The previous post in this series is here..
We drove non stop from Positano to Naples. Our hotel originally gave us a scare as the route took us through some run down neighborhoods. Finally when we went inside the hotel, it was really nice. It was the Buono Hotel in an area called Poggioreale. It is actually a 25 minute drive to the city center.
The staff were courteous and told us to take the public transport if we wanted to visit the city. However the ticket booths were closed and they did not accept cards on the bus and also we waited for 15 minutes and no bus/train came. The stop was right outside the hotel.
The little one bailed on us as usual as she had to study and rest. She told us to get her dinner. We just took the car and went into the city. It was a stupid idea. Even though I had been driving in Italy the last two days, in traffic, Naples evening traffic on a Saturday evening is a nightmare. Apparently there was a huge concert happening downtown in the city center. Roads were blocked. We did find parking near the castle. I have never been more proud of a parking job in my life. Jackie Chan would have been proud after seeing that parking job.
Then we walked to the castle. It was meh. So we did not bother to get tickets and go in. Just walked around it. Then came the Galleria. It was just amazing. This is one beautiful building. The photos and pano's are not fair to the place. Go see it for yoursef. We also visited a beautiful church in the city center and walked in Via Toledo which was surprisingly open to pedestrian traffic. Cops had blocked off a lot of roads for the concert.
Even though I took pictures of those strawberries and other foods on display, could not eat anything except the gelato. Thank god I am not allergic to chocolate!
our hotel.. which is actually really nice inside. Very close to airport. Don’t be shocked by Apple maps which says it is 20 mins away. It is 5 mins away in the morning at 4:30AM.
Photos from our walk around Naples city..
Some of these photos were DNG file for some reason and what I see on my phone is not what I get after saving it. Have to figure it out later. The shadows are dark!
This is where we got dinner from. It was really good!
After this we went to the third attaction which was closed thanks to the concert. Finally ate some gelato made from buffalo milk and got dinner from a busy restaurant. It was time to drive back. We used the breakfast area to eat our dinner. The staff said “go ahead. not a problem”. It was an early dinner. We had already packed for the most part.
The two panos from this walk..
The Umberto Galleria is massive!
A video highlights reel..
We had a 6:30 AM flight from Naples to Rome, a 2 hour wait in Rome and a flight from Rome to SFO. We tried to leave at 4:30 to the airport. It took us under 10 minutes to get to the car return area. It took a lot longer to figure out where to drop the key and then walk to the airport from there. It is a good 15 minute walk lugging the carry ons.
We did have a little fiasco where we got seprated from the kids and they did not show up at the gate. Gate D22 is off to some side in the airport and we were trying to get our money back on taxes paid at a kiosk. That process took too long (that counter opens late and there was a line) so we gave up and when we showed up at the gate, the kids were missing. Their phone died etc.. everything you can expect to go wrong and does.. Finally they showed up and we were off.
The rest of the journey was uneventful. Alitalia airlines was decent. First time flying in that but the food, entertainment and service was great. San had upgraded to economy plus as a surprise for the family! Given how tired we all were.
We were all smiles. The overall rating on this trip was an A+. Something for everyone, narrow escapes with sickness, falls, but on the whole made it back in one piece.
