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Published: August 22nd 2014
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Sixteen days, eight destinations and a group of seven recovering freshers set the scene for an Italian trip full of culture, caffeine and a significant quantity of carbs as we embarked upon our trip from the Bay of Naples towards the Italian Riviera.
Part 1 Naples to Rome:
Arriving in Naples was a certainly an unforgettable experience. Hurtling towards our apartment in the historic centre through a maze of traffic,mopeds and questionable side streets, we quickly discovered that the Neapolitan lifestyle is far from mundane. Nonetheless, mopeds dodged and tripadvisor app in hand, we ventured into the streets of Napoli in pursuit of piazzas, pizza and peroni. For only 4 euros each for a pizza with enough cheese to cause a cholesterol nightmare, we quickly began to embrace the Italian cuisine washed down with a few Aperol Spritzes from a local Irish bar before heading back into the labyrinth of streets towards our apartment.
Day 2 began early in an attempt to beat the midday heat and we headed out to Pompeii on the Circumvensia train for a very reasonable 4 euros! Travelling on a student budget was proving to be a lot easier than expected! Pompeii itself
was quite simply amazing. Located under the shadow the dormant Vesuvius, the site transports you back to 79AD, allowing you to witness and genuinely feel a part of the history. After a good 3 hours of strolling around the site, with an obligatory visit to Caecilius's horto (with hauntings of the Cambridge Latin course looming from the GCSE days) we retreated to Caecilus's restaurant opposite the gates to the site for yet another helping of Buffalo mozzarella before hopping on the train back to Naples.
Another early start on day 3 led us back to the Circumvensia train towards Sorrento. Having pre-booked a mini cruise along the Amalfi coastline, we were lucky enough to witness the picturesque towns carved into the cliff face whilst soaking up the sun on the deck of the boat. Despite the slightly choppy conditions, we stopped off at Capri for swimming beside the white grotto before heading on to Positano and Amalfi for mooring. An afternoon of sunbathing and limoncello tasting followed before cruising back to Sorrento and topping up the tans before heading back to Naples.
With one day remaining in Naples we decided to split off into two groups consisting of
sunseekers, who headed off for a day of sun in Ischia, and a cultural group, with the more hardcore art historians (including myself) remaining in Naples to explore the city beyond the culinary establishments alone. Walking between the decaying and cobbled streets leads to hidden gems across the entire city, with small churches housing masterpieces existing such as Caravaggio's 'Seven Acts of Mercy' which we found in the tiny church of at the end of our street. The Capella Sansevero was another must see destination in order to witness the Veiled Christ by Sanmartino in a temple of Baroque sculpture. Of course, no trip to Naples would be complete without paying homage to the archaeological museum which houses the majority of the art works from Pompeii and Herculaneum under one roof. After a day of exploration, we felt obliged to have one final Neapolitan pizza before departing the city and heading north to the eternal city.
The 35 degree heat of Rome greeted us as we arrived in time to take full advantage of the happy hour buffet (another Italian perk) before arriving in our apartment which felt nothing less than palatial after the madness of Naples. With the
metro and bus system being so regular and cheap, we hopped on the bus into town to explore Piazza Navona. With a few members of the group being committed Dan Brown fans (mostly myself) we decided to spend the next 48 hours doing a DIY tour of the Angels and Demons film locations (or rather I dragged the rest of the group round the must see locations and casually dropped in an Angels and Demons reference every now and again). A day of travelling was then rewarded with several plates of scampi risotto washed down with copious amounts of Tuscan chianti.
Day 6 began with a trip to the Colosseum where we successfully managed to dodge the queues (with the exception of a couple of the group members who made themselves martyrs to the queuing cause) by purchasing the tickets (which conveniently included the ruins as well) from Palatine hill. After an hour of gladiator impressions and endless selfies, we spent the remainder of the afternoon wondering through the ruins either side of Via dei fori imperiali towards the hugely impressive Vittoria Emanuele monument which stands at the edge of Piazza Venezia before rewarding ourselves with gelato next to the Pantheon. After a quick siesta and bottle of prosecco (we were well and truly embracing the Italia lifestyle by this stage), we headed out to ee what the city had to offer on a Saturday evening. Needless to say, it didn't fail to please with dinner and apertivos on the Tiber followed by a bar crawl in Campo di fiori where the student targeted bars serve up buckets of booze for less than a fiver!
Feeling slightly delicate from the previous evening, we soldiered on and made the compulsory visit to the Vatican just in time to catch the Pope at 12 noon. With temperatures hitting the high thirties waiting for the pontiff and queuing for St Peter's basilica was certainly an uncomfortable wait, but completely worthwhile having witnessed the crowds in St Peters as well as the basilica itself. With the trip coming to an end, we made the most of the afternoon in the Villa Borghese gardens by hiring segways and golf buggies...a different but unique way to spend a Sunday afternoon. Before departing Rome, we had our traditional group Last Supper overlooking the moonlit ruins of Rome (cliche I know!), of course complimented with a few glasses of House wine and plates of tiramusu...when in Rome!
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