Naples, Sorrento, Sicily

well
Naples is a little strange.-
you just have to be cautios and avoid going to places where even the locals
do not go to.-
prices in Naples are reasonable.-
you can find special offers everywhere and a 4 stars hotel might be
available for about 80 eur a day.
I also suggest the Campania cards.. for museums and free transportation.
there is also a special bus called M ( musei) reserved only to people
holding a card.-
I rent a small apartment in Paestum and went every day by train to visit the
most important things.
By the way.. Ercolano is almost as important as Pompei. and near Pompei
( a train stop) there is the roman villa of Oplontis. One of the best
preserved.-
as to restaurant.. I would just ask the Hotel receptionist for a place with
good relation price/ quality.
take a taxi and you will not be in danger.
I recommend visiting Caserta with its royal palace.

as to the closed room for sex roman remains..
you just have to consider that for the romans a male sex was simbol of good
luck..
a male sex was often in gardens and houses..
and people would strike it for good luck.
in latin it was also
terque quaterque testicolis tactis..
touching testicles 3 or 4 times for good luck..
the guide of the museum told me that it is still not sure whether these
relics are original of the roman time.
"Terryo" ha scritto nel messaggio
m...
I'm planning to spend (alone) about two weeks in the Naples, Sorrento,
Amalfi Coast area and another two weeks in Sicily. I have some
questions:

1 - I'd like to swim at the beaches in Sicily. Will the water be warm
enough in May, or should I wait until September?

2 - All the travel guides (and posters here) recommend staying in
Sorrento and just taking a day trip to Naples. But it looks like the
sights I want to see in Naples will take at least three days. I
realize Naples is crowded, bustling, and (allegedly) crime-ridden, but
is it REALLY such a bad idea to stay there? I could stay in Naples,
e.g., 5 days, seeing Naples and Cumae, Pompeii, Herculaneum, Vesuvius
-- then move on to Sorrento to stay for several more days, seeing
Sorrento, Capri and other islands, Positano and the Amalfi Coast, and
Paestum. It just seems that would be better than trying to do
EVERYTHING out of Sorrento, spending a lot of time commuting to
Naples, missing Naples nightlife, etc.....

3- I had planned to take the train from Sorrento to Sicily, but now
I'm reading that that is not such a good idea -- it's a long trip, the
trains are uncomfortable and schedules undependable (unlike those I've
ridden all over northern Italy). I've been told that a boat or
hydrofoil out of Naples or Sorrento to Sicily would be better. Is
this true? What are the relative costs and length of time? Would I
miss worthwhile southern Italy sights by doing this (e.g., Salerno)?

4 - I had planned to rent a car in Sicily, since I want to see ALL of
the island. But I would prefer to take a train between coastal cities
and bus to inland towns rather than bother with a car. Is that
feasible?

5 - Tips, things to see or avoid, recommended restaurants and hotels
(80 euro range), are very welcome. (I have Rick Steves's Italy and
the new Eyewitness Guides to Naples/Amalfi Coast and Sicily.)

Thanks to the group for your input.....

On 5 Nov 2003 16:25:05 -0800, (Terryo) wrote:

I'm planning to spend (alone) about two weeks in the Naples, Sorrento,
Amalfi Coast area and another two weeks in Sicily. I have some
questions:


5 - Tips, things to see or avoid, recommended restaurants and hotels
(80 euro range), are very welcome. (I have Rick Steves's Italy and
the new Eyewitness Guides to Naples/Amalfi Coast and Sicily.)


The Amalfi Coast area is wonderful. I have never been to Sicily, but I
hear it's great, too.

Pompeii is awesome. I was impressed by its size and completeness . . .
it really is a whole city, preserved from ancient times, complete with
houses, stores, temples, a forum, a theater, a stadium . . . even a
whorehouse. Plan to spend a whole day there. Rent the audioguide - it
is well worth it. It costs no more than a one hour guided tour, and
you can keep it all day long and move at your own pace. Bring your own
food and water if you don't want to get ripped off by the aggressive
salesmen outside the ruins/expensive restaurant inside the ruins. Then
again, since you seem to be on a higher budget than I was, that might
not be too much of a concern for you.

The blue grotto on the isle of Capri is fun. You take a boat inside a
cave cut into the side of the island, and the water in the cave is a
pretty shade of blue, due to the lighting affects. Actually, I'm not
sure how good the weather would be for it this time of year, though.
Equally fun on Capri is the bus ride across the island to the grotto -
if you like a bit of a thrill ride. The roads are very narrow and
curvy, and sometimes the bus has to back up to a wide spot to let
opposing traffic pass.

