Florence and Naples

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Geo: 43.7687, 11.2569

Rome was conquered and now it was time to head to Florence via Pisa. Ah the Leaning Tower of Pisa, another contrast with India is that you go to this town or city to see an amazing piece of architecture but that's all there is, like Agra and the Taj Mahal. So there isn't any point in hanging around for more than a couple of hours.
In our hungover state we were glad we weren't in for a day of walking, we just had to sit back and let the trains do the work. We took the cheaper train which takes longer but if you are on a budget then it's very handy.
From Pisa we took the train again for less than an hour to Florence, it was about 6pm when we arrived and the main train station and streets were very busy, mostly from people leaving to go back home as it was a Sunday night.
We checked in to the hotel and relaxed for the rest of the night.

The following morning was my birthday, last year I was in Kathmandu, Nepal and this year I was in Florence, Italy; quite the contrast. A great day in which Anna spoilt me. We spent the day strolling the streets of Florence, going to the beautiful lookout to see the city, with snow capped mountains in the background.
We had been quite keen on going for a walk through the Tuscan hills around Florence but we couldn't find much information about trails and so on, so of the limited information we acquired, saw us on the following morning, catch a bus an hour south to a small village called Grieve on Chianti, tucked away in the hills with the other "On Chianti" villages, we figured we might find something around the area. We ended up walking up a road to a small town called Montefiorelle with small stone houses that circle a church, a beautiful backdrop of hills and vineyards. Even a traffic light.
We headed back to Grieve on Chianti, grabbed some lunch and headed back to Florence where we stopped off and saw the Statue of Michaelangelo's David. It was bigger than I had thought, and in a small museum.

The following morning we headed back to Rome as Anna had to get back to Uni, I had decided to stay on for an extra week. I stayed in Rome that night and made my way to Naples in the morning.
Now by now you must think I am crazy by comparing Italy to India all the time, but just one more time.. see Naples is a different city to itself, certainly not the Italy you would think. As soon as I got out of the subway and walked the streets to my accommodation, for a brief second I thought I was in India. Lots of traffic with honking horns to accompany, Lots of people in the streets, rubbish everywhere, small dirty lane ways and people everywhere on motorcycles.
I'm not trying to deter people, this is just what I thought, but I did eventually get used to the city.
I had booked a few nights in a hostel called Giovanni's home. As soon as I entered the door, Giovanni the owner said "before we check in, we will have lunch", Wow, and it was an amazing carbonara pasta dish. Giovanni then proceeds his check in routine which lasts about 45min where he shows you all the history, places to see, things to do, places to eat and places/things to avoid. He also puts you at ease from the rumours that surround Naples due to it's Mafia connection.
First thing I visited was Napoli Sotterranea, you probably wouldn't find this in a guide book, but this is the genius of Giovanni. Napoli Sotterranea is a tour of the old underground water systems, built by the Greeks around 300BC and all underneath the city to distribute the water, which contracted diseases and then closed down. It was re-used also as a rubbish dump and bunkers for the wars. You also take a tour of the surrounding area in which houses were built in to an ancient theatre in which you can still see the foundations and shape. Amazing stuff you wouldn't know existed, amazing blast from the past.

The following day I went to the Island of Capri, but this is in another blog.
The day after I went to the ruins of Ercolano, a little less known than Pompeii, but this was a smaller settlement that was covered in ash and is the best preserved ruins around. I liked these ruins a bit better than Pompeii because of how well preserved the paintings, mosaics and buildings were, unlike Pompeii you can go in most of the houses and in to most rooms, but in the Pompeii ruins a lot is blocked off and you cannot enter. Ercolano is about 100 times smaller as well.
I got there early in the morning and enjoyed about 30 min of the place to myself (Also less touristy). I ended up staying about 3.5 hrs where as I spent 4hrs in Pompeii.
Afterwards I went up to the crater of mount Vesuvius, you catch a bus up from a company situated just next to the Ercolano train station, for 15 Euro they will take you up and down, but when I was at the top I noticed a local bus that goes there and I am sure is a bit cheaper.
The funniest time was when I met Lonek and Tomek, two Polish guys while waiting for the shuttle to the top, I offered them a seat and they offered me two long neck beers, saying No didn't stop them from opening the beers, I couldn't be rude so I had to drink them, before I knew it I was tipsy and in need of a toilet on the Crater of Mount Vesuvius. There are amazing views from the top, and with the amazing weather I had had in the last few days, it was great.

I didn't have enough time to make it to Pompeii that day, so I went early the next day. Pompeii is big, very big, and it is so astonishing to see how many buildings and arenas/theatres there are and what a developed city it was back in those days. It's quite the sight to see although many areas you cannot go in and a lot of it looks the same, but definitely something to see.
I took the train back in to Naples and walked the orange line marked on my map by Giovanni. Oh and another great thing was the previous night Giovanni cooked the whole hostel pasta for dinner. Yum!
I stopped at the hostel for lunch as Giovanni cooked a beautiful Gnocchi for lunch, then I set off on this orange line, seeing the sights he had pointed out on the way. My aim was Castel sant Elmo, on top of the hill for the sunset. I walked through a little bit of the Mafia territory that Giovanni had showed me not to go to, it was ok. I took the funicular which is a cable car that takes you uphill, from there I walked to the castle and I think because It was a Sunday, I got free entry and I was able to enjoy the beautiful sunset.

So I eventually got used to Naples, but there is more to see than I first thought, as Giovanni's check in presentation showed. It is a very interesting city with much history as well.

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