Almost to the end!
This covers Capri, 9/27 and the first day in Naples. Alas, there is no corresponding write-up of Naples, largely because by that time, I was feeling really, really sick and grumpy. Also, the very first day we were there, we went on a bus tour of the city, and it was scorching hot, I was sick, I was tired, the bus bounced around and traffic was horrible, I had a headache, and I was very irritable.
I think I did write up something, but it largely consists of: "Naples has the worst traffic ever. Am sick. Bus ride sucks. Too hot gross ew ew ew don't feel good woe."
A view of Capri. Oh, I love those clouds, especially now that the weather here is getting cooler.
I love this one.
Artists
The view, sans artists
Extremely, extremely windy roads! Thankfully, we didn't have to go up this one. But apparently they used to drive supplies up this road.
My sister, chasing pigeons.
Flocks of pigeons.
One of many windy roads
The streets of Capri have all these little cars going around, since all the hotels have to transport luggage from the port up the mountain. I think the drivers intentionally try to run people over.
My dad, through a doorway.
The other side of the doorway
The streets of Capri, complete with tourists
The gelato shop! The gelato was good, but the best part were the freshly made waffle cones!
Mmmmm, some type of preserved meat over buffalo mozzarella, eggplant parm and clam linguine. I usually detest eggplant or chicken parm because the tomato sauce is too salty and sour and nasty and watery, but Italy has converted me with eggplant parm. The linguine was also great, nice chewy noodles and fresh seafood, and the buffalo mozzarella was excellent as well.
Argh, bad picture of excellet food. I think that's seafood risotto with a lot of squid (I loved the squid, it was so tender and not at all rubbery), and a swordfish steak, which was amazingly juicy and not at all dry.
And veal... I forgot what the real name is, but they're basically veal intestines or something. But good!
A random wedding of someone who must have been a celebrity, given the number of photographers and cameramen.
More view of the celebrity wedding. I'm not sure if you can see them, but there were people dressed in traditional clothing and singing too.
A tiny wild strawberry tart that ended up looking better than it tasted (too much cream, not enough strawberry)
One of my favorite things about the restaurants here is that there's usually a small buffet of appetizers at the front with all sorts of vegetables. Here, we've got potatoes, green beans (mmmm), eggplant parm, and mozzarella.
And caprese salad, roasted peppers, and more eggplant (the little chopped eggplants are so good). And the tomatoes! I wanted to go back and get a plate of just tomatoes, they were that good!
Alas, the pasta was not as tasty, since it went from al dente to undercooked. And I forgot to take pictures of the calamari, the fish, and assorted other things.
A sample of a typical restaurant wall in Capri. Maybe some aren't so plastered with photographs, but most are!
Random plants.
More streets of Capri. Capri is so cute! The stores are all insanely priced brand name places, but I like just wandering up and down and going to little restaurants.
The Capri harbor.
Naples
The main Naples church, said to imitate the plaza in front of St. Peter's in the Vatican. The guide told us she thought the Vatican's was much nicer.
Here's a palace of some sort; I can't quite remember which.
Here's the balcony where they announced the unification of Italy! Niftiness!
Random view of Naples
I'm not sure if I quite got it in the picture, but I really loved the contrast of the tired tourists and/or teenagers sitting on the steps, bumming around, and the grand marble palace through the glass.
More of the grand marble palace, which apparently also houses the largest library in Italy. Eeeee!
A dog, sunbathing.
They make these lemon drinks on the street here, just fizzy water and fresh lemon or orange juice. We didn't add sugar or the lemon slushy bit to ours here, so it was a bit sour, but still refreshing.
This is officially the Best Thing Ever (#243509). Yes! It is pizza! Topped with french fries and hot dogs! And it was delicious! I think of it as pizza Americano. Again: Best Thing Ever.
I love the arched glass ceilings and the giant dome in the middle.
Bakery!
Large glass dome
Sadly, the picture didn't come out that well, but the dark ad is for Terry Brooks. I was highly amused.
More of the building
Tile mosaics of the constellations
Here is a famous opera house. You can tell that I was very sick this day, because I have absolutely no recollection of anything, except that it was really hot.
The gates to a castle
Said castle, with a lovely tour bus and flocks of tourists in the forefront.
The outside of a very large and famous building that I cannot remember. But it looks daunting!
