A 6-day trip to Italy may be quite tiring but can also be vivifying.Last week, we left the cold, sun-less capital of Europe to arrive in busy, noisy but sunny and bubbly Naples.
I've always loved Italy particularly its southern coast. Its mix of sophistication and crudeness never ceases to amaze me. The Italian language can be pleasant to the ear but can also be disagreeable when spoken in a deafening fashion.
This is our 10th, possibly 11th trip to Italy. But this time around, we toured the Naples region, ate Napolitani cuisine in abundance, took in the sights tirelessly and re-lived a civilisation that's both enthralling and surprising as we climbed amazing Mt Vesuvius, walked the beaten paths of historical Pompeii and lazed around in gorgeous Sorrento.
Naples had a lot of roadworks so it was dusty and noisy. But that didn't bother us. What I couldn't get over was the sight of clothes hanging out to dry in balconies! With grime proliferating in the air, I was wondering how those clothes could be kept clean. But that's how it's done down south and the more south you go, the more they live outdoors.
It's well and good to sunbathe in the hilltops to view the magnificent Naples Bay with Mt Vesuvius in the background but a tour of Naples wouldn't be complete without a visit to the Old Naples. The narrow streets -- where the sun virtually never shines -- in Old Naples are unkempt and cluttered but they are part of the Napoli charm. I woudn't have missed them for the world.
Of course, one cannot go anywhere in Italy without doing a bit of shopping for bags, shoes and some pieces of jewelry. We left for the tour with little baggage but came home with an armful of great Italian craft. We arrived back home tired but really pleased!
(1) View of the Naples Bay with Mt Vesuvius in the background
(2) Start of visit of the old city of Pompeii
(3, 4, 5, 6) Vestiges of a buried city
(7) Plaster cast of a Pompeiian that was buried under the rubbles in the aftermath of the eruption of Mt Vesuvius in 79AD
(8, 9, 10, 11, 12) Vestiges of the city of Pompeii
(13) Francesco, our lovely Napolitan guide and driver
(14) These are called "ears", a Napolitan pasta delicacy
(15) Climbing Mt Vesuvius
(16) View of the bottom of Mt Vesuvius halfway to the top
(17, 18, 19) The famous crater and its signboard pointing to the view of Pompeii with a religious picture on the side of a lava wall
(20, 21, 22) Naples Bay and a horde of locks, a tradition for lovers to hang a lock by the rail and the key thrown into the sea to symbolise eternal love
(23) Port of Naples with a beautiful yacht in the foreground
(24) By the port
(25) Viaduct on the way to Sorrento
(26, 27) I've always wanted to own a cincocento, the famous Italian miniature car and what do you know? We arrived in Sorrento during the town's cincocento rally featuring so many colourful Italian minis!
(28) View of the bay of Sorrento
(29) A Roman garden hidden in a walled Sorrento home
(30) Ah, one of the local desserts, a lemon curd, very fine tasty Sorrento specials
(31) Pittoresque Sorrento ceiling, waling on high street and an Italian wedding
(32, 33) Leaving Naples; view of the surrounding Napolitan region from the air!
0 comments:
Post a Comment