Day 5!

Today we caught a Rome city bus to the train station in the middle of the city to meet our third tour guide of the trip, Valeria.  We hopped on to a high-speed rail that took us 150 miles in a little under one hour.  Awesome!

We arrived in Naples and immediately had the sense that it wasn’t quite as clean-cut a city as Rome, but were able to secure our overnight rooms at a nice hotel near the train station.   We then made our way by city bus to Naples’ botanical garden which adjoin a university.  This area made us feel better about our new surroundings.  The gardens were beautiful and featured different collections of ferns, palms, succulents, and exotic trees from around the world.  One of our favorite experiences involved the inclusion of literature into the garden.  This was displayed by a group acting out Peter Pan for school children amongst the ferns.

Next, we headed to the historic restaurant district to stop in at Brandi’s Pizzeria (recommended by our new guide and friend).  There, they serve the best pizza we’d ever had.  No joke.  It was melt-in-your-mouth goodness, and we complimented the chief by downing every last piece and having a picture made with him!

Following lunch, we took a short walk down to the sea for views of Mt. Vesuvius and the Isle of Capri.  We toured a bayside park that has served as a sort of outdoor museum for as little more than 200 years.  It included statues, fountains, and even an open air music hall.

After our short stroll through the park, we bought tickets to ride a railway tram to the top of the mountain that overlooks the city.  At the top, we ascended the fortress that once defended Naples.  The views from atop the fortress were absolutely breathtaking!  We spent nearly an hour snapping pictures from different angles and just staring off over the entire city, bay, and beyond.

We concluded our action packed day with nothing other than a trip to one of the finest chocolatier shops in Italy, Gay-Odin.  Like the pizza, it was literally the best we’ve ever had!  And, back at the hotel we decided that we missed good ole’ American food too much, so we headed across the street to Mackey D’s for some much needed burgers and fries.