I didn't spend too much time in Naples itself, but I do have a little
to say on it. In Naples, the birthplace of pizza, be sure, to eat at a
pizzeria. I went to a really famous one there, name of which escapes
me right now, but anyway it was really cheap - a pizza and beer for
about 5 euros if I remember right, and the pizza, was quite an
experience - much different from American style. There's also some
interesting street vendors and bargain shops there, if you like that
kind of thing. And of course lots of art, like just about everywhere
in Italy.

Naples is definitely a chaotic city, but no more so than Rome, IMHO,
and plenty of people stay in Rome, so I see no reason why you can't
stay in Naples. Just be a bit more careful and alert than you would be
in some other places.

Sorrento is a place to stay, not much more; I stayed there myself to
explore the area, but I didn't actually do anything in town. It was
full of tourists in the summer, probably a bit less so in the winter.
Sorrento produces good lemon liqueur, called limoncello, but you can
get it in other places nearby, too.

Thanks to the group for your input.....
You're welcome.

Norman Perlmutter

Norman Perlmutter wrote:

The blue grotto on the isle of Capri is fun. You take a boat inside a
cave cut into the side of the island, and the water in the cave is a
pretty shade of blue, due to the lighting affects. Actually, I'm not
sure how good the weather would be for it this time of year, though.

It can be 'bad weather' at any time of year, and visits can be
cancelled. It happened to us in late June a few years back, on what was
otherwise a very nice sunny day- just that the sea was a bit rough.

David

--
David Horne- website under re-construction
davidhorne (at) davidhorne (dot) co (dot) uk

"David Horne" wrote in message
news:1g45m7q.3byygvr3gdkrN%this_address_is_for_spa ...
Norman Perlmutter wrote:

The blue grotto on the isle of Capri is fun. You take a boat inside a
cave cut into the side of the island, and the water in the cave is a
pretty shade of blue, due to the lighting affects. Actually, I'm not
sure how good the weather would be for it this time of year, though.

It can be 'bad weather' at any time of year, and visits can be
cancelled. It happened to us in late June a few years back, on what was
otherwise a very nice sunny day- just that the sea was a bit rough.

David

It was cancelled on a visit we made once in November but if I remember
correctly it was because of hight tides.
Derek.

Originally posted by Terryo

I'm planning to spend (alone) about two weeks in the Naples, Sorrento,

Amalfi Coast area and another two weeks in Sicily. I have some

questions:



1 - I'd like to swim at the beaches in Sicily. Will the water be warm

enough in May, or should I wait until September?



2 - All the travel guides (and posters here) recommend staying in

Sorrento and just taking a day trip to Naples. But it looks like the

sights I want to see in Naples will take at least three days. I

realize Naples is crowded, bustling, and (allegedly) crime-ridden, but

is it REALLY such a bad idea to stay there? I could stay in Naples,

e.g., 5 days, seeing Naples and Cumae, Pompeii, Herculaneum, Vesuvius

-- then move on to Sorrento to stay for several more days, seeing

Sorrento, Capri and other islands, Positano and the Amalfi Coast, and

Paestum. It just seems that would be better than trying to do

EVERYTHING out of Sorrento, spending a lot of time commuting to

Naples, missing Naples nightlife, etc.....



3- I had planned to take the train from Sorrento to Sicily, but now

I'm reading that that is not such a good idea -- it's a long trip, the

trains are uncomfortable and schedules undependable (unlike those I've

ridden all over northern Italy). I've been told that a boat or

hydrofoil out of Naples or Sorrento to Sicily would be better. Is

this true? What are the relative costs and length of time? Would I

miss worthwhile southern Italy sights by doing this (e.g., Salerno)?



4 - I had planned to rent a car in Sicily, since I want to see ALL of

the island. But I would prefer to take a train between coastal cities

and bus to inland towns rather than bother with a car. Is that

feasible?



5 - Tips, things to see or avoid, recommended restaurants and hotels

(80 euro range), are very welcome. (I have Rick Steves's Italy and

the new Eyewitness Guides to Naples/Amalfi Coast and Sicily.)



Thanks to the group for your input.....





I was yesterday in Naples...Generally is a beautifull town and you can
visit many places...but...there is a little bit of
panic...chaos....Personally i would love to stay in Naples....about
30kilometres away ....You can stay at Salerno ,a town 30minutes from
Naples ....near to Pompei...


--
Posted via http://britishexpats.com

On Sun, 09 Nov 2003 08:43:56 GMT, (Norman
Perlmutter) wrote:

I didn't spend too much time in Naples itself, but I do have a little
to say on it. In Naples, the birthplace of pizza, be sure, to eat at a
pizzeria. I went to a really famous one there, name of which escapes
me right now, but anyway it was really cheap - a pizza and beer for
about 5 euros if I remember right, and the pizza, was quite an
experience - much different from American style.

