Hello! Well, I haven’t written anything
for months as I haven’t really been doing any travelling; I changed jobs and
relocated back in March which prevented me from getting anywhere (apart from a
very rainy weekend in Bournemouth!) until my summer holiday, which I had been
planning for a while; I am a bit obsessed with volcanoes, so I wanted to spend five
days based in Naples, to visit Pompeii, Herculaneum and Mount Vesuvius, then
three days on Sicily, primarily to climb Mount Etna, but also to lie around on
the beach for a bit after all that culture and history. I had originally
planned a solo trip as usual, but my friend B had always wanted to visit the
excavations, so she came along with me. I know the theme of this blog is
supposed to be solo travel but I couldn’t not share this brilliant trip with you,
dear reader!
We arrived in Naples late on a
Sunday evening, after a flight delay of two hours which scuppered our plans to
take the bus from the airport to the central train station, and from there to
walk to our hotel in the historical quarter, next to the university; being as
it was after dark and neither of us had visited the city before, we decided to
take a taxi from the airport. This cost 35 euros for a trip of a few miles though;
if I’d known we were going to arrive so late I would have prebooked a transfer
or taxi which I suspect would have been cheaper. This was our first
introduction to Italian driving…more to come on that!
We stayed at the Hotel Europeo
for our five nights in Naples. This was cheap and cheerful; a small but decent
room (although the frosted glass window on the bathroom door was a bit odd,
especially for a twin room which one would presume is being shared by friends
rather than partners!) with enough storage space (and plug sockets) for two people.
I’d definitely recommend this place for a stay in Naples. The location was
great for exploring both the city itself, and for getting the train out to the
other places we wanted to visit. Breakfast is not included but there are plenty
of cafes nearby; we generally turned left out of the hotel and headed up to the
square - Piazza San Domenico - where you
can take a seat in the sun and enjoy some Italian coffee and local speciality sfogliatelle or other pastries to start
your day off nicely.
 |
| Sfogliatelle |
We spent Monday exploring the
city. We both tend towards just wandering around discovering things, and the historical
quarter is perfect for this; lots of little side streets to mooch through,
covered in colourful graffiti. After some lunch we headed up to the Naples
National Archaeological Museum, where you can find a number of artefacts from
Pompeii, Herculaneum and other excavation sites in the area; definitely worth a
visit, particularly if you’re also planning on visiting those sites, as we
were. This was exciting preparation for seeing the sites themselves. It’s a bit
of a gamble what you’ll get to see; on any day a number of rooms will be
closed, and some artefacts will be on loan elsewhere (some are currently in the
British Museum in London at the Pompeii and Herculaneum exhibition which is
running until September 2013 – also worth a visit!) – but we managed to see
plenty.
 |
For our first evening meal in
Naples, it had to be pizza! Having read in various places that a margherita is
the only genuine Napoli pizza, I had to go for that, along with a bottle of
local beer, and it was delicious! We ate at Lombardi a Santa Chiara as it was
just up the road from our hotel. Great pizza, but we found our waiter a bit
abrupt; when we asked politely (in Italian) if we could have milk with our
coffee, we were told rather sharply that “this is a restaurant, not a bar”!
On Tuesday, we took the train out
to Pompeii. The train goes every half-hour from the Central station (also known
as Garibaldi); follow the signs for the Circumvesuviana Railway which is under
the main station, and purchase your ticket at the booth down there; if you try to buy from
the machines in the main station you will only see an option for Pompei, which
is the modern town; you want Pompei Scavi. Equally, make sure you get on the
train heading for Sorrento. The journey took about 40 minutes and was on a
crowded train with no air-conditioning, but had some fabulous views of Mount
Vesuvius as we got nearer.
Pompeii is one of the most
amazing places I’ve ever been lucky enough to visit, along with Herculaneum,
which we visited the next day. I’m told it’s starting to disintegrate (not
surprising considering the number of people who were standing on the pillars in
the basilica to pose for photos etc.) so I’d urge you to visit as soon as you
can. I think my favourite section was the forum, which was intact enough to
still look like the forum; with the volcano looming ahead, I could see how it
would have looked back in Roman times, like all of the artist impressions. It
was mindblowing to walk through streets that still looked like streets,
following the footsteps of a whole city of people who last stepped there nearly
2000 years ago. Take a bottle of water if it’s hot, definitely take your
camera, and allow plenty of time; we arrived late morning and stayed almost
until closing time at 7.30pm – you essentially need a whole day to see Pompeii
properly.
