Italy is a country to indulge in. Indulge in the culture, the beautiful coastlines, the food, and of course, the wine. Over the course of our 2 week jaunt we certainly managed to fit in as much of these indulgences as we possibly could.
Our trip began in the colourful city of Naples. Naples often has a bad reputation as being noisy, chaotic and dangerous and I have no doubt that on occasions these are true, however looking beyond these negative stereotypes, Naples is a city full of charm, character, great food and classic Italian architecture. Our hotel was situated in the bohemian area of Piazza Bellini which is a perfect place to sit outside at one of the many bars and soak up the true Italian atmosphere. The gastronomic highlight of Naples was DiMatteos where we were assured the best pizzas in the world were made. We were not disappointed.
From Naples we made a day trip to Herculaneum which is the smaller of the two ancient towns devastated by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius back in 79 AD. This is defiantly worth a visit to those with enough time, it is less crowded than it more famous neighbour Pompeii and just as fantastic. Both towns are one of the few places in the world where you can step back in time and gain an appreciation of what life was really like.
Leaving Naples we headed north to the heart of the ancient empire, the great city of Rome. Every corner you turn in Rome you come face to face with another ancient wonder, at times you can actually become blinded to it all, especially as everywhere you try to sit and relax with some food or a drink will cost you an extortionate amount of money. In the end we resorted to the Italian style we picked up on in Naples. Who needs to sit in an overpriced restaurant and pay 20 euros for one drink when you can head to the local Spar, buy a bottle of Peronei, and sit at one of the numerous squares while taking in all the ancient splendour, without begrudgingly paying 40% extra for table service.
All ruined out, we then headed back south to spend our final week relaxing on the stunning Amalfi coast. We stayed in Sorrento, and after days of sight seeing it was nice to slow the pace down and take time to relax, sunbath, drink wine and visit the delights of the coast. Over the week we visited Capri, the island of the rich and famous, the charming town of Amalfi and the picturesque Positano.