....perhaps you're talking of the pizzeria da Michele, via Pietro
Colletta (walking distance from the railway Central Station in piazza
Garibaldi)... just pizza Margherita, the original one...

On Sun, 09 Nov 2003 16:26:21 GMT, webpecker
wrote:

On Sun, 09 Nov 2003 08:43:56 GMT, (Norman
Perlmutter) wrote:

I didn't spend too much time in Naples itself, but I do have a little
to say on it. In Naples, the birthplace of pizza, be sure, to eat at a
pizzeria. I went to a really famous one there, name of which escapes
me right now, but anyway it was really cheap - a pizza and beer for
about 5 euros if I remember right, and the pizza, was quite an
experience - much different from American style.

...perhaps you're talking of the pizzeria da Michele, via Pietro
Colletta (walking distance from the railway Central Station in piazza
Garibaldi)... just pizza Margherita, the original one...

Yes, I think that was the pizzeria I was thinking of - da Michele. I
remembered it was da something or other, and I walked there from the
train station, and it only had the Margherita, and was rather crowded.

Norman

In article , Terryo
wrote:

I'm planning to spend (alone) about two weeks in the Naples, Sorrento,
Amalfi Coast area and another two weeks in Sicily. I have some
questions:



2 - All the travel guides (and posters here) recommend staying in
Sorrento and just taking a day trip to Naples. But it looks like the
sights I want to see in Naples will take at least three days. I
realize Naples is crowded, bustling, and (allegedly) crime-ridden, but
is it REALLY such a bad idea to stay there?

YES. Naples is like a Concentrated form of Italy. Not even in
Istanbul were the street vendors more pushy. I even felt scared. And
then a guy on a scooter jumps the curb to sell a tourist's camcorder he
just stole. Forget it.

I stayed in Sorrento and day-tripped from there.

I could stay in Naples,
e.g., 5 days, seeing Naples and Cumae, Pompeii, Herculaneum, Vesuvius
-- then move on to Sorrento to stay for several more days, seeing
Sorrento, Capri and other islands, Positano and the Amalfi Coast, and
Paestum. It just seems that would be better than trying to do
EVERYTHING out of Sorrento, spending a lot of time commuting to
Naples, missing Naples nightlife, etc.....

I cannot speak to the nightlife... but Pompeii, Herc and Vesuvius are
all as accessable from Sorrento as from Naples, on the "Circumvesviana"
line. And you can take the train to Naples for its big archeological
museum. (a MUST in my opinion - go to Herc and Pomp first, then go to
the museum to see the art work from those places). Also, Rick Steves
has a good walking tour of Naples, including to a certain church with
super-great statuary - imagine a net carved from solid marble - wow!
So get his guidebook (this tour was in the Naples add-on to his Rome
book)

Tip: See Paestum if you can. It's a bit out of the way, but take
Circumvesuviana to Naples and then regular train to Paestum. It's a
great ancient Greek-then-Roman city with huge temples. DON'T take the
bus there, that takes forever.

5 - Tips, things to see or avoid, recommended restaurants and hotels
(80 euro range), are very welcome. (I have Rick Steves's Italy and
the new Eyewitness Guides to Naples/Amalfi Coast and Sicily.)

Oh good so you can see the Naples walking tour, then.

Thanks to the group for your input.....

In summary, Naples is too stressful for me... for example, this is the
method for crossing the street on foot:

1) Approach the curb
2) Catch the eye of the oncoming driver
3) Step out in front of him
4) See if he fails to run you over
5) If yes, you die. If no, you cross the street

--
Dan Stephenson
Photos and movies from my 3-month European vacation and Wales 2003 at
http://homepage.mac.com/stepheda

Correction:

In summary, Naples is too stressful for me... for example, this is the
method for crossing the street on foot:

1) Approach the curb
2) Catch the eye of the oncoming driver
3) Step out in front of him
4) See if he fails to run you over
5) If NO, you die. If YES, you cross the street

--
Dan Stephenson
Photos and movies from my 3-month European vacation and Wales 2003 at
http://homepage.mac.com/stepheda

In article , me
wrote:



I'm not exactly sure why you want to "camp" in one town so much.
Stay in the town you're visiting. I can understand some day tripping,
but I'd probably visit Sorrento, then move on to Positano and stay
there, and so on. But I'll admit some distaste for day tripping that
you may not share. Day tripping does mean more traveling, but it
does cut down on the packing.

And it cuts down on the "finding a new place to stay". I like this
'home base' approach because I know that no matter how late I get back
into town (Sorrento), my room above the news store will still be there.

--
Dan Stephenson
Photos and movies from my 3-month European vacation and Wales 2003 at
http://homepage.mac.com/stepheda