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Published: April 21st 2009
Let me begin my write-up of this most recent weekend adventure by stating that it was my favorite trip by far. It truly was the most beautiful place I have ever seen. Before continuing, let me just steer off topic by noting that I want to visit Palermo and then take a train to Messina. From Messina I want to hop on a ferry to the Aeolian Islands. I wish to visit Lipari, Vulcano and Stromboli. I would love to see the "black beaches, bubbling seas, sulfuric mud, hot springs, orange lava and molten rock." Yes, lava. Okay...onward...
April 16th, 2009.
Renato drove me to the train station at around 11 PM. While there, I ran into Antonette and her boyfriend Danielle. Soon after, Mike arrived. We talked and waited for the bus.
April 17th, 2009.
The bus arrived a little after 12 AM. We jumped on and 5 minutes later the bus was in motion. I managed to fall asleep for a little while, but was woken up when we reached the half-way point and were allowed to stretch our legs for 20 or so minutes. Back on the bus, I sank back into a comfortable sleep, but was then woken up 2 1/2 hours later when we arrived in Naples. We reached the city by 5:30 AM. The doors of the automobile opened and what was the first thing we saw? A pile of garbage. Welcome to Napoli. We walked over to the train station and waited for a pastry/coffee business to unlock its doors. I bought sfogiatella. A delicious treat. I knew them from back home when we would chow down on desserts bought at the Italian bakery. We hung around for a little bit and then took a cab to the marina. Bought tickets to Capri and within 20 minutes we were on our way. We disembarked the ship 1 1/2 hours later. From then (morning) until around 7 PM, we managed quite a bit. Pictures speak louder than words. But even the pictures cannot show the immense beauty seen by these fortunate eyes. From the port we took a bus to Anacapri, where Antonette and Danielle checked into their hostel. Let me mention something about the bus ride. Like the Amalfi Coast, these curves and turns were narrow and a drop over the side a steep one. While making a turn, a man on a moped zoomed around the corner and hit the side of the bus. The force of impact, though it did not fling us around, actually moved the bus closer to the edge. The man flew off his machine, the front of his moped ripped apart. Antonette saw the guy as he was launched off his ride, but I did not. After looking at the accident I had thought that the man was under the bus and possibly dead or at least injured. Soon after, I saw him walking over to the bus as he was picking up pieces. No visible injuries. What kind of person cuts off a car while going around a bend? Lesson learned? After, we grabbed some amazing sandwiches at this small shop. A great mozzarella, tomato, basil and olive oil panino. Following this, we made our way to the Blue Grotto. It cost around 10 euro to enter. We were only in the cave for a short period, but its memory will last until I go brain dead, get Alzheimer's disease, etc.
After the Blue Grotto, we walked around the area and cliff side for a short while before we hopped on a bus that would have taken us back to Capri. While on this bus, Antonette was mentioning how on Saturday she would like to take a boat ride (there was a sign near the Grotto) to the various other Grottos. At that point I stated "Let's do it now." We all looked at each other and agreed that no time was better than the present. With that, we quickly got off the bus and walked back toward the little boats near the Blue Grotto. We asked how much a boat ride would be around Capri, and a guy told us that it would cost 120 euro in totality. 30 euro/person. Not too shabby for 2 hours. We climbed aboard a little boat and the man, in succession, began to row us out into sea. We stopped at a little cave near the Grotto and he pointed out little black jellyfish and told us that this area was given the name Black Grotto, or something to that extent. He dished out information and joked around for a little bit before mentioning that the motor boat (our actual 2 hour ride) was nearing. What he did wasn't included in the 2 hour price tag. So, he did it for free...right on. We stepped from the row boat onto the larger motor boat (4 person private) and took off.
We saw everything. The famous rock formations, the Green Grotto, the White Grotto, all of the coast...the entire island from the sea. It was remarkable. We went into a few of the caves, had a few laughs, viewed some villas and overall really enjoyed the experience. It was tops. A very smart decision made by getting the hell off that bus. I must have taken 100 photographs. You will look at them all.
After, we headed back to the port of Capri. We hung out there for about 2 hours. Antonette and Danielle went back to their hostel at around 5 PM. We needed to catch a ferry at 7 PM. For the next hour and a half we walked around Capri. Saw some great sites. Climbed many steep inclines. It sucked moving around with a heavy backpack, but everything I captured made up for it. We hopped on the ferry and reached Sorrento 25 minutes later.
