Naples

Day 10 - Tuesday 17 October - Napoli, Italy

We arrived at Napoli Central railway station and fortunately our hotel, The Five Rooms, was only a short walk from the station which was very convenient.

Panoramic view of Piazza Garibaldi from our hotel, with the railway station to the right

We settled in and walked down to the port to determine where the ferries departed from for the next leg of our journey. Like Rome, Napoli has its fair share of ruins and churches, although the style is somewhat different to the ones we saw in Rome. but we still needed a break from them.

As we walked towards the port, we found Napoli more hectic and chaotic than Rome and a smaller percentage of tourists compared to the general population. In the area between the station and the port, there are a huge number of fashion stores, aimed mostly at young people - we even saw “Australian” brand shoes! As we passed the university, there were a number of graduating students, wearing wreaths around their heads, instead of mortar board hats.

The hotel host, Alfredo, had recommended a couple of good local restaurants, but we went out for dinner, we found each had been booked out - something we had not encountered before. Fortunately one, Mimi alla Ferrovia could fit us in, and after a 15 minute wait we had a table. It was a middle-level restaurant, which offers Neapolitan cuisine with a modern twist at a semi-reasonable price. Both the presentation and the food was excellent. We started with potato croquettes accompanied with a lime mayonnaise sauce. The croquettes were fresh, tasty and the sauce complimented them perfectly.

The restaurant had a huge wine menu, but only listed full bottles of wine. When I pointed to another table with a half bottle of red wine, the waiter replied that it was not on the list. Neither was a half bottle of white wine that Frances subsequently requested. Both bottles were sourced from the nearby Campania wine region and were quite good.

Frances ordered grilled calamari stuffed with beans accompanied by an apple sauce and I ordered meat balls with a tomato ragu. When I then inquired about what appeared to be a delicious, almost tempura style, seafood fritto misto at another table the waiter calmly said that it was also not on the menu!! Definitely a restaurant frequented by locals who know what to order. Anyway, the wine, food and service were excellent and we both agreed that it was one of the best restaurant meals that we have had for a while, even though that dinner alone almost blew our daily budget.

University students graduating

University students graduating wearing wreaths

Church in Napoli

Detail of the church

“Australian” brand shoes!!

Restaurant Mimi alla Ferrovia

White and red wines from Campania - grape variety not identified

Ah, the wine was good

Croquettes with a lime mayonnaise sauce

Grilled calamari stuffed with beans accompanied by an apple sauce

Meat balls with tomato ragu

Day 10 - Tuesday 17 October - Napoli, Italy

University students graduating

University students graduating wearing wreaths

Church in Napoli

Detail of the church

“Australian” brand shoes!!

Restaurant Mimi alla Ferrovia

White and red wines from Campania - grape variety not identified

Ah, the wine was good

Croquettes with a lime mayonnaise sauce

Grilled calamari stuffed with beans accompanied by an apple sauce

Meat balls with tomato ragu

Day 11 - Wednesday 18 October - Napoli, Italy

In the morning we walked for about 30 mins up to the Archaeological Museum, along the streets of Naples, the main one being Via San Giovanni a Carbonara. The streets are busy with people and cars, and there are many shops at street level with apartments above. What I found interesting was than when the shops are closed, many have graffiti style murals painted on their large steel doors.

We arrived at the Museum to see a large number of school groups waiting to go in. We entered the museum and while paying for our entry, combined with an American couple to hire a guide to take us through the highlights of the Museum. On thing I learned was that there are still large unexcavated areas which are still being explored. Unfortunately the excellent mosaic section was closed at the time.

The museum was full of “stuff” excavated from Pompeii, glass, ceramics, bronzes and other objects which survived over the Millenia.

One interesting item which was part of the building itself was a type of sundial-calendar which consisted of a small hole letting in a pinpoint of light which would indicate midday at different times of the year.

A graffiti art door

The Archaeological Museum exterior

Our museum guide

A 100 year old model of the city of Pompei

Early blue glass vase with white glass impasto decoration

Various glass vessels from wealthy houses

A bronze vessel

Detail of a mosaic depicting the River Nile

Day 11 - Wednesday 18 October - Napoli, Italy

After spending over an hour at the Archaeological Museum, we then walked for another 30 mins to the bottom of Via Toledo where we picked up another “free’ Neapolitan Street Food Tour in the Ancient Market” walking tour with Ariana.

