries

Once we left Naples and Pompeii behind, there was a distinct change in scenery and air quality. Vincenzo was a local born and bred. From Amalfi, he now lives in Ravello. Another bus ride, another history and geography lesson. Many are often confused so here's the short version. The region south of the Sorrento Peninsula is nicknamed the Amalfi Coast, which is comprised of many small villages dotted along the way either up on the cliffside or along the sea, including the villages of Amalfi, Positano, and Ravello, and many more. Amalfi was once an independent republic with its own currency and laws. It was very wealthy and powerful in the middle ages and had a bigger population than London.

There are 3 main roads, all narrow, that connect the towns, which means that often traffic can cause chaos especially in summer. It also means that some towns are literally a big series of switchbacks with no secondary roads! Residents and/or tourists often park on the road which can worsen congestion.

We finally reached our agriturismo at around 5:30pm. It was an amazing place and photos don't do it justice. We were relieved that the staff would deliver our luggage to our rooms as there were 150 steps to get to the agristurismo...We reconvened at 7:30pm. Nicola and his wife Michaela welcomed us. Our group would be the only ones staying for the next 6 nights. Nicola took us on the tour of the property which started as a communal farm in the 1600's before being converted to a monastery. Michaela's great grandfather bought the property at some point before the family decided to abandon the house in the 1930s. Michaela and Nicola lovingly restored the house in 1990 doing their best to stay true to its origins. It took 10 years to renovate as everything had to be carried by hand down the mountain. There was no driveway back then and no paved steps...

Michaela cooks everything herself including the cakes and breads for breakfast. Dinner is whatever she can get fresh and is always 3 courses. Tonight's dinner was SO good. The "appetisers" were dishes of various seafoods including octopus, calamari, prawns, cod, and cuttlefish. Vincenzo briefed us on our day tomorrow. It was good to know that there were always multiple options for each day, including the option NOT to go anywhere and just enjoy the agriturismo.

It was now nearly 1030pm, the latest Lara and I had every stayed up. Add to that our neverending Naples walking tour, our Pompeii endurance event and the killer lemon spritz, we were the ones to break up the party and head to bed!