Getting there
We flew from Toronto to Istanbul on Turkish Airlines. We were in the older business class seats, sitting next to each other. The bench seats are further to reach unless you are six foot. The food was amazing, salmon on the main flight and smoked salmon and Turkish ravioli on the flight to Naples with Baklova after. We had a tail wind so the flight was shorter with time for dinner and then a snooze.
Istanbul airport is huge – we walked a long way to get to the transit gate for the international flights and then practically the same distance back to the gate to Naples. The lounge is amazing with a piano at the entrance and lots of seating areas. We did see some people getting chair massages.
Naples
Our transport wasn’t at the airport so we had to phone the hotel and wait for the shuttle bus. The side roads are steep and cramped so we had to drag our suitcases over cobblestones to reach the hotel. Hotel Albergo Palazzo Decumani is lovely with high ceilings and a great bar area with lots of cushions. It’s also a close walk up to the pedestrian street with all the tourist shops, including jewelry, leather and places to eat.
The museum was fascinating with a reconstructed model of Pompeii and exhibition of murals, art and everyday kitchen bowls. The frescos were painted onto the wall with a frame painted around them. There is also some wonderful coloured mosaics in another area of the museum, including an adults only section!
We saw a women lower a basket from her balcony to the street for a bread delivery and then lower the basket again with the payment. We stopped at Monastery of Santa Chiara with an assortment of frescos. The church was dark and the frescoes had darkened with age, but they were still fascinating.
Sorrento
We were driven from Naples to Sorrento watching the stunning scenery unfold, especially the sea views and looking at Mount Vesevius. We arrived at the Sorrento Flower Rooms accommodation and would call it basic. It worked for our stay, but we would have preferred a bit more upmarket. We had drinks at the rooftop bar of the nearby hotel and loved the view and ambiance. Our first meal was at Blu Restaurante with Calamari and French pasta. We found a great bottle of red wine and knew we were fine for our alcohol choices.
Other nights we ate at Brassilica and Ristorante Museo Caruso – great pasta and free lemoncello.
We like doing food walking tours to familiarize ourself in the environs and cuisine. We started with mozzarella and procscutio on focaccia bread and everything was so fresh it was delicious. Within the tourist laneways we tasted some cheese, salami and local beer as well as melt in your mouth chocolate. There was a sit down meal witt tomato and mozzarella salad, Gnocchi Sorentina and local wine. Then directions to where to get the best gelato, which is not meant to be scooped up but by using a paddle. A highlight was the tasting of lemoncellos and walking through the lemon and lime trees before the tasting.
We finished our tour looking over the harbour with a little stone enclosed area for bathing. This view gave us the incentive to walk down (and then back up) to the harbour. It was interesting to seeing the locals walking back home with just the food they needed for the meals that day. The harbour is scenic and there are several restaurants that we wanted to try, but we were too full from the food tour. We were so impressed with the food tour that we went back to several of the places during our stay.
Our highlight restaurant was L’Antica Trattoria where the food was amazing. One of their signature dishes is ricotta-stuffed fried zucchini flowers. We wended our way through several rooms in the mansion to our table. There were antiques and paintings everywhere and an ornate dinner service. We had a complimentary starter of pastry with a ricotta stuffung then the zucchini flowers which were delicious. The desserts were amazing, we each chose our own and then we were given a complimentary plate with several more to choose from.
Amalfi Coast
Our driver the next day took us around the narrow windy streets of the Amalfi coast. We had a perfect sunny day, though the wind picked up later in the day. The driver used Google translate when he needed to talk to us, especially to point out great views. The views were better on the way back with the sun setting on the sea and hills and with blue shadows into the distance.
We saw the olive trees with nets underneath to catch the olives. Before each village the narrow road was lined with worker cars who park far away and then walk to work. The road gets full, especially with the buses. We saw an accident between a bus and a motorcycle with the motorcycle passengers the worse off.
Positano
We stopped in Positano for a walk down the narrow road, lined on each site with tourist shops stocked with ceramics painted with lemons, custom made leather goods and pastel clothes. At the seaside there was the Church of Santa Maria Assunta with some old paintings and an ornate altar. We didn’t go down to the beach as it would have meant more steps to climb back up. We drove on through Amalfi and saw the crowds on the beach and decided to have lunch in Ravello.
Ravello
There is a lovely large plaza in Ravello, teeming with people. There were a few restaurants with tables outside in the square, but we had a recommendation for a restaurant up the hill at Mimi Ristorante Pizzeria. The food and wine was excellent with some Gnocchi and Calzones. We tried to climb the narrow pathway to the Villa Cimbrone, but it was closed. The views were worth the climb. The Campania area is a great producer of olives, lemons and chestnuts and these were again shown in the souvenirs. There were boats on the sea, but not as much as this was near the end of the season and that day the seas were rough so it was good that we decided not to go to Capri.
Herculaneum
On the way back to Naples our driver stopped at Herculaneum for a tour of the ruins. It was brutally hot, but interesting nevertheless. We’re glad we chose Herculaneum over Pompeii as it is more walkable over a few hours and some of the colourful frescoes are still in place. There are several houses on each street as well as some wine shops. All the homes are set out like ancient Roman dwellings. Most of the frescos and everyday living items are in the museum in Naples.
Everything leads down to the sea where there are still skeletons of the people that were waiting for boats to return to take them to safety. There is a exhibit of one of these boats to look at, it still has some charred wooden doors and beams. Herculaneum was destroyed mainly by lava, whereas Pompeii was with ash deposits. There are extensive excavations with more being planned, especially a market. However, the old town is under the existing town so further excavations will take more time.