She took us into the Spanish quarter and around old Napoli where the poorer people live and introduced us to some of the traditional foods of the community, starting with tripe, a common for for those who could not afford the more expensive part of the animal. I am probably not exaggerating when I say that that may also be the last time many in the group eat tripe. Many of the other “street food” items we sampled were high carbohydrate and high fat which completely contradict the “Mediterranean diet” concept. I also found it interesting that young Italians preferred the “American Pizza” with tomato, mozzarella, topped with French fries!

We ended the tour near the start of the Montesanto Funicular which goes to the top if the hill overlooking Napoli. From there we walked further up the hill to Castel Sant'Elmo, a medieval fortress located on Vomero Hill adjacent to the Certosa di San Martino, overlooking Napoli. Heavily fortified, access to the main buildings is via steep winding roadway up the the top - and of course we had to walk all the way. The panoramic vies over Napoli and its surrounds was spectacular, and given it location and formidable defences, the castle was never attacked.

So, about seven hours walking since we left in the morning we caught the funicular back down the hill and the metro back to Piazza Garibaldi , returned to the hotel and lay down for e well-earned rest.

After what seemed a short while later, we headed out again for dinner to make the 7pm dinner booking we had at Da Donatto. The restaurant had quite a nice interior, with subtle soundproofing, which meant that, even though it was busy, it was not too loud. The menu was all in Italian, although they had a QR code link to an English version online, however, it was vastly out of date and didn’t include all of the dishes that were on the menu so it was almost completely ineffective.

I had trouble recognising what most of the dishes were, and so we just decided to order something that we wanted, which ended up being a four seasons pizza, and a large tuna salad with a large bottle of a light red wine. The meals arrived surprisingly quickly, and were accompanied by a paper bag of bread – an interesting way to serve it. Both dishes were very good, the pizza in typical Neapolitan style with a thin base and light puffy crust around the outside, and the salad had a subtle, but nice dressing.

`The narrow streets of the Spanish Quarter

All houses have a shrine, but this one includes Maradona who played for the Napoli football team

The vast selection of tripe on sale

Plate of tripe, beans, olives and small tomatoes

The food stall with everything deep fried

A selection of deep fried morsels for tasting

Ariana distributing deep fried pizza to the tour group

Making aranchini - crumbed and deep fried portions of tomato rice

The funicular carriage

Approaching the imposing fortress of Castel Sant'Elmo

View of Napoli from Castel Sant'Elmo

Napoli style pizza with roast vegetables and tuna salad

Bread served in a paper bag

Day 12 - Thursday 19 October - Napoli, Italy

We decided to have an easy day and so we caught the Metro train north to the end of the line, a small seaside town called Pozzuoli. It was interesting travelling through suburban Italy where we saw the large number of older apartment buildings in their faded glory, topped with forests of TV antennae and decorated with washing drying on the balconies next to satellite dishes. I imagine this is where much of the working population of Napoli live, communting in each day.

Pozzuoli has its own share of Roman and other (Greek and Samnite) ruins dating back to 500 BC. It was, and still is, an important port because of its good harbour. It has the 3rd largest Roman amphitheatre in Italy after the Colosseum, but it was temporarily closed after an earthquake earlier in the morning while seismologists were ascertaining if it was still safe to enter the subterranean section. However, we were able to walk around the Macellum of Pozzuoli, also known as the Temple of Serapis, which is considered the city's symbol. The "temple" was a actually marketplace and its name derives from the misinterpretation of its function after a statue of the god Serapis was found in 1750.

It was quite warm, around 30 degrees, and Frances was hoping for a swim, but the water in port area was not suitable, and the nearest beach was some distance away. We settled instead for lunch at a local restaurant of a Neapolitan piazza and salad. Both were quite good, but as it was now the tail end of the tourist season, many eateries were closed and the restaurant had not turned on their espresso machine - we had to go to a stand-up coffee bar for our after-lunch coffee!

We returned by train to our hotel in Napoli in time for a quick wash (it was hot!) and short rest before heading back to the station to meet Carol and John who had been travelling in Ireland and Scotland, and caught the fast train down from Milano that morning. They were joining us for the rest of the trip.

