Naples! 2 July 2012

The sunny Bay of Naples is one of Italy’s most beautiful sights, and the gateway to the South.  Naples was founded by Greeks from nearby Cumae, who saw the obvious value of a protected anchorage with almost unlimited capacity.  They called it ‘New City’ or Neapolis.

We chose today to do a tour of Pompeii and Amalfi Coastal Drive.  Our tour guide was Manuela and Nino, the driver.  Manuela was so entertaining and made us laugh all day! 

Stretching from Sorrento to Salerno, the Amalfi Coast is one of the most stunning coastal drives in the world.  The romantic town of Amalfi is situated at the mouth of a deep gorge.   Elegant shops and chic boutiques line Amalfi’s central piazza and cobbled streets.

We enjoyed the two hour drive (narrow, long and winding) along the Amalfi coast through Positano and took many, many photos.  We stopped at a ceramic factory and then the Amalfi piazza for shopping.  Manuela took us for a beautiful Tuscan lunch of pasta, chicken and dessert at a Best Western hotel with a magnificent view of the bay!  We bought some local limoncello liqueur!  We took the autostrata to Pompeii next.

Pompeii and the neighbouring town of Herculaneum were destroyed and buried by a volcanic eruption in 79 AD.  This catastrophe killed 2000 people, but it also preserved a unique look at their way of life.  Vesuvius managed to freeze an entire society at one instant of time, so that we are able to study the lives and customs of 2000 years ago.

Pompeii was a childhood fascination of David’s and he had read many books.  He was in awe, walking around the ruins and listening to Manuela’s detailed descriptions and stories about what we were seeing.  It was the most brilliant tour because she ‘brought it to life’ for us.

An end to a long, hot day – we sat around the pool, swam and enjoyed several cool beers!