On Wednesday we took the same
train, in the same direction, to visit Mount Vesuvius and Herculaneum. The trip
to Ercolano Scavi took about 20 minutes. We decided to start with the volcano.
If you’re wanting to go up, it’s best to do this from Herculaneum rather than
Pompeii, firstly because it’s closer, but also because you’ll need a whole day
for Pompeii, remember! We took the Vesuvio Express as it seemed like the only
option to get up the mountain for those of us without a car; the ticket office
is just outside of the station. They’ll sell you a ticket for twenty euros
which includes transportation up and back down again in their minibus and entry
to the crater. The climb from the car park to the crater is steep but not
overly difficult. This was my first experience of an active volcano, and while
it was brilliant to actually be up there, it wasn’t really doing much – just a
small wisp of steam! It was also quite a rushed trip; we were given about 90
minutes to ascend, look around, and get back to the minibus. I think it took us
about 40 minutes to get up, slightly less to get down, which meant we didn’t
have much time up there. I’m glad we made the trip though; it was quite
something to be stood on the mountain which has wrought so much havoc, and will
do so again in the future.
Modern Herculaneum is a busy
little town and there were plenty of places to have some lunch before heading
down the excavations, which are about 15 minutes’ walk down from the train station.
Like in Pompeii, it was amazing to stand in those streets. Herculaneum in some
ways is more spectacular as it is much better-preserved; everywhere you turn,
there’s another mosaic! Also, being much closer to the volcano, you get a real
sense of the mountain looming over the town. It’s smaller than Pompeii so we
only needed a few hours there; easily done in an afternoon.
Thursday was our last day in
Naples, and with our feet aching after all of the walking around the
excavations in previous days (wear good shoes!), we had a slow day mooching around
the city again. We explored the area down by the docks, went into the Castell d’Ovo
(Castle of the Egg – so named as it’s said that the poet Virgil put an egg into
the foundations, which, if broken, would mean the collapse of the castle and
destruction of the city) which is worth the walk out to as, unlike the more
prominent Castel Nuevo, it’s free to enter, and offers amazing views of the
port and Vesuvius (unfortunately a bit misty that day!). We had lunch by the
harbour, then headed back up to the historical quarter to do some souvenir
shopping at the various local shops, before ending our time in Naples with
another pizza!
 |
Naples often gets bad press.
Reactions to my saying we were going there were not always positive (note to
well-meaning family and friends: if you tell me that a place is too dangerous
for me to visit, I WILL go there!), and I was expecting to have to be
extra-cautious about safety and to have to deal with harassment in the streets.
In reality, we experienced no harassment whatsoever (unlike in my current town
of Bedford where I get it almost daily), and felt completely safe – with the
exception of crossing the road! Drivers in Naples don’t stop for pedestrians –
they will try to nudge around you and get through before you – and the scooters
appear out of nowhere, even on streets which you’d be convinced were pedestrianised.
My advice is to follow someone who looks like a local, at least until you’ve
built up your confidence in crossing the road without getting killed! Some say
that Naples is dirty and chaotic, but I loved that about it. The historical
quarter is vibrant and fun to explore. I would say don’t let the bad reputation
that it has put you off – give it a try yourself. It won’t be for everyone, I’m
sure, but if you’ve enjoyed your time in other large European cities, I think
you’d find something to like in Naples too.
On Friday it was time to pack up
and head to Sicily. We were going by train, as I wanted the experience of
travelling on a train which gets shunted onto a boat to cross the sea! The
journey takes all day, although I think there’s a sleeper train if you’d prefer
to do it that way. We took the train leaving Naples Central station at 9.55am,
and we arrived at our final destination at about 4.30pm. The train is an
old-fashioned one with compartments of six people, and you’ll want to book a
ticket in advance (I got ours from Rail Europe) to ensure you have a reserved
seat, as our train was busy. The seats were spacious and comfortable and there
was sufficient space in the overhead luggage storage for our suitcases. We were
in a compartment with four Italians who didn’t speak much English, and we didn’t
speak Italian, so communication was a bit tricky! It was amusing to watch these
four strangers become friends with each other over the journey though; they
were immediately chatting away. You might want to bring ear-plugs or something with
headphones if you’re wanting a quiet journey! The route down through southern
Italy took about four and a half hours I think, and we went through some
mountain towns and saw some great scenery. I think there was a buffet car but
the train was packed so we didn’t go and investigate; we’d bought a packed
lunch along with us just in case, which I’d recommend doing as it’s so much
easier.
