Naples, Italy

We have been to Naples before and our attempts to navigate the chaotic metro to get to Pompeii was enough to deter us from trying it again. Menacing dark clouds reinforced the idea of grabbing a taxi, so we tried to find some likeminded tourists. Nearly signed two up, but they wandered off to town instead.

Taxi driver Sasha born in Napoli but of Spanish descent, found us and talked us into taking us to Herculaneum and a tour of Napoli. His driving was pure Italiano but we were quick with the seatbelts and did survive the day.

Herculaneum was about a twenty minutes drive from the port and is smaller town which suffered the same fate as Pompeii but many of the buildings are still intact and much better condition. It is fascinating and impressive to see entire villas with walls and roofs to appreciate the grandness and spaciousness. The tavernas (take away joints) with their marble tops and large embedded cooking pots feed numerous people and they even had seating areas. The thermal baths with large changing rooms with seating and shelving. We walked on mosaic tiled floors that were laid over 2,000 years ago.

The town was situated on the coast at the time of the eruption but is now about 500 metres from the sea. A large number of skeletons have been unearthed that belonged to citizens fleeing to the sea but were overwhelmed by the eruption. Two thirds of the way round we were caught in a twenty minute downpour and made use of the silly plastic ponchos we have carried for the last seven weeks. It gave us an opportunity to see the torrents run down the sloped streets.

Following a two and half hour visit, our driver took us to the main duomo cathedral. Very impressive, aren’t they all. Then a tour of the old city, where the poor live he told us. Then the new city, where the rich live and shop. Big contrast.

Being driven around Napoli is an experience in itself. No such thing as driving in a straight line. A missed gap is a missed opportunity. Bouncing all around the place on very rough cobbled roads, lots of swerving, acceleration and breaking with no shortage of tooting.