Amalfi Coast: The Road Not Driven

Everyone recommends tourists not attempt to drive the Amalfi Coast road. Rather, one should take a tour, a taxi, and simply get a 24 hour pass on the local bus from Sorrento to Salerno. We opted for the latter--ensuring I'd get to see some of it and Vicki would not have a heart attack--taking the train to Sorrento and then the Sorrento-Salerno bus. It was a hoot. The day began sunny but later turned cloudy and hazy. Not so good for photographs, but just fine for seeing in person. Plus we had a most memorable lunch in Amalfi.

One of the wilder parts of the coast, before

Positano

The islands here mark the end of the Bay of Naples and the

Bay of Salerno; they used to belong to Rudolf Nuryev

Our bus ride was interrupted, pleasantly, by a stop to let a

cycling competition pass

Another view up the coast toward Sorrento

Positano coming into view; the natural aspect of the coast,

when you can see it, is impressive enough; the human,

built aspect--the road, buildings, etc.--nearly overshadows

the natural

Positano, vertical city



One of the many ancient towers along the way, built

to warn of approaching Saracen pirates

Looking back toward Positano

Amalfi (some of it)

12th century church at Amalfi

One of our best lunches ever, at Il Tari in

Amalfi, the paccheri with veal, tomatoes,

onion, provola and pecorino cheese, basil,

etc. I may have to become a pasta fan

The beach at Amalfi; nothing to write home about



Statue of local hero, Flavio Gioia (no relation

to Dana), who improved the compass

Typical traffic encounter--and why I didn't drive

Italian Outtakes #1

No menu at the Azienda Agritouristico restaurant? No

problem: just look around to see what's for dinner

Someone's sculpture garden near Paestum, notable for its

eclecticity (220v), also demonstrating that such taste knows

no boundaries (we have seen similar in Spain, Switzerland,

Scotland, Sweden, and that's just the S's)

The very, very famous Winged Phallus of Paestrum (in the

museum and in sourvenir stores all over the Bay of Naples)

Campagna is home to Mozzarella di Bufala, "the pearl of the

Mediterranean," water buffalo cheese; it's really excellent,

hints of nut and smoke in addition to the usual flavors; we

are stocking up 

Statue of Tinkerbell in Naples' Royal Palace

Wedding cake at Gambrinus'--we swear we saw this very

cake decoration at Walmart in the States

Mindo di Gappo

So we're riding the train back from Naples to Pompeii, sitting

in the first car, and the conductor notices I am trying

mightily to get a decent picture of Capri out the window; he

tells me wait a bit, after the next stop or two, then motions

for me to step into the driver's compartment; then he and

the driver positively maneuver the train to a spot with an

unobstructed view and stop it there for me to get my shot

The Shot

They grow these really huge lemons around here

Camping Spartacus, our home for four days and nights; the

bungalows apparently rent by the hour, too, providing an

endless stream of entertainment...

Naples' Royal Palace

It's not one of the must-see destinations, but we had a free pass and were walking right by it, so we dropped in to the Royal Palace in Naples...home of the Kings of Naples over the last 200 years, until 1946 anyway. Although relatively new, by palatial standards--it's mostly 18th and 19th century--it was nevertheless strking in many ways.

Unimposing exterior of the palace



Along the exterior, one of the eight Kings of

Naples...can you name them all?

Grand entry and stairs, incredible rose marble

Theatre

Throne of the King of Naples

View of harbor and Vesuvius from palace

Italy's great blessing and curse...incredibly

great monuments like this, but operations and

maintenance costs that must be staggering

Great Hall

Reading machine; you can flip back and forth among seven

different texts

Hall after hall; the queen had three different

sitting rooms

Royal chapel...the largest we have seen anywhere except

El Escorial

Of course, being Spanish, they had to have world-class

nativity scenes

And, of course, at this point we had to stop by Gambrinus',

one of Naples' premier cafes, for a pastry and expresso

Pizza!

I had my last Greek meal at Paestum, sausage, stuffed grape leaves, olives, feta, the last of the Ouzo. I am ready for Italian food. More than ready. For lunch in Naples, we went to the Trianon, a favored pizza place. We're loving it.



Vicki had the sausage and mushroom, I had

the anchovy

Marquee

I have always believed that pizza crust is a basically non-

nutritive handle for eating pizza by the slice, as we

Americans tend to do; at Trianon, one eats it with a knife

and fork, thus leaving the crust intact; see illustration above

Pizza artist at work; seriously, as simple as it was, this was

the most interesting pizza I have yet had; the crust was thin,

yet chewy, the flavors simple but wonderful

A bit of the restaurant decor

Ditto

Real wood-fired oven...

A Bit Nippoli in Napoli

We drove up from the Bay of Salerno to the Bay of Naples and stopped at Pompeii, at Camping Spartacus, right across from the entrance to the archaeological site. This is significant because a) I am pretty sure this is exactly where we tent-camped in 1979 (we thought the freight train rushing by was an eruption of Vesuvius), and b) we are showing our solidarity with workers world-wide and especially Wisconsin. Geez, Wisconsin?!

Anyhow, next day, despite very cool temperatures (Nippoli; get it?), we ventured into Naples (Napoli) for a walking tour.

A view of Vesuvius from the train station

In the fish market near the central train station

I did not know there were this many different kinds of clams

Street scene; it's a very densely populated

place, with little green space

The Garibaldi monument; patron saint of motor scooters

Old fortress

Inside the Galleria Umberto I, a beautiful place, but filled only with tiny shops

Ditto

OK, it's 19th century or later, but very striking

And a cool site for wedding pix



Ditto; as I write, Will and Rachel are in Missoula, tasting cakes, visiting florists, etc.



The Teatro San Carlos, Italy's second most famous opera house

Another street scene