Thursday, October 17, 2013 @ 6:51 PM in 2013 Europe
Day 113
Today was great weather for walking around and exploring Naples. I didn't really have a plan when I left the hostel this morning but I knew I wanted to see the old Castel dell'Ovo down on the water as well as the extremely awesome views up at Castel Sant'Elmo.
I started off by heading to Castel dell'Ovo and passed through the Galleria Umberto on the way. It's a big glass enclosed block that's filled with all kinds of food shops and stores. I was there too early for much of anything to be open though. From there I went through Piazza del Plebiscito but they had a bunch of tents set up in the big piazza which ruined the view a bit. A short walk later and I was at the castle.
There's no admission to enter the castle which is cool. I walked around and saw some good views of the port and Mt Vesuvius. I stayed there for a little while taking photos and enjoying the view. I could see the Castel Sant'Elmo towering above the city and knew I should probably start working my way over there.
There's a tram that runs up and down the big hill but I didn't have any real change for the ticket machines. Instead, I decided I could get some exercise and walk up there. Getting up there took me through all kinds of narrow bricked streets filled with crazy mopeds and hole in the wall markets and convenience stores. I was definitely out of the tourist area back in those streets.
Eventually I found the main road that would lead me up to the castle. After winding around a bit and dodging mopeds and cars I made it to a huge staircase that took me the rest of the way up.
The Castel Sant'Elmo costs 5 euros to get into which is actually pretty cheap compared to a lot of the big sites. I guess I was there early enough because it was deserted. The views from the ramparts up there were amazing. You don't truly realize just how much Naples expands into the surrounding areas. Since the castle is the highest point around Naples, you can see pretty much 360 degrees around the city.
It was almost noon so I went back into town to hunt down some pizza. I made it back to the main drag and realized there are a couple different styles of pizza consumption in Naples. Most of the younger crowd and locals get the 1 euro margarita pizzas that are a little smaller but are folded up and wrapped in paper so you can eat them on the go. With no real need to pay an extra 2.50 for a marginally larger pizza that has a little more cheese, I got one of the "to-go" pizzas and another arancini and ate it in a small square.
The pizza I got was literally fresh out of the oven when I bought it (I saw them making, baking and pulling it out) and it tasted amazing. Eating it like a 4 layered sandwich was a little awkward at first but it works surprisingly well if you use the paper they give you to keep the sauce in check.
Since my lunch was pretty big, I wanted to have another light dinner so I got some peas, corn, bread and some wine from a market on the way back to the hostel. I thought the wine was on special for 2.99 but apparently it wasn't so I'm going to be trying a 5 euro bottle of wine tonight. We'll see how it tastes!
Back at the hostel I answered emails and read for a while before making dinner. I'll probably do the same the rest of the night while enjoying my wine. I have a full day here in Naples tomorrow and I'm not really sure what I'm going to do yet. I know I'm definitely going to do some laundry but they do all of the washing and drying for 3 euros which is a pretty good deal.
Teaser photos:
Tags: daily journal, italy, naples
Posted from: Italy