Naples (Napoli), Italy - Day One (Travel Blog)

Hey everyone!!

Unfortunately I've been inactive the past week or so because my computer's been broken but I just got it fixed today and am excited to be back! So with that, I wanted to share my stories from the first day of my trip to Naples, Italy, with my boyfriend @schillaci (Andrew)!

A lovely (lol), but classic picture of us I took while walking the streets of Naples!

Hope you enjoy!

Andrew had been visiting me in my town of Uster, Switzerland, for the past week. We had decided that before his European party tour started (that he's on now, and having a lit time), we would go somewhere that he wasn't going to get to see on his tour. We had originally decided on Ibiza, Spain, but failed to book the flights in time to get good prices (beginner's mistake, I know). So, when that failed, we panicked for a good day or two until we found cheap flights and hotels in Naples, Italy! This was especially perfect because Andrew's relatives immigrated to America from the Sicily/Naples region of Italy, so he was excited to get to connect to his culture more. The trip was almost cut short because the day before we were supposed to leave, forest fires sprung up on Mt. Vesuvius (later said to be a result of arson). This wouldn't have been a HUGE problem (in other words, it wouldn't have affected more than just the towns immediately nearby), but the fires were approaching a landfill, which, if burned, could release toxic clouds into the air, posing a health threat for millions. Despite this, we assumed it would be OK (especially since firefighters and soldiers were actively attempting to quell the flames) and went. We weren't about to miss our trip.

We had two flights to get there, with a two-hour layover in between. The time passed quickly - I mainly read, Andrew mainly slept. When the plane began to land, I was able to see Vesuvius. I was immediately stunned by its size - for some reason I hadn't expected it to be so big (even though logically I knew that it would be). But seriously, it's HUGE.

This is a picture of Vesuvius taken from the plane upon landing...

And this is one taken from the taxi on the way to our hotel!

Once we were checked into the hotel, we went up to our room, enjoyed the air conditioning, and took a quick rest before we went out to get lunch. We were hungry enough that the break was only about 15 minutes.

So, we went down to the front desk and asked what the easiest way to get to food was. We took the Tube two stops to Municipio, then got off and started walking. As we walked, we happened upon a Galleria almost identical to the one in Milan. Here's a picture of it:

The galleria lies directly off the street, and is kind of like a roofed, outdoor mall in the US. We looked in and saw some shops that looked nice, but didn't really interest us. Plus we were starving, so we started speed-walking in a random direction in hopes of finding a restaurant.

And finally...SUCCESS!! Our strategy was to find a place that was cheap, with a lot of people outside it so that we knew it was good. We chose a restaurant called "Bar Da Rosa", about a block from the Naples harbour. Even though Andrew is 100% Italian, this would be his first true Italian meal, so I was excited (especially since it was only 6 Euros for a pizza and a drink). I ordered a calzone-type thing (which I failed to take a picture of, but was absolutely delicious), and Andrew ordered a classic margherita pizza. Me being the person I am, I insisted on taking pictures of Andrew's first bites of his first Italian meal so here they are:

To no great surprise, he loved it!!

After dinner, we decided to explore the city some. We saw what looked to be a turret down by the water, so we walked toward it and found Castel Nuovo Museo Civile. Though at this point I am quite experienced in my castle viewing and exploration (living in Europe for a year will do that to you), this is the first castle I have found that looks like the ones I used to draw as a little girl. It has 5 traditional-looking turrets with round walls, and the tops that go up and down in a sawtooth pattern. It also has a giant gorge around it where the moat was at some point in time. It's even complete with a bridge and huge, intricate castle doors.

This is a picture of the castle as you walk up to it from the front...

This is the intricate stonework that frames the door on the front of the castle...

The castle moat (now dry)...

And the back of the castle!

What was most incredible to me is that the castle stands a mere block outside of the modern city of Naples. The juxtaposition of this ancient castle against the modern city, with its cars, people, and stores, was absolutely amazing to me.

Here's a picture looking to my left standing on the bridge in front of the castle. You can see a crane and cars in the background.

After seeing that the castle wasn't open from touring (it was well past the closing time of 6 PM at this point), we decided to walk back into the city and attempt to find the ancient city center. Though we weren't exactly successful, we did see some cool things along the way:

A street near the heart of Naples...

Andrew standing in front of some street art that we though was awesome...

And a cool square we found with a statue of some guy who was probably a ruler or army general!

We stopped in the square to take a rest, get a couple of drinks, and have a snack before heading back to our hotel for the night.

All in all, it was a fantastic first day!!

STAY TUNED - A blog will be coming out each day for the next few summarizing the day's events, complete with pictures!

As always - feel free to leave me any comments/questions/suggestions, etc. and don't hold yourself back from hitting me up with an upvote, resteem, or follow!! ;) :D

Also check out Andrew's page (@schillaci)! He's a talented writer and businessman who's been putting out some pretty awesome content (and I don't just say that because I'm biased)!