Over a couple of glasses of Prosecco and snacks at a local bar, we hatched the idea of having dinner on the terrace of the hotel. We bought salad ingredients at a nearby street market to make our own “Caprese” and green salads, then bought a couple of pizzas and settled down wth some red wine on the terrace overlooking Piazza Garibaldi. In the balmy air with a slight breeze blowing, good food, wine and friends, it was extremely pleasant evening.

View of Piazza Garibaldi with the station at far right from the hotel rooftop terrace

Suburban train to Pozzuoli

Pozzuoli station - the visible ground level is maintained, but the floors above show the signs of decay

Typical suburban scene - petrol station, supermarket and apartments

The view of the port of Pozzuoli from the hill above the town.

Exterior of a local church. In Italy, the focus always seems to be on the inside of buildings, the exteriors basically being left to decay

The Macellum of Pozzuoli, also known as the Temple of Serapis near the centre of the town

A couple of Australian tourists

Cafe-Pizeria Picea

Shopping for salad ingredients in the small streets of Napoli

One of our pizzas for dinner is ready

Our pizza with roast vegetables

Our home-made Caprese salad

Day 13 - Friday 20 October - Ischia, Italy

This morning, we planned to catch a boat to the island of Ischia (pronounced Iskia), and so we had a leisurely morning, looking at the shops and markets near Piazza. Unfortunately, I awoke with a sore throat, which soon developed into a full-blown cold. We explored a little more around Piazza Garibaldi before packing up and catching a taxi to the port.

When we arrived at the terminal for our ferry, we were told that because of the rough weather conditions, no boats would be leaving that day. While frustrated, and looking for some alternative, we discovered that another ferry was leaving within about 10 minutes so we rushed over to join the queue of people buying their tickets on the wharf. We managed to board the ferry which was really crowded with virtually no spare seats. The crossing was fairly rough, but because it was a hydrofoil, the impact of the waves was not so bad.

About 50 minutes later, we arrived at Ischia where we caught another taxi to our accommodation, Semiramis Hotel de Charme Ischia which was about 30 minutes from the port. The escort style accommodation is a little upmarket, with four thermal pools of different temperatures within the grounds. We had a small snack for lunch, and then within a short while, we were into our swimming costumes, compulsory, bathing caps, and into the water. It’s amazing how relaxing, warm water is, and soon we had recovered from the drama of the morning.

The resort is quite close to the beach , only a three minute walk down the hill , and so in the afternoon Frances was in the water to join the four surfers also braving the rough conditions. The dumpy waves and rip pulling across the beachfront made swimming difficult, but Frances still enjoyed the ability to spend some time in the water, which was about 23°.

That night, we went to a local trattoria/pizzeria for light pasta and salad dinner, and although the flavours were quite good, the dishes were also quite salty.

At the market - interesting variety of capsicums

Large tomatoes which can be eaten green

Mussels being kept moist

The fish market

Italian street food. NOT part of the Mediterranean diet!!

One of the many shrines attached to apartment buildings - this one is well-maintained, same are not

This shrine includes Maradona who played for Napoli

Carol struggles with the very manual lift doors of our hotel - sometimes it's hard to leave

Basilica Santuario del Carmine Maggiore

Basilica Santuario del Carmine Maggiore with clock tower

Bronze relief for those from Ischia who died in WWI

Castle near the port

Port with cruise ships and ruins

Leaving Napoli

Church on a headland

Carole and Frances in the thermal bathes with the ocean in the background

Carole and Frances

Bruschetta of tomato and tuna for lunch

Another bruschetta

Day 14 - Saturday 21 October - Ischia, Italy

It rained quite heavily overnight, and some even entered our room, cause a bit of damage. Fortunately, the rain stopped around midday, and Frances, Carol and John planned to catch the bus into Forio to have a look around. I was still feeling under the weather after a bad night with poor sleep because of my cold. A little while later, I was feeling better and decided to have the bruschetta that I’d ordered yesterday but not eaten, partly because the bread was so salty. As a compromise, I went to the local store, bought a nice fresh Panino, and use that to accompany the tomato and tuna, which was fine. So here I was on the island of ischio, having a beer, fresh bread, tomato and tuna topping, sitting in the sun on the small terrace, outside our room, listening to digital Neapolitan radio through my phone on my portable speaker. I can’t really complain.

