Edward Hendriks
After the adventures of Friday evening at Nennella and then into the late hours at the Kinky Klub (no, no leather and chains, just a disco) there was also something on the program on Saturday and Sunday. In my last full weekend in Naples I wanted to see at least Pompeii and Vesuvius.
On Sunday I was going to climb Vesuvius with classmates. I had the Saturday to view the excavations of ancient Pompeii. With a bit of a heavy head from the night before, I jumped in the morning in the Circumvesuviana, the train from Naples to Sorrento that stops at Pompeii station on the way.
Pompeii
The area of the excavations (Pompeii Excavations) is really huge. You really feel like you are walking in a city, complete with streets and houses, squares and theaters. There are just no shops open, no billboards, cars or scooters and there are only tourists walking around. A great place to relax from all the hustle and bustle in Naples. With a booklet and a map I leisurely walked through this ancient world.
After half a day you still have not seen everything, but there is a good chance that your feet have seen it. Especially because the streets in Pompeii are also 2.000 years old and you have to watch where you walk. In the evening I was exhausted and since I had to go up Vesuvius the next day, I went to bed early.
With the Circumvesuviana to Vesuvius
Early the next morning I was again in the Circumvesuviana with my classmates Eriko and Lindsey. This time the stop was Herculaneum – where, by the way, you can also find ancient excavations – from where we took a van to a parking lot on Vesuvius. You have to cover the last, steep part on foot. It was cold and windy and with each step it got colder and windier.
On top of Vesuvius we first took a cappuccino to warm up a bit. After taking the necessary pictures of the cold, inactive volcano (not nearly as spectacular as Mount Etna!) we quickly went down again to warm up in the van.
Back in Herculaneum (Herculaneum) we continued our train journey to Sorrento for a pinch of Amalfi Coast. Sorrento, which almost succumbs to tourists in summer, was now clean, quiet and intimate. A sharp contrast to the overwhelming presence of Naples.
In a restaurant we ate a delicious lasagna and drank a glass of wine. Then walked along the coast and got on the obligatory tourist train for a tour along the hotspots from Sorrento.
A delicious ice cream from Primavera Antonio Carfiero (according to the Lonely Planet 'the best ice cream you'll ever have') made the day complete. Tired but satisfied, we boarded the train that would take us back to Naples.
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