Napoli and the Campania Region

Our 3rd stop on our journey through Italy brought us to the capital of the Campania region, Naples, which apparently is not a twin city with Naples, Florida.

The 4 hour train ride from Florence was very pleasant, taking us a few hundred miles across the Italian countryside. As we neared Naples, we had amazing views of Mt. Vesuvius in the distance, as its just about 6 miles outside of the city. Fun fact - The last time the volcano erupted was back in 1944!

Arriving to the Napoli train station brought us into a really not great area, which unfortunately was exactly where our flat was located. Hey, at least it was cheap! Take my advice and spend the extra money and stay closer to the water, it's much more pleasant. That is to say, it's not that our time in Naples wasn't enjoyable, it was, but being closer to the action would have been much preferable. We had some okay pizza on the waterfront where we had a nice view of the Mediterranean, the city, and the Ovo Castle. The buildings were lit up and music guided you through the streets. We took a small stroll through the city before heading back to our apartment for an exciting two days in the area.

The next morning we got up early and picked up a rental car. It's the only city I think you really need one as a lot of the tourist things are quite a ways away. Since they drive on the right, I was very excited to get an opportunity to drive so we hopped in our little SUV and headed to Pompeii. About 30 minutes outside the city, the Archaeological Park of Pompeii, is the city preserved in volcanic ash from the eruption of Mt Vesuvius in 79 AD, known throughout the world. Frozen at the moment it was buried, this UNESCO World Heritage Site attracts over 2.5 million visitors every year, each looking for a brief snapshot into early Roman life. I didn't expect Pompeii to be quite so large, it covering a vast 170 acres which is roughly 128 football fields, and has all the modern buildings you'd expect in a town.

From markets, theatres, inns, pubs and restaurants, Pompeii has it all! The streets are very well preserved and you can even still see the tracks carts and chariots bore into the cobblestone from years of continued use. Painted frescos and brilliant marble are displayed for the masses in every direction, in shops and houses of both commoners and those of nobility. At the time of it's demise, Pompeii had an estimated population of around 20,000 however only around 1200 bodies have been recovered, leading archeologists to believe most of the citizens were able to flee the devastation.

Gorgeous view where I gave up driving!

It was quite early when we were done touring Pompeii so Greg and I hatched a new plan to visit the Amalfi coast, and take a boat out to Capri the next day so we jumped in the car and headed in to the mountains! I don't know when in my life I became so concerned with self preservation (maybe that just happens as you get old *cries*), but I was so absolutely terrified driving to Amalfi that I pulled over about halfway through, made Greg drive, and basically just stared between my legs for the duration of the trip. It was so incredibly steep and curvy and people were flying around us. I just couldn't handle it.

So some background on me. Back in high school, I would get off the bus, come home to find my dad watching Food Network. Emeril Lagasse would be on, then Rachel Ray, Ina Garten and of course Giada De Laurentiis.

We'd spend everyday watching and learning. I was always so taken watching Giada speak so lovingly about the beauty and allure of the Amalfi coast and it's lemony cuisine that I vowed back then that if I were ever in Italy, that is where I'd go. Who would have thought, almost 15 years later, that dream would become reality. We really are fortunate.

We arrived just as the sun was going down and were able to catch an amazing sunset over the water. We headed into town and had a delicious dinner in front of the Fontana di Sant'Andrea and the steps up to the Duomo di Amalfi. As day turned to night, church bells rang through the square and the city began to light up in every color of the rainbow. Being New Years Eve, we didn't want to stay too late so we headed home after dinner, of course grabbing a bottle of Limoncello to ring in the new year when we got home.

Our apartment in Naples had a rooftop terrace that was just perfect for watching the fireworks. Never in my life have I seen something so crazy. Fireworks lit up the sky for a solid twenty minutes straight, coming from every direction. The smoke was so thick at the end of it, you truly couldn't even see the streets below. The video below is what I shot starting at midnight until they were pretty much over. Naples really knows how to put on a show!

The next morning, still smelling the sulfur in the air, we headed to the seaport to take a ferry to Capri. After a nice 1 hour boat ride, we made it to one of the most beautiful places I'd seen yet. I had bought some nice leather boots in Florence which I unfortunately wore not knowing we'd have a 1 mile uphill hike to the town center. Let me tell you, I was DRIPPING with sweat by the time we made it to the top. My dogs were certainly barking. New Year's Day was definitely not a good day to visit Capri. Nothing was open with the exception of just a few tourist restaurants in the center of town. We did make the most of it, walking to the northern side of the island to see one of the most beautiful sunsets I've ever seen from Belvedere di Punta Cannone, a hilltop viewpoint on a scenic walkway. It was absolutely breathtaking looking out over the Villa Hügel, Gardens of Agustus and Marina Piccolo. The next day we bid farewell to Naples and took the train back to Rome to see Vatican City before our flight out, those photo's will be on our gallery page or you can check it out here!

If you liked this post, make sure to like and subscribe to keep up with us and all of our adventures and if you want to see all our photos from Naples and Capri, click on any of the images below or take a look at our galley page! Thanks for reading, see you next time!