Sorrento is amazing as well. I thought it to be much more beautiful than Salerno. We walked a ways to our campground, the whole way admiring the magnificent scope of Mount Vesuvius. Clouds were surrounding its base, its menacing peak in full view. We arrived at the place and checked in. Our beds were located in a little shack. That night we checked out the Sorrento center. Grabbed a Capri salad and a stuffed pepper. Walked around and spotted a dog lying down near the sidewalk by itself. He/She was covered in dirt. I petted him/her for a while before deciding to buy him/her a margherita pizza. Of course, I get it and go outside and he/she is gone. I managed to trace him/her down but he/she just sniffed the pizza and walked away. I followed him/her but she/he wouldn't have at it. So, I ripped it apart and placed it near a garbage can. I figured he'd/she'd wander over to the smell. We headed back to the campground (the little lights at night around Vesuvius and Sorrento were fuckin' insane) and went to sleep.
April 18th, 2009.
Woke up and walked to the center. We caught an early train to Ercolano where we bought tickets to go to Vesuvius. The little van brought us to a point where we would have to get out and walk the rest of the way. Once again, the heavy backpack didn't help the steep climb. At the top the views were unbeatable. We could see the Bay of Naples, Sorrento, Capri, Ischia and other places. I was staring at a painted picture. Vesuvius itself was interesting. I saw some smoke rising from within the enormous crater. I didn't get to see any lava. A reason I want to go further south. We were there for over an hour before catching the little van back to Ercolano. From Ercolano we took a train to Naples.
Woof. Naples is not the most magical place on Earth. I ended up getting used to it, but I'm not in a hurry to rush back. We got a room at a hostel near the station and then walked to Antica Pizzeria da Michele. Supposedly it's one of the most famous places to get pizza. It was alright. Only two kinds are served: margherita and marinara. I devoured the margherita. I have to give it up to Carlos Pizzeria/Rosas for beating this place in quality. After, we walked around Naples for a long, long while. We checked out 2 castles and a whole host of areas and piazzas. Saw a kid aged around 8 on a moped driving recklessly around other younger children. Walked around some more. Caught a bit of an odd festival occurring in a piazza. Bought a sfogiatella. Went back to the hostel and hung out for a bit before falling asleep.
April 19th, 2009.
Woke up early and it was pouring rain. Ate breakfast and then walked to the marina where we jumped on a ferry to Ischia. The rain slowed but it was still an irritating inconvenience. We reached the port of Ischia and began to walk. We arrived to the center of the town of Ischia and walked around some more. I couldn't believe how many stray dogs I saw. Scattered throughout, I witnessed dogs lying down and covered in dirt. Sleeping and wet. I ended up buying two containers of prosciutto and feeding it to one dog in front of a store. He/she began to wag his/her tail during the fact. I petted him/her and blackened my fingernails with grime. After the prosciutto was gone and I began to walk away, I noticed that the mutt was following me. He/she had picked up a rock and dropped it. He/she wanted to play. I lead the dog over to a man and his daughter and snuck away. The little girl ended up throwing the rock and playing fetch with the dog. After, we went to a place and grabbed some food. I ate lasagna, bruschetta and some chocolate baba'. We walked around some more and made our way to a castle, though we didn't go in. Following this, we walked to a bus stop and jumped on a bus that drove us around the island. We went through each town and more or less circled the place. Our bus drive, I noticed, would make the sign of the cross before each narrow turn. That's confidence for you. Later on, we took the ferry back to Naples.
In Naples, we walked over to this other famous pizza place called Trianon da Ciro. It was better than the one from the night before. I had a margherita pizza with mushrooms and sausage. I enjoyed it. It was a pleasant meal. Dopo, we walked around some more and then some more. Naples at night is a fun place to be. We went to the station and grabbed some coffee. I read my book. We waited for a bit longer and by 12:10 AM the bus to Siena had arrived. We climbed aboard and by 12:20 AM we were off. We reached Siena by 5:45 AM. I walked home and fell asleep by 6 AM. I ended up sleeping until 11 AM. After I had woken up, I ate a late breakfast, spoke to Paola and rode the bus to school. Played soccer in the afternoon. Ate dinner in the evening.
Later
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St. Cujo
non-member comment
I sure wish you would take a greater advantage of your situation. You know, get out more, fresh air, see the sights. Oh, and maybe take kindly to some of my Italian canine brethren.