Later in the afternoon Frances, Carol and John returned from Forio which they had waked to in about 30 minutes, however they did catch the bus back to the hotel. we decided to eat again at the da Paulo restaurant, it was convenient and the food was okay. This time we decided to stay away from pasta and ordered a seafood special with some roast vegetables and a tomato salad. Interestingly, the seafood platter included freshly pickled sardines, which were very tasty.

View of the hotel Semiramis thermal baths and the beach

View of the coastline

Smooth rocks offshore

View on the walk to Forio

Approaching Forio

Frances on the coastline

Carole and John

Church exterior

In Forio

Church interior with anchor-shaped lectern

Street scene, Forio

One of the many shrines adorning the buildings

Curiously shaped trees in a fountain in Forio

Island architecture

Port of Forio

Frances and John take a dip in the pool.

The beach near our hotel.

Dinner of seafood platter, roast vegetables and tomatoes

Day 15 - Sunday 22 October - Sorrento, Italy

Today, we planned to catch a ferry back to Napoli, and then another ferry to Sorrento. However, the ferry from Ischia to Napoli arrived late, so we missed the connecting ferry to Sorrento.

We then found out that the next ferry to Sorrento was cancelled due to impending bad weather, so we had to catch the Metro back to Napoli Central, and then catch the train to Sorrento, about a one hour, 10 minute trip.

However, the train arrived late, meaning that there were more people waiting to catch it than normal, and of course there were also some people who also missed the ferry were also catching the train. We only just managed to get on board the extremely packed train and had to stand for most of the way until we did manage to get a seat. We also had the pleasure of a large group of young Spanish people having an extremely loud conversation which disturbed the whole carriage.

It was a great relief to realise that our hotel was only an eight minute walk from the station, and there was a lift to the second floor to our rooms. We all had a rest to recover from the tedious business of having to change our travel plans and hoisting our baggage, on and off the ferry and up-and-down railway stairways.

Having had no lunch because of the rearranged travel arrangements, we had an early dinner, sitting in a restaurant in Piazza Tasso in Sorrento, with a couple of Neapolitan pizzas, and some beer.

The ferry arrives to take us back to Napoli

Corso Italia in Sorrento, the main street and the place is full of tourists

Day 16 - Monday 23 October - Sorrento, Italy

We were all suffering a bit of exhaustion from the activities over the last few days, and all showing signs of having a cold. So we decided to have an easy day today.

Carol and John needed to go to a laundromat because some of their clothing got wet on the boat trip to Ischia, and I offered to cook a risotto in our apartment for dinner tonight, as there was a small kitchenette and to have a break from eating out in restaurants. both of these activities meant that we explored a little more of Sorrento, engaged in more pedestrian activities, then touristic ones. Frances was keen for a swim so together we went to an area called Marina Grande where public bathing is free, as opposed to most of the shoreline which is privately owned and accessible only through hotels for payment.

Rafaella, the hotel manager helpfully, provided us with extra plates, glasses and cutlery, so that we could have dinner in our room. The dinner almost didn’t happen because the hotplate malfunctioned, which was only rectified by unplugging the power and reconnecting it again. The risotto was relatively easy to prepare, as there was a large pot. I had planned to roast some zucchini, but what I initially thought was a frypan was, in fact, a small saucepan. Fortunately, there was a sandwich maker, so I sliced the zucchini lengthways, and slowly cooked them in the sandwich maker with a bit of butter – worked fine.

The 30 minute delay in getting the stove working, properly, actually meant that our bottle of wine was nicely chilled by the time we were ready to eat. I was then pleasantly surprised to discover that the small table in the room was extendable, which meant that four of us could sit comfortably around it for dinner. And so we comfortably enjoyed our risotto, roast, zucchini, bread rolls, and Prosecco, followed by a fresh fruit salad.

A view from the town towards the ocean

Sorrento is built on the rocky coastline

Personal service at the petrol station

A panoramic view of the private swimming section of the coastline below Sorrento.