When we got to the port at
Calabria, right in the toe of Italy, it was just like getting onto a car ferry
in a vehicle! Once we were on, we were able to leave the train and go up on
deck. The crossing was only about 20 minutes but it was a beautiful afternoon,
and good to get some fresh air and sun after being on the train for so long. At
Messina, we all piled back onto the train and were shunted off to continue our
journey; a little while later we got off at our destination of
Taormina-Giardini, to take a short ride on the bus to our hostel in
Giardini-Naxos, which would be our base for the next few days. I’m glad we
experienced the train, but if I were to do the trip again, I would probably
choose another option – I think there are boats from Naples to Messina – as it’s
a long journey. It definitely needs to be done once though!
We stayed at Gianni House, in a
private twin room (bunk beds) with our own bathroom. I can’t recommend this
hostel enough; it was cheap and comfortable, in a brilliant location just five
to ten minutes’ walk from the beach, friendly and welcoming, and had an awesome
roof terrace with a view of Mount Etna!
Gianni was immensely helpful; in the
weeks before we came, I had been trying to find an Etna tour departing from
Taormina which would take us as far up the mountain as possible, and had been
struggling to find anything. I emailed Gianni with our requirements and he
booked us onto a suitable tour.
After checking in, we raced down
to the beach to catch some evening sun, making the most of our short time
there! We had dinner at the wonderful Lido de l’Aurora Celeste, which
overlooked the sea. I tried the local speciality penne alla norma, which is
pasta with aubergine, and we enjoyed some local wine, which was lovely – I wish
I’d bought some to bring back. I definitely recommend this place for an evening
meal by the sea while you’re here.
On Saturday it was an early start
to catch our tour to Mount Etna, the volcano which had brought us here. SAToperated the tour, and the bus departed at 8am from the Recanati bus station
which was ten minutes’ walk from the hostel. We paid for the full tour, as far
as we were allowed to go, which involved a cable car and then a jeep after the
bus. You can stay at 1900m if you wish, and there are dead craters to see
there, but you will be missing out if you don’t take the full trip. I don’t
have adequate words to describe it – look at my photos (links at the bottom of
the page) to get the full impression! It was like nothing I’d ever seen before;
an alien landscape, and steam everywhere. I struggled a bit to see the volcano
in Vesuvius, but here there was no doubt that we were standing on volatile
terrain. I buried my fingers into the black soil at various points, sometimes
discovering heat, at other times finding ice. I also couldn’t resist sticking my
hand into some of the smaller steam vents, which I probably shouldn’t be
recommending as I suspect it’s dangerous! This was a much less hurried affair
than Vesuvius had been; we were given plenty of time to explore. This was the highlight
of the whole holiday for me; it was just a wonderful experience. The tour is
pricey at 85 euros each, but completely worth it. I’m now even more determined
than ever to cross some more active volcanoes off my list!
 |
| Excitedface! |
Sunday was completely given over
to lying on the beach in the sun, which was blissful! It was a clear day and,
as we floated on our backs in the sea, we could see Etna gently smoking away; a
brilliant view. The day ended pleasantly too, with Gianni cooking pasta for all
of the hostel guests, which we ate on the roof terrace as we chatted with
people from all over the world. Another reason to stay at this hostel!
We managed some gelato and a walk
by the beach before leaving on Monday to catch a bus to Catania airport, from
where we flew back to London, to recover from a busy and exhilarating eight
days. I’d say that Etna is a must-see for volcano enthusiasts, and if you’re at
all interested in history, get yourself to Pompeii and Herculaneum soon! Some
of the many photos that I took are up to view on Flickr: Naples/Pompeii/Herculaneum/Vesuvius
and Sicily/Mount Etna.
Happy travelling, all.
