Lovesacoak's Blog

This Boat is Going in that Hole!?!?

Hey Ya’ll so this blog is a little late, but better late than never right??

Naples… yeah um?

What I can say about Naples, our port of call, is that it has phenomenal pizza. As the birthplace of the Margherita pizza, the Napoleons have had time to perfect their dish…and perfected it they have. The pizza, with its sides reaching over the already massive plate, is a wide as Santa’s belly and as cheap as bottled water in a posh restaurant. I don’t think I’ll ever forget the wonderful taste of Napoleon pizza. What can a visit to Naples be without a trip to Pompeii? Pompeii wasn’t quite how I had envisioned it; first, the site was HUGE, and I mean HUGE. On our tour we only made in through a quarter of the site. Secondly, there weren’t people covered in ash everywhere, there were about 5 or 6 and a dog (sad face). Finally, it was incredibly hot! If you ever tour Pompeii, going in the early morning or late late afternoon would probably be best. I did learn some fun facts about Pompeii from our tour guide. For example, the symbol of good luck, longevity, and fertility is the male genitalia. Pompeii made that plenty clear as our guide proceeded to show us how they incorporated sculpted you-know-whats with wings into parts of the architecture of buildings and on roads. In fact, one in particular even pointed the way to the brothel of the city. In said brothel, a patron could simply choose a position from the vivid paintings on the wall, kind of like the menu of a fast food joint I suppose.

The next day my friend and I planned on heading out to Capri, known for its extraordinary Blue Grotto. However, when we got to the ticket offices there was crazy havoc, apparently everyone and their mother wanted to get to Capri. After trying our luck by standing in a huge blob (an Italian form of a line) we decided to venture to another shore city, Sorrento, which was about a 30 minute ferry ride away. Once we got there the only thing on our mind was … BEACH! And beaches there were, but very unlike the ones we have in CA. There are privately owned piers that enclose a little pool-like piece of the sea to swim in and one has to rent deck chairs or beds to gain access to the water. The coolest thing about these beaches though is that the old school striped changing rooms were everywhere!

After swimming for a while and watching the random display of fireworks (on the 4^th of July…in Italy?) we decided to look for a place to stay for the night… That was an adventure in itself, apparently there was a convention in town that weekend and all the hotels were booked up. We finally got lucky with one on the far end of the main drag. After freshening up, we hit the town. Night time is when the city really came to life because as we were walking policemen were blocking off one end of the main road since there was just so much foot traffic. It was great to be able to just walk around from shop to shop checking out the local goods for a night.

After a fun night in with a couple of friends that had decided to go with us, my friend, Tiffany and I finally made our way to the island of Capri. When we got off the boat, there was a moment of this is it? But after being approached by a few boat tours we thought maybe this place has more to offer from the sea. It was the best idea ever! Our first stop was the famed Blue Grotto, known for its amazing blue water that has a fluorescent effect from the reflection of the sun. The only way to get into the grotto is by a little 4 person row boat. Not only are you in a tiny row boat, you have to lie down in the body of the boat! Little did I know that the reason we had to lay down was because the opening of the grotto is only a meter high (hence the name of the blog) and combined with high tides it may not even be accessible on some days. Timing was key, and it HAD to be just right, I didn’t wanna die. However, despite the real danger of being smashed head first into the rocks (no worries, the boatmen were really good at their jobs), the risk is worth the amazing sight that is held within. The look of the water is indescribable, the glow… just astonishing. If you’ve ever seen a postcard from the Blue Grotto, it’s exactly that, no Photoshop or anything, it really looks artificial. The short trip inside was even more memorable with other boatmen singing in Italian, a little Venice-esque. It was kind of a shame that we started with the Blue Grotto because even though the trip around the island held gorgeous views of greenery and cliff sides—sites comparable to the planet Pandora in Avatar, the magnificence of the Blue Grotto was/is unparalleled.

I don’t have much about the actual city of Naples but other beach cities like Sorrento are a nice get away from the construction and trash that littered the streets. Islands like Capri or Ischia are a must see if you have the time. And the one thing I can say about Naples, the so-called origin of pizza, really does lives up to its claim.

1 Comment so far
Leave a comment