Naples and around

A trip without our respective boyfriends, with a friend, to spend a couple of days together and see again a much-loved region: Campania. 16 August: an early start. A16 motorway. Cruising speed around 100 km/h and in about three hours, with a few "physiological" stops, we enter the city. Naples is beautiful, sunny and busy with traffic too. We take in a panoramic tour of the most important and evocative places: Posillipo, Santa Lucia, Marechiaro, Castel dell'Ovo, the legendary Piazza del Plebiscito and the royal residence. We stay in the city until evening, just in time to eat a typical Neapolitan pizza, thicker than the one made in Bari and with a special feature: folded in four it doesn't "collapse", as the helpful waiter of the restaurant we chose in the very centre explains to us.

After dinner, a stroll between the square and the Galleria Umberto I with its shops and cafés (the ice creams and typical pastries are good). Plenty of tourists, lots of "natives" too, even though we are in the middle of August. We move towards Pozzuoli, where our hotel is. 17 August: at full speed to the port of Pozzuoli to catch a ferry to Amalfi. We reach the splendid little town by sea, but not before admiring the Amalfi Coast and its beauties from the ferry. Lunch is also eaten on board and is very tasty, though not very Neapolitan: pasta alla Norma! We arrive in Amalfi and are soon captivated by the town's little alleys, by the wonderful cathedral of Sant'Andrea with its huge flight of steps and also by the various little shops that mostly sell the legendary limoncello. We return in the evening, still on the same ferry, tired but satisfied. 18 August: the last day.

With our little suitcases we head once again to the port. This time we are going to Ischia! The ferry crossing is calm; the arrival is not. The port is packed with cars, thank goodness ours is in Pozzuoli! The traffic is like rush hour on any day in March!!!! We hop on a bus like cattle, crammed at every point. We land at Forio. A tour of the shops as usual and a rush for the changing cabins (no mobile signal!!!) to let our boyfriends know we will be back in the evening. A visit to the enchanting botanical garden with the customary photos amid the greenery and finally an excellent spaghetti with clams, fried fish and lemon sorbet in a local restaurant. After lunch we sadly head for the ferry. The return crossing also finds us squeezed in with a sea of tourists, but the view is priceless. We reach Ischia in the late afternoon to set off again towards Bari. By 10 pm we are home.