Entry to this section of the coast, Leonelli's Beach, is only via hotel premises

View from above of Marina Grande and part of the marina

Frances above Marina Grande, actually a small bay allocated to public access and swimming

Frances going for a swim - the water was surprisingly clear

A scooter which apparently had a looong swim

Some of the interesting construction techniques in Sorrento. Very little attention is paid to the exterior of buildings, and all of the focus is on the interior, talk about plastering over the cracks.

It’s not surprising that buildings suffer damage when there are earth tremors

Dinner at home, risotto with mushrooms and shrimp, roast zucchini with fresh cherry tomatoes, and a bottle of Prosecco

Day 17 - Tuesday 24 October - Sorrento, Italy

Today, we planned to visit the isle of Capri through Fauno Travel. The trip there, and back by boat cost €100 each, which included a transfer to the port, travel across to the island in a 12 passenger boat, and some cruising around the island and return.

The day was overcast and the seas choppy, and as soon as we left the port, the captain really took off, covering everybody with salt spray as we “skipped” across the waves for the 30 minutes trip to the island. We arrived, bruised and wet, but not as badly off as another boatload who arrived after us, drenching wet, and looking quite uncomfortable.

Our boat and captain for 12 passengers

Leaving Sorrento

Heading towards Capri before both hands are required to hold on

Travel around Capri island is essentially by small buses (€25 each) to 3 main destinations: Porto Marina Grande, Ana Capri, which is on the top of the island and the oldest settlement, and the town of Capri itself, which is the tourist Mecca and much more expensive than anywhere else. The island apparently receives about 20,000 tourists per day, which seems incredible until you land on the island and see tourists everywhere. The entire economy is based on tourism.

We headed straight up to Anna Capri with our quasi guide Giovani, who was quite a character, and he did everything he could to discourage us from spending any time in Capri itself. After a short tour of the town, including the Chiesa Monumentale Di San Michele (a small rather than monumental church) dating from the 1700s, which had a unique painted tile floor depicting the Earthly Paradise and the expulsion of Adam and Eve.

By now we needed a snack, and chose restaurant Sciue’ Sciue’ for lunch. Because we were not very hungry we decided to order only two meals which we would share. Carol and John ordered a really nice pasta dish with eggplant. Unfortunately, we drew the short straw, and ordered what appeared to be a nice dish of cheese and spinach ravioli with a lemon sauce. What arrived were five lonely dumpling-looking ravioli, swimming in an oily sauce with some Parmesan cheese – it looked like a small entree. At €16, it cost more than three euros per small ravioli! To top it off, it was served in a huge platter. I don’t know how they could serve this and call it a main course - a small momento of Capri. As we left to explore the rest of Anna Capri, Tom and I chanced upon a street vendor selling huge arancini ball for €4.5 - we bought one and devoured it immediately.

We then walked along the narrow winding past past past Villa San Michele to arrive at spectacular views to the north across to Napoli and Sorrento, and east along the island looking over Porto Marina Grande where where arrived on the Island. Our boat was due to leave at 3pm, so we caught a bus back down the narrow winding road, through the town of Capri and back to the port.

Approaching Capri

Arriving at Porto Marina Grande, and some of the large vessels who provide daily tours.

Giovanni explaining the second most important thing, “STAY OUT OF CAPRI”

Happy tourists in Ana Capri outside “La Casa Rosa”

Chiesa Monumentale di San Michele

Church altar

Church interior with painted tile floor

The painted tile floor

Frances enjoying a fresh lemon and orange slushie at

The view across Porto Marina Majore from Villa San Michele

Ahhh, a selfie

Crowded mini bus driving down the narrow streets

Tourists at the port

More tourists at the port

Port scene

Part of the public beach and hotel closed for the season in the background

An absolutely ancient olive tree

A view of the port architecture

On board our small boat again after our "Isle of Capri experience", we headed out from the port onto the choppy water around the coastline of Capri where we bounced past the, quote: “Marvellous Grotto, the White Grotto, the Green Grotto and the Blue Grotto; along the way you will admire the Natural Arch, the Villa Curzio Malaparte, the Faraglioni Rocks and the Lighthouse of Punta Carena”.

The captain skilfully backed the boat into a couple of the grottos (going into the Blue Grotto is only by special very expensive tour arrangement) and paused for a swim where Frances was the only taker. They the broke out the drinks and snacks, which, after lunch and on a heaving boat, was a masterpiece of mis-timing.

