This Spring we had the opportunity to travel to the beautiful country of Italy! From the cultural immersion in hearing and practicing the Italian language (after brushing up on Duolingo) to eating al dente pasta, and drinking up the most authentic and delicious limoncello and red wines - this was the trip of a lifetime!
One thing I wanted out of this trip was to come back feeling renewed and refreshed also while welcoming in more fun experiences and relaxation, and I'm happy to say that I have attained that and much more! I can't wait to show and share it all with you in this post!
In this guide, we'll be sharing our itinerary from our trip to Naples! We stayed in Italy for a total of 6 days: 3 days in Rome and the other 3 days in Naples.
Let's break it down!
Day One: Travel and Explore!
We arrived in Naples, Italy via train from Rome which took about a little over an hour.
Arriving at the train station, we then navigated Naples Metro stations to get us from the train station to our hotel. We arrived a little after 10 AM which was too early for our 2 PM check-in and thankfully, the hotel was kind to be able to hold on and store our bags while we went out to explore the city and grab a bite to eat!
Naples is known to be the birthplace of pizza! As we explored the streets and alleys of Naples, we found ourselves at a Michelin-rated pizza place, Gino e Toto Sorbillo. Here I ordered their classic and famous Margherita pizza. Our pizza came out uncut - so it was up to us to use our creativity on how we wanted to eat it. As a Filipino, our true way of eating is with our hands. And let me tell you, that first bite was so airy!
If you know me, I don't play around when it comes to food. So be sure to do your due diligence when it comes to looking up places to eat! And when typing into Google, make sure to specify in your search you're looking in Naples, Italy, and NOT Naples, Florida. This comes from lived experience.
After checking into the hotel, we freshened up and headed back out into the streets to catch a view of the sunset and the coastline. Embracing the magic of adventure, along the way we unexpectedly wound up at one of the public shopping arcades Galleria Umberto I. If it's anything I embraced from this trip, Italians sure do know how to do window shopping right!
Continuing our walk to the coast, we then came upon the public square Piazza del Plebiscito, and the seafront castle, Castel dell'Ovo.
Catch me taking in the enjoyable experience and breathtaking views of Naples, the water, and Mount Vesuvius!
Opting out of eating pasta for the umpteenth time, we then ended the night by indulging in a nice hot bowl of sinigang and steamed rice at one of the local Filipino restaurants in town, Tambayan Sa Napoli!
Day Two: Day Trip to Capri!
This day was by far my favorite day this entire trip!
Heavily inspired to visit the island after reading Kevin Kwan's latest novel the month before our trip, I was hyped to experience the breathtaking beauty and magic of the island.
Starting the day bright and early, we took the Metro to the Port Station and from there took a ferry to the island. Lasting about an hour, once we arrived at the Marina we indulged in the typical Italian breakfast -- consisting of a sweet cornetto (croissant) and a cappuccino! Keep in mind, you will not find many Italians drinking a cappuccino after 11 AM because they're considered a “heavy” drink as it contains a lot of milk compared to other coffees. Although they do love pairing digestive drinks with their meals!
After breakfast, we initially were going to set out on a boat tour to see the Blue Grotto, but unfortunately, it was closed. When coming to Capri and when the conditions are right, visiting the Blue Grotto and/or doing a boat tour is a MUST! In place of that activity, we got tickets to ride the funicular to get us to the town of Capri. While in the town of Capri, we made our way to Giardini di Augusto.
After taking in the views of the Gardens and indulging in lemon granita and gelato, we rode a bus to Anacapri. In Anacapri, we rode the chairlift to Monte Solarno -- the highest point of the island -- where you could see 360 views of the island as well as the Faraglioni rocks.
Good tip: Be sure to get tickets for roundtrip bus rides. We learned the hard way because Anacapri did not have a ticketing office and the only other mode of transportation back down to the Marina (while on a time constraint) was via taxi.
We embraced all modes of transportation throughout this trip! #InOurOlympianEra
Day Three: Day Trip to Mount Vesuvius!
This entire trip to Italy relied on public transportation and the creation of our itinerary! I thrive and love this type of freedom and wouldn't have it any other way.
In planning for this trip, day three was originally reserved to explore the coast town of Positano. Two days into being in Italy, we decided to opt out of that plan because the challenge of navigating transportation to the cliffside village without a rental car was not worth the stress. Plus we got our sea day fix the day before. Day trip to Mount Vesuvius it is!
Hiking a volcano has been a top-tier childhood dream of mine. There's something mesmerizing about the feat (before, during, and after) that I just can't describe at this moment in time.
We got entrance tickets for 12:30 PM two nights before. That morning we headed to the Metro station to take us to Piazza Garibaldi and headed in the direction of getting tickets to take us to Pompeii. From there we had transportation provided to get us from the train station to Mount Vesuvius (which was about a 30-min bus ride).
Take a listen to what we had to hear throughout the winding turns rounding various corners as we were going up the mountain (there were plenty).
The hike itself is not for the easy-hearted. Especially when you're on a time crunch of one hour and have not eaten lunch yet.
While hiking up the steep volcano, we said our prayers to Mother Earth asking for her blessing as we climbed up the slopes of Mt. Vesuvius.
On the way down, we delighted ourselves by sipping on some Lacrime Cristi wine, a red wine that's produced with the native grapes that grow on Mt. Vesuvius. Taking the same route we did getting back to Napoli from Pompeii, we gave ourselves permission to flow with the rest of the day.
Remaining Hours: Issa Wrap!
The rest of the evening was spent taking the time to recharge, replenish, and rest up before traveling back to Rome in the morning. Sometimes that's all we need and that is OK.
As our last meal in the city of Napoli, we enjoyed eating steak and fries, aimlessly walking through the city streets at night, and getting back to the hotel for a nice slumber. The following morning we got our pastry and coffee fix and took the second train back to Rome.
I hope you enjoyed reading this blog post as much as I had fun writing it! Let me know in the comments what you would like to see more of. I would love to hear from you!
Until next time, grazie mille e' arrivederci!
I need more!! I needed a vacaaaay and felt like I was there! I petition another blog for Rome!!