Italy's Amalfi Coast Day 3

Day 3: Vesuvius, Pompeii, and Praiano

After only roughly 20 hours in Ischia, we returned to Naples via the ferry to begin our trek to Praiano on the Amalfi Coast. We found out that Italians do not like to get up early.  The 7:30 ferry was empty, making it an infinitely more pleasant trip than yesterday’s. 

Our driver, Francesco, picked us up from the ferry dock and drove us to the Mt. Vesuvius for our first activity for the day. Mt Vesuvius is the 4,000 ft. active volcano that shadows both Pompeii and Naples,

putting nearly 3 million people at risk for another eruption.  The eruption that buried Pompeii occurred in 79 a.d., but there have been many other eruptions before and after.  The latest major eruption occurred in 1944, shortly after the Allies invaded Italy.  It was responsible for destroying more than 80 Allied aircraft that were stationed at a base in Pompeii.

Starting the hike early was a great idea since temps soared into the high 80s later in the morning and there was virtually no shade on the entire hike. The hike is on a beautiful path that extends from the parking area to the rim of the caldera, about 2.5 miles each way. Round trip was about 2 hours.  

On the trail we passed relatively fresh lava from the 1944 eruption

We also saw what we thought was a tiny hummingbird, but later discovered (thanks to Google ID) it was a hummingbird hawk mouth.

ter finishing the hike, Francesco brought us to Pompeii for lunch before we visited the Pompeii ruins. Lunch turned out to be another winery visit with wine tasting and a multi-course meal.  The winery, Bosco di Medici, had beautiful grounds which we got to tour via golf cart before lunch (with a private guide).  

The land was owned several centuries before by the powerful Medici family (thus the name). 

 The property consisted of vineyards, a riding stable with 150n horses),

a winery,

and a beautiful restaurant under a grape vine covered pergula.

The number of lunch wines was now growing to include a sparling white, rose, a still white, and 2 reds.  For lunch we had an appetizer (Jeri and I had smoked tuna, and Suzie and Rich had a caprese salad), followed by delicious pasta, and lemon baba for dessert.  And of course, the requisite limoncello. 

We had serious doubts we would stay awake for our visit to Pompeii.

Fortunately, the trip to the ruins from lunch was only 5 minutes, not enough time for any of us to fall into deep sleep. Here, we met our guide, who promised us a tour of Pompeii that would hit all the highlights without boring us.

In 79 a.d., Pompeii had a population of about 20,000 and was a very wealthy Roman city with a prosperous coliseum, 100s of merchants, and  large, splendid homes.  There had been a significant earthquake that had caused a lot of damage back 17 years before in 62 a.d., and when the eruption began most inhabitants fled the city. Over 1000 unlucky stragglers, though, were buried in up to 20 feet of ash and pumice that rained down over 2 days.

Because of the ash and pumice build up, the entire city is impeccably preserved.

The forum (city square) with beautifully tiled street,

Public baths with hollow walls and floors that warm air was pumped through(radiant heat)

A 40,000 sq. ft. home, Villa de Popaea,

A brothel

A variety of shops including a bakery

And a “fast food” restaurant (thermopolia) that had counters with warming stations to keep food hot (nothing worse than cold food at Golden Corral), serving stews and soups.

We stopped to cool off at the local water fountain before leaving the park.  Very refreshing when the temps were well into the 90s

Our guide was great, and though we only spent 2 hours in the park, we really felt as if we got the essentials without rushing.  We then had the better part of 2 hours in the car to nap (if Dave were here there would have been a picture of him out like a light, but alas, no Dave, and I promised everyone no pictures in compromising positions).

We finally got to our hotel about 6:30 and had a dinner reservation about 2 miles away (or a $60 round-trip taxi ride!) for 7.  We elected to cancel the reservation and instead, ate at the hotel which was fantastic. As it was, we just made our reservation.

Grilled Octopus

Eggplan Parmesan Stuffed Ravioli

Delizia al Limone (classic Amalfi lemon dessert)

Italy's Amalfi Coast Day 2

Day 2:  Arrival in Naples and a Day in Ischia

After an uneventful (finally) flight, we landed a day late in Naples and were driven immediately to the ferry terminal (about a 40 min drive) for our hydrofoil trip to the island of Ischia.

 Temperatures were in the 90s with a blazing sun and the A/C on the nearly packed ferry was not performing well.  By the time we reached Ischia, we were all sweltering and thrilled to be out in the fresh air. Our luggage was whisked away by one driver and we began a tour of the island with our guide, Victoria, in a traditional Ischial mode of transportation, the Ape (pronounced Ah-pay) car.  It is very similar to the tuk-tuks in Thailand. 

Ischia is the largest island in the Phelgren Archipelago in the Bay of Naples lying about 20 miles off the coast.  It is a volcanic island, thus extremely mountainous, but very densely populated.  The island is only 6 mi. by 4mi. but has a population of 60,000 people.  The rich volcanic soil and nearly 365 days of sunshine make it a perfect location for wine production which , along with tourism, is the main economic source for the island. Our drive from the northern end of the island to our hotel in the south took us  past beaches and beautiful views of the Bay of Naples.

We stopped for lunch at a family-owned winery up in the hills.  We had a wonderful lunch with all the ingredients fresh from the garden and more wine than we’d ever drunk at lunch. The setting was classic, a quiet table under an arbor of grape vines. 

Lunch consisted of antipasto with cheese (that I tried!), eggplant parmesan that was amazing, bruschesta, arancini, potato croquettes, and salad.

After lunch we toured the gardens and vineyards.

Rabbit is a delicacy here, and they are raised for eating.  Rather than above ground hutches that can get fatally hot for rabbits, they are raised in deep pits that stay cool all summer.  We are not planning any rabbit eating, though, on this trip.

We continued touring the island and made another stop at the Casa Museo.  This is the home of a local artist who has decorated his entire house in stone murals and stone covered fixtures, the most interesting of which was his bathroom.

There were also tunnels that ran from the house into the mountainside that were originally used by local people to hide from the ever present pirates that plundered the Amalfi Coast hundreds of years ago.  The house was fascinating but bizarre.

Our last stop was at the highest drivable point on the island to take in the view. From here we were able to see Sant’ Angelo, the village where our hotel is for tonight.

After a bit more driving, we reached our hotel, with only a few minutes to spare before we were met at reception by our captain for a sunset cruise.

Due to high winds on the western side of the island we opted to skip watching the sunset and instead, motor to the north end of the island to view the Castello Aragonese d’Ischia, the most famous landmark in Ischia (which we were supposed to have toured last night).

On the way there, our captain, much to Suzie’s chagrin, showed off his maritime skills by edging our boat into a tiny cave (without scraping the sides).

It was a very pleasant evening on the water, we split our first pizza here in Italy on the dock near our hotel, then off to bed, 4 exhausted old people!