Going South: Naples

Sorry we haven't logged on recently.  We spent a week going to Naples and The Aeolian Islands then spent some time just relaxing. 

First Naples.  Afraid we got to see what all the fuss was about Neapolitan garbage right away.  This is the scene looking out our hotel window.  Like the guide books say, you love it or hate it.  Or both.  Kind of like New York in the 60's - a tough but beautiful (large) city

This scene reproduced itself many times around the city.

But there are a lot of good if not great things about Naples.  The bread is absolutely the best we've had in Italy........and the pastries are to die for.  Think we would have, too, if we stayed long enough.  Has to be something great about a city that is known for the best cannoli in the world.

The first day we were in Naples we took a subway train ride to Pompeii.   Pompeii is spread out over several acres of land.  Most of what you see are pillars and empty houses.  That's because anything that could be moved was placed in the Museo Archiologica National where we went a couple of days later.  They even had one whole room dedicated to the pornography moved from Pompeii!

Here are some shots of the Pompeian ruins.

The famous "Beware of the Dog" mosaic at the entry to one house

The only example we saw of plaster casts of Pompeiians who had been overcome by the ash and pumice.  The rest are all in museums

The next day we decided to go up into the hills of Naples.  Below is a shot overlooking the city. 

Ken found out that there was a museum that housed enormous Nativity Scenes.  Knowing how much I love them, we set off for the Monastery called Certosa di San Martino way up in the hills of Naples.  We needed to ride the funicular up to the top.

Quite an interesting way to get up a mountain.  Once there we headed for the Monastery.  It was huge and incredibly ornate.  Below are  the cloisters and the doorway into the church.

The ceiling of the church.

...and, as promised, a Creche museum unlike anything we had ever seen.

Sorry the nativity scene pictures didn't come out better, but the room was dark and the glass in front of each of these huge Nativity scenes didn't help.  Most of these nativities are 4 to 5 hundred years old and it's amazing (knowing how we lose pieces of ours) that so much has survived.

As we've mentioned before, the floors in Italian churches are absolutely exquisite.  Here above are two examples from the Monastery.

Yet to come... our trip to Capri, and the Aeolian Islands.  Stay tuned!