In the second stop in our long-term travel, we arrived in Naples by a fast train from Rome. We stayed 7 days in Naples area, including a two-day visit of the island of Ischia. The Naples region is blessed with natural beauty, culture, good food, and a long colorful history. Basically all you can ever wish for a travel destination!

Naples

Naples is unlike any other city in Italy or Europe. It is actually more like a large city in India to me: It’s chaotic, lively, unruly, and full of old and dilapidated buildings. For that reason, many travelers choose to skip Naples altogether, and go to Pompeii and Sorrento directly. We, however, loved it, and enjoyed exploring the “Centro Storico” on foot. Most importantly, we tried to sample as much Neapolitan pizza as we could. If you ask any Italian, they tell you that you find the best pizza in Naples, but I was pretty skeptic of that claim. How different can it be? Well, I was happily proven wrong! There is something different about Neapolitan pizza (they say it’s the tomato grown in the fertile volcanic soil of the region, and the mozzarella di bufala), and you’ve got to try it for yourself to figure it out. We also visited San Severo Chapel to see the world famous Veiled Christ statue. It’s the most exquisite piece of sculpture, and I highly suggest checking it out when in Naples.

Pompeii

Pompeii is probably the most famous human habitat that has been affected by volcanic eruption in history. In 79 AD, Mount Vesuvius that towers over Pompeii erupted, spewing hot gases and debris over 30 km into the air, releasing 100,000 times the thermal energy of atomic bombing of Hiroshima. This resulted in fully entombing the city under ashfall deposits for close to two millennia. The eruption lasted for two days, and the deadliest part which was the pyroclastic surge happened on the second day. That’s when a hurricane of hot and poisonous ash swept the region, and caused immediate burning and asphyxiation. The contorted postures that the bodies are found in probably shows how much pain the unfortunate went through, and how immediate the death had been. Out of the population of 20,000 in Pompeii, around 10% of the bodies (or impressions of their bodies) have been found on-site, so many evacuated during the early phase of the eruption, though the total number of survivors is unknown. 

What was a tragedy for those people in 79 AD, is for us a spectacular revelation about what life was 2,000 years ago. Through the excavations that started in 18th century, and are still ongoing, we have come to know a whole lot about the everyday life in ancient time. We know what people ate (by finding charcoaled food, fruits, and even loaves of bread), what kind of tools and everyday objects they used, how their houses looked like, even how their wall graffitis look like. Many of these objects are now kept in museums around the world, especially in the Archeological Museum in Naples (which we did visit), and have been studied extensively. But by visiting Pompeii itself, you get to walk in those ancient streets, alleyways, and houses that are painstakingly excavated and restored. It shows at the same time how similar we are the people who lived 2,000 years ago, and how different we are.

A few tips about visiting Pompeii:

  • Try visiting first thing in the morning, especially in hotter months, as there is little shade, and there is a lot of ground to cover.

  • Plan either a half day, or a full day there. It’s huge. We did 10 AM to 5 PM, and we didn’t get to see everything.

  • Do know and expect that some of the (most beautiful) houses are off-limits, or have viewings at certain hours. This was a bummer for me.

  • Don’t bother with the official app of Pompeii. It’s slow and buggy, and requires good internet connection. The only good thing about it was showing whether a place is open or not.

  • If you are thinking about bringing a stroller, don’t. We read online that strollers do not cut it, but we had to try it for ourselves. After the first 10 meters, we immediately turned back, and checked the stroller in (for free) at the gate. We saw some brave people with strollers, but I’m sure 1) they suffered, 2) skipped many places. Do bring a baby carrier instead. Our son was carried on the back of my strong wife all day. I don’t know how she did it. Even though she can’t do a single push-up or pull-up, she surely has more stamina and core strength than me!

  • I highly suggest reading up on Pompeii before visiting. Otherwise many things will go over your head. An alternative is to hire a guide for a couple of hours.

  • Before visiting, find out about the most interesting places, and pin them on your map app of choice. This way, you know what you have to visit.

Capri and Ischia

I keep this part short and sweet. Capri is famous, beautiful, and glamorous, but is packed with tourists, overly expensive, and I dare say overrated. At least Capri Town. We didn’t visit the other parts of the island, like Anacapri. We did Capri on a day visit from Naples, and if I had to choose again, I would instead go to Procida, or spend more time in Ischia.

Ischia, on the other hand, is underrated. It is a sleepy island with quaint little towns, and lot of charm, and many thermal baths, though we didn’t get to try them out. We loved strolling in the quaint towns, and sampling its great food.

Next stop: Amalfi Coast!

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I’ll end the post with the usual FAQ.

FAQ

Forget about all the history, how have you guys been?

Thanks for asking! Well, after dealing with jet lag in Rome, our son came down with a bout of diarrhea for a couple of days, and my wife and I had some cold-like symptoms. Was it COVID? We don’t think so, but anyways we are all clear now.

Given that you’re traveling with only two carry-ons, have you guys needed something you don’t have with you?

Not really! In fact, I wish we could have brought less, as when we move from place to place, it’s a lot to carry. But for now, we had to carry all these. As our son grows older, I hope we can cut out a few things like the diaper bag, sleeping tent, baby carrier and stroller. Maybe then we can travel with one carry-on!

How hard is it to travel with a one-year-old?

So far (and I don’t want to jinx it), it has been far better than we imagined! It sure comes with its moments of tiredness and frustrations at times, but that’s everyday life with a baby! Generally, our son loves being outside, and not as much being in a tiny hotel or airbnb room. We haven’