Dear Imaginary Travelers,
Our recent journey to Naples, Italy, was the best of times and the worst of times.
On the upside: our charming hotel-- a converted monastery-- named San Francesco al Monte, high on a bluff with great views of Naples Bay and Vesuvius, no less. There were religious paintings, a preserved refectory, altars, the whole shebang. Atmosphere plus!!
Also on the upside, the best pizza in the world. And the architecture is quite impressive.
Another plus is the archaeological museum, with treasures from Pompeii. More treasures, still, from Vesuvius's explosion can be found in nearby Ercolano.
On the down side: Naples is a dirty, violent, crime-ridden city with the narrowest streets that teem with tiny cars, motorcycles, buses and taxis careening about, barely dodging endangered pedestrians from, gulp, America! The banks have very heavy security measures. Moreover, the bankers give strict instructions to tourists whose clothing screams I AM AMERICAN!!! " You keep your wallet in your front pocket with your hand on top of it!" And then there are beggars everywhere: gypsy mothers and children, mumbling, begging for change...
So once you have eaten the pizza, the gelato, and visited what you came to see, blow on out of town to Sorrento, one hour south via train.
Your Imaginary Friend,
Patsie
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| A rooftop vineyard at San Francesco al Monte |
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| Our rooftop pool in Naples |
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| A door in our hotel in Naples |
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| Death In Pompeii |
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| Ceiling of our hotel in Naples |
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| In our hotel, the converted monastery |
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| The former refectory |
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| Naples and its laundry display |
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| View of Naples Harbor from San Francesco Al Monte (St. Frances of the mountain) |
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