Large statue thing with the Virgin Mary on top
Ahhhh Naples. This is what it looks like. It was a real shock going there right after the sunny resort-ness of Capri.
The view of Naples and Vesuvius in the distance
Naples parking!
I think I did write up something, but it largely consists of: "Naples has the worst traffic ever. Am sick. Bus ride sucks. Too hot gross ew ew ew don't feel good woe."
A view of Capri. Oh, I love those clouds, especially now that the weather here is getting cooler.
I love this one.
Artists
The view, sans artists
Extremely, extremely windy roads! Thankfully, we didn't have to go up this one. But apparently they used to drive supplies up this road.
My sister, chasing pigeons.
Flocks of pigeons.
One of many windy roads
The streets of Capri have all these little cars going around, since all the hotels have to transport luggage from the port up the mountain. I think the drivers intentionally try to run people over.
My dad, through a doorway.
The other side of the doorway
The streets of Capri, complete with tourists
The gelato shop! The gelato was good, but the best part were the freshly made waffle cones!
Mmmmm, some type of preserved meat over buffalo mozzarella, eggplant parm and clam linguine. I usually detest eggplant or chicken parm because the tomato sauce is too salty and sour and nasty and watery, but Italy has converted me with eggplant parm. The linguine was also great, nice chewy noodles and fresh seafood, and the buffalo mozzarella was excellent as well.
Argh, bad picture of excellet food. I think that's seafood risotto with a lot of squid (I loved the squid, it was so tender and not at all rubbery), and a swordfish steak, which was amazingly juicy and not at all dry.
And veal... I forgot what the real name is, but they're basically veal intestines or something. But good!
A random wedding of someone who must have been a celebrity, given the number of photographers and cameramen.
More view of the celebrity wedding. I'm not sure if you can see them, but there were people dressed in traditional clothing and singing too.
A tiny wild strawberry tart that ended up looking better than it tasted (too much cream, not enough strawberry)
One of my favorite things about the restaurants here is that there's usually a small buffet of appetizers at the front with all sorts of vegetables. Here, we've got potatoes, green beans (mmmm), eggplant parm, and mozzarella.
And caprese salad, roasted peppers, and more eggplant (the little chopped eggplants are so good). And the tomatoes! I wanted to go back and get a plate of just tomatoes, they were that good!
Alas, the pasta was not as tasty, since it went from al dente to undercooked. And I forgot to take pictures of the calamari, the fish, and assorted other things.
A sample of a typical restaurant wall in Capri. Maybe some aren't so plastered with photographs, but most are!
Random plants.
More streets of Capri. Capri is so cute! The stores are all insanely priced brand name places, but I like just wandering up and down and going to little restaurants.
The Capri harbor.
Naples
The main Naples church, said to imitate the plaza in front of St. Peter's in the Vatican. The guide told us she thought the Vatican's was much nicer.
Here's a palace of some sort; I can't quite remember which.
Here's the balcony where they announced the unification of Italy! Niftiness!
Random view of Naples
I'm not sure if I quite got it in the picture, but I really loved the contrast of the tired tourists and/or teenagers sitting on the steps, bumming around, and the grand marble palace through the glass.
More of the grand marble palace, which apparently also houses the largest library in Italy. Eeeee!
A dog, sunbathing.
They make these lemon drinks on the street here, just fizzy water and fresh lemon or orange juice. We didn't add sugar or the lemon slushy bit to ours here, so it was a bit sour, but still refreshing.
This is officially the Best Thing Ever (#243509). Yes! It is pizza! Topped with french fries and hot dogs! And it was delicious! I think of it as pizza Americano. Again: Best Thing Ever.
I love the arched glass ceilings and the giant dome in the middle.
Bakery!
Large glass dome
Sadly, the picture didn't come out that well, but the dark ad is for Terry Brooks. I was highly amused.
More of the building
Tile mosaics of the constellations
Here is a famous opera house. You can tell that I was very sick this day, because I have absolutely no recollection of anything, except that it was really hot.
The gates to a castle
Said castle, with a lovely tour bus and flocks of tourists in the forefront.
The outside of a very large and famous building that I cannot remember. But it looks daunting!
Large statue thing with the Virgin Mary on top
Ahhhh Naples. This is what it looks like. It was a real shock going there right after the sunny resort-ness of Capri.
The view of Naples and Vesuvius in the distance
Naples parking!