Sept 4, 2019
We are in Naples. Land of cobbled and narrow streets, scooters everywhere, castles and delicious Italian food.
We all crashed and burned into our beds last night, truly exhausted from travel. I woke at 7:30 and felt great. Couldn't believe I slept through the night and effortlessly transitioned into a different time zone. I headed out about 9 am to grab my first Italian Caffe Latte as David and Avi were still sleeping. When I returned, the guys were still asleep! I read a while and David got up about 10:00. We realized that he had slept about 15 hours! Of course, he did not sleep a wink on the airplane or train and did not take a nap when we arrived, unlike Avi and me. We let Avi sleep a bit longer but by 11:30, he was awake and we were ready to explore. First stop was breakfast and coffee. I guess you could call it breakfast. It was actually typical Italian fare - sandwiches with mozzarella cheese and amazing tomatoes and pizza. Delicious. We then headed out to explore. Our first stop was the Piazza del Plebiscito, home to the neo-classical Royal Palace. All kinds of history here with statues to amaze. From there, we headed to the Galleria Umberto, the most amazing building with a glass ceiling. Right across the street, we went over and walked through the Castel Nuovo, a medieval fortress with five towers and a Renaissance triumphal arch. The castle was surrounded by an empty moat which definitely conjured up images of these ancient structures protecting themselves from intruders. The building of this amazing structure began in 1279. Avi's mind was pretty blown with the ancient structures all around us and the beauty of Italy. You do however have to endure the constant reek of pollution as the laws for car exhaust are nothing like the United States. And pedestrians definitely do not have the right of way! You have to run for your life to cross the street. After seeing Castel Nuovo, we headed to another Castle, the Ovo Castle. This castle allowed you to walk completely through it and it was quite an experience. This castle is the oldest standing fortification in Naples and was built in the 12th century. The views of the Gulf of Naples were incredible from the top. Now it was time to eat yet again and we found some lunch along the way. I actually had a Caesar salad which was so so rich. Avi chose not to eat and David had some weird spaghetti. We then headed back across town to do a tour of the Greek aqueduct that had originally supplied the city of Naples with water and later became an underground shelter for thousands of people during World War II. Our guide told us that it had saved the lives of 300,000 people. It was an interesting tour replete with going through very very narrow tunnels destined to give those with claustrophobia serious panic attacks. At the end of the tour, we were very close to our room and headed back to rest for a couple of hours. We then headed out for dinner walking to the Lungomare Caracciolo, a seaside promenade with beautiful night time views of Naples, complete with the moon. There was an enormous event going on called the Bufalo Fest with a food court that literally went on for as far as the eye could see and live music. We have no idea why the people of Naples want to celebrate the Buffalo but this was the main event of the festival. However, we enjoyed an delicious dinner once again. Do they have any bad food in Italy? We haven't found it. 26,000 steps later, my body feels used but it was an incredible first day here in Italy. Loved every minute of it.
We are in Naples. Land of cobbled and narrow streets, scooters everywhere, castles and delicious Italian food.
We all crashed and burned into our beds last night, truly exhausted from travel. I woke at 7:30 and felt great. Couldn't believe I slept through the night and effortlessly transitioned into a different time zone. I headed out about 9 am to grab my first Italian Caffe Latte as David and Avi were still sleeping. When I returned, the guys were still asleep! I read a while and David got up about 10:00. We realized that he had slept about 15 hours! Of course, he did not sleep a wink on the airplane or train and did not take a nap when we arrived, unlike Avi and me. We let Avi sleep a bit longer but by 11:30, he was awake and we were ready to explore. First stop was breakfast and coffee. I guess you could call it breakfast. It was actually typical Italian fare - sandwiches with mozzarella cheese and amazing tomatoes and pizza. Delicious. We then headed out to explore. Our first stop was the Piazza del Plebiscito, home to the neo-classical Royal Palace. All kinds of history here with statues to amaze. From there, we headed to the Galleria Umberto, the most amazing building with a glass ceiling. Right across the street, we went over and walked through the Castel Nuovo, a medieval fortress with five towers and a Renaissance triumphal arch. The castle was surrounded by an empty moat which definitely conjured up images of these ancient structures protecting themselves from intruders. The building of this amazing structure began in 1279. Avi's mind was pretty blown with the ancient structures all around us and the beauty of Italy. You do however have to endure the constant reek of pollution as the laws for car exhaust are nothing like the United States. And pedestrians definitely do not have the right of way! You have to run for your life to cross the street. After seeing Castel Nuovo, we headed to another Castle, the Ovo Castle. This castle allowed you to walk completely through it and it was quite an experience. This castle is the oldest standing fortification in Naples and was built in the 12th century. The views of the Gulf of Naples were incredible from the top. Now it was time to eat yet again and we found some lunch along the way. I actually had a Caesar salad which was so so rich. Avi chose not to eat and David had some weird spaghetti. We then headed back across town to do a tour of the Greek aqueduct that had originally supplied the city of Naples with water and later became an underground shelter for thousands of people during World War II. Our guide told us that it had saved the lives of 300,000 people. It was an interesting tour replete with going through very very narrow tunnels destined to give those with claustrophobia serious panic attacks. At the end of the tour, we were very close to our room and headed back to rest for a couple of hours. We then headed out for dinner walking to the Lungomare Caracciolo, a seaside promenade with beautiful night time views of Naples, complete with the moon. There was an enormous event going on called the Bufalo Fest with a food court that literally went on for as far as the eye could see and live music. We have no idea why the people of Naples want to celebrate the Buffalo but this was the main event of the festival. However, we enjoyed an delicious dinner once again. Do they have any bad food in Italy? We haven't found it. 26,000 steps later, my body feels used but it was an incredible first day here in Italy. Loved every minute of it.
Sounds like you're doing it right. Sorry for the rough travel to get there. It seems to be par for the course these days. We had so many years with mostly uneventful travel. Not so much anymore.
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