From there we headed back to Sorrento, again bouncing over the waves, trying to keep the drinks and snacks within our stomachs. Tired, wet, battered and bruised, the happy travellers returned to their accommodation and rested for a couple of hours before setting out for dinner.

We chose a different restaurant for dinner, a short walk away, the Taverna dell’800. This was a more family style restaurant where the food of lasagna, grilled chicken and Cottelette Milanese (veal schnitzel) and house wine were passable, but not memorable.

Carole and John on the front deck

Frances and Ric relaxing on the front deck

Heading back out into open water around the island - hang on

The Green Grotto

The churning water around the base of the cliffs

Jagged rocks emerge from the sea

The Narural Arch

Coral Grotto

Frances swimming off the Isle of Capri

That was fun

Followed by some Prosecco

Heading back into Sorrento

Entry to Taverna dell’800

Video: Passing through the Natural Arch

Video: Edging close to the Coral Grotto

Day 18 - Wednesday 25 October - Sorrento, Italy

After a very busy day yesterday, visiting the isle of Capri, we decided to have an easy day. While Carol took care of some business online at home, John, Frances and I went for a walk around Sorrento. We walked in a loop towards the west and then up the hill behind the town. It was a good chance to just explore the local shops and suburbs away from the tourist areas. We first came across a photographic gallery featuring the work of Raphael Cerentaro. Some of his earlier work was quite good social documentary, but the exhibition also featured some pretty cheesy pic aimed at the tourist market. John & I loved the Shell petrol pump and vintage Alfa Romeo in the foyer.

As we climbed the hill and walked along Via delghi Aranchi (Orange Road) we came across part of the original wall protecting the town. When we climbed some stairs to the top, we surprisingly found a dog park-come-orange orchard. Citrus, oranges and especially lemons and Limoncello are major products here.

John and in in the streets of Sorrento

Inside the Raphael Cerentaro gallery

Part of the defensive wall around Sorrento

Steps to the top of the wall

Dog park and orange grove atop the wall

An absolutely ancient olive tree

We were how in Sorrento suburbia and found many more shops catering to the local population, including a bulk wine seller, selling wine from stainless steel vats - wines from € 2-3 per litre plus 70 cents for a returnable bottle. We bought a bottle of Fiano style white wine to have with dinner and walked on, passing the quaint small church of Santa Lucia. On our way back down to the main Piazza Tasso to meet Carol for lunch, we encountered the deep canyon, Vallone dei Mulini, which for centuries housed water mills at its base for generating power and washing clothes. We assumed there must have been some pulley system to raise and lower products and raw materials to the valley floor many metres below.

We sat down for lunch a what was now our regular eatery, Fauno Bar and Restaurant, for bruschetta, pizza, frito misto and salad. This restaurant ticked most of the boxes for convenience, price and atmosphere in the centre of Sorrento. In the afternoon, Frances and I went to the public beach of Bagno Sant’Anna for a swim

That night Frances and John went to a local delicatessen and bought a selection of hot and cold foods which we enjoyed back at our hotel room with the bottle of Fiano.

Tomorrow we head off to visit Pompeii.

Interior of the bulk wine store

Choose your wine style

We’ll have the Fiano

Church of Santa Lucia

Statue above the altar in Santa Lucia

Vallone dei Mulini - Valley of the mills

Enjoying lunch in Fauno Bar and Restaurant

Our home-prepared dinner from the local delicatessen

The Fiano wine was pretty good.

Day 19 - Thursday 26 October - Sorrento, Italy

Today, we took a booked tour to Pompeii, about a one hour, train ride from Sorrento. Even though the tourist season is winding up, the train was still full of passengers, and there were quite a lot of people within Pompeii itself. Our guide, Laura, was excellent, giving clear and precise information in good English about the history of the former city, its people and culture.

My impression of Pompei varied considerably from the first time I visited in 1976, with much more of the site now open for inspection. I think we were very privileged to be able to enter the large home of a wealthy citizen which has been named "La Casa delle Nozze d'Argento" (The House of the Silver Wedding) which had only been opened to the public two months earlier. Although the amount of surviving decoration was not as much as some other places, it really did give a good impression of what it felt like to live there over 2000 years ago.

