We headed out to catch our train to Sorrento. It was the bullet train to Naples and from there we caught the Circumvenisa train. The Circumvenisa is a crowded local train where things can get a little crazy. Like when an accordion player jumped on-board and played for tips until he was kicked off.
We made it to Sorrento earlier than planned. Our apartment still was not ready, so we had a nice leisurely lunch. That evening we had a look around the downtown area and walked down to the port. We were headed out by ferry in a couple of days and wanted to get the lay of the land. Good thing we did as there are a lot of stairs to get down from the cliff side down to the port. It was a nice sunset and a taxi ride back up.
Back on the train the following morning to Pompeii. We would be meeting our guide Benedetto outside the gate. He is an archeologist and guides groups of up to 10 people a couple times a month. We had been to Pompeii before but there is so much to see; we didn’t mind going again. Benedetto gave us some really good insights into how life was at that time. What happened to the people when Vesuvius blew its top. You can tell he’s really loves what he does as he gets very excited explaining and pointing things out.
We lucked out and our group was only 7 people. The four of us and 3 ladies from Canada. He gave us a lunch break and after had arranged a taxi to take us all over to Herculaneum. Herculaneum was a small town that also was destroyed by the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius. I had been wanting to see these ruins as well because the site was better preserved than Pompeii. Items were carbonized and the town was covered more by debris than ash. Therefore many items were better preserved. The archeologists are still discovering more ruins and artifacts.
It was a long day especially by the time we got back on the train to Sorrento.
We got a taxi the next morning to get us to the ferry port to the island of Ischia. This time we were able to successfully use the taxi app and get our taxi to the port. Upon our arrival the Hotel Grifo’s shuttle picked us up.
We were able to check-in right away which was great. We waited for the hotel restaurant to open for lunch. Enzo took great care of us and even went over the dinner menu as we planned to have dinner at the hotel that night.
We had a boat tour already scheduled for that afternoon and the hotel shuttle was able to drop us off. Got on our boat the Summer Breeze and we were off for our 3 hour tour. The tour circumnavigates the island of Ischia. They pointed out various sites along the way, but it was difficult for us to hear the commentary. Will and I were all the way in the bow of the ship. There’s a stop for about an hour in Sant Angelo. This town is pedestrian only town with a couple of small swimming beaches, restaurants and shops. We got back on the boat to continue the tour this time scoring seats on the top deck. This was much better as we could hear the commentary and enjoy the beautiful evening.
We had 30 minutes before the shuttle was to come pick us up so we were able to explore downtown Ischia for a bit.
Got back with just enough time for Will and I check out the spa.The island is known for its thermal baths. So, we tried out the hot pool and another pool that was a little colder.
For dinner that night Enzo had everything prepared for us and even had gotten a special gluten free dessert for me. It was really nice evening and dinner was amazing as well.
We very very sad to leave, but the Ischia stop was a late change to the itinerary and we only had one night. The island is so relaxing and beautiful. It is really a place that you want to come back to.