Our guide, Laura

Part of the streets of Pompeii with the large blocks for stepping across

Stepping stones in the streets of Pompeii

A scene in the main Square of Pompeii, also showing some of the tourists

More scenes in Pompeii

Absolutely surprising to some see some of these structures still standing

A plaster cast of one of the people trapped

Another plaster cast of someone, squatting, and trying to cover their nose, with some surviving frescoes behind

Laura, explaining some of the aspects of the many shops which existed in Pompeii

Mosaic of a dog at the entrance of a house with the warning “beware of the dog“

Entrance foyer to the newly opened house of a wealthy family

Column inside the house, showing some of the painted decoration.

A 2000-year-old tap to turn the water on and off in the house. People at the time made copious use of lead for all sorts of functions, which also reduced their life spans.

Internal garden of the house

Some details of frescoes within the house.

More fresco details

Manual, flourgrinding mill in a bakery - the upper section is turned, while wheat is feeding at the top and the ground flour cascades out at the middle

The bakery oven, not so different to pizza ovens in the region today.

Part of the thermal baths and sauna, heated by wood

A modern bronze statue at the entrance/exit of the city of Pompeii

Ah, lunch again - pizza and beer

We didn’t see everything, but the two hour tour was quite comprehensive, and so we headed back to Sorrento to meet up with John and Carol in the evening. Later in the afternoon, Frances opted for a swim at Leonelli Beach, a private swimming area accessible by elevator from high above the water and then via a seaside restaurant premises, €5 for the pleasure.

That night we selected a restaurant in the west part of town where are there are fewer tourists, and ate at la Fenice restaurant. The meals were quite good, except this night Frances drew the short straw and her pasta with swordfish seem to lack any swordfish at all. We indulged in gelatos on the walk back to the hotel.

Perte’s Beach (the restaurant name) where Frances went swimming

Looking up at Sorrento hotels from the port below

Ristaurante La Fenice

Enjoying a potent Limoncello after dinner

Day 20 - Friday 27 October - Sorrento, Italy

We were all pretty exhausted from the previous days, excursion to Pompeii, so Frances and I decided to spend some time relaxing in Sorrento, although Carol and John took bus a tour of the Amalfi Coast. We had a pretty easy morning, just catching up on news from Australia, and had a simple lunch of bread rolls with cheese and tomatoes.

I had offered to make another risotto meal for the four of us, to finish off the packet of risotto, so Frances and I went food shopping, which was also another excuse to explore parts of Sorrento we hadn’t seen before. We discovered that there was a large Carrefour supermarket, not very far from our hotel which would have save us a lot of walking had we known about it. This time I was going to make a risotto, Milanese style, with Italian sausages, mushrooms and peas. We also bought a bottle of Prosecco and a red wine from Montepulciano.

The dinner went well, risotto accompanied by a fresh lettuce and tomato salad and two bottles of wine. Considerably cheaper than eating out, and much more relaxed. We all agreed that we were becoming bored of the pretty standard menu available in the Italian restaurants and needed a change.

View South from our hotel room in Sorrento Inn Funzionista

Courtyard from our hotel room in Sorrento Inn Funzionista

View of Sorrento hotels from the port

An interestingly painted motor scooter. This type of scooter has almost disappeared, the more modern type of scooter is more common in Italy now.

Ric's home-made risotto Milanese - with sausage, mushrooms and peas.

Frances’ salad

Day 21 - Saturday 28 October - Italy

Today we left Italy for Portugal. After booking out of hotel Funzionista, we caught a shuttle bus to from Sorrento railway station to Napoli airport. It took us around the the beautiful but narrow winding coast road for most of the way through towns we had passed earlier on our rail trip to Pompeii. I found it incredible that the main road was so narrow, heavily trafficked and, because it was Saturday, cyclists and joggers were also using the same road - much to the annoyance of the bus driver. It was not unlike the drive from Stanwell Tops to Bulli along our own coast road. Nevertheless it was nice to see more of the local Italian scenery and culture.

Booking in at Napoli Airport with Tap Portugal airlines was the usual affair, some bits easy, some bits not, dragging our suitcases around the airport and trying to find seating, etc. Frances and I shared a croissant as we expected lunch on the plane. The plane left almost half an hour late at 1:30pm for the 3 hour 20 minute flight to Lisbon and there was no food service, just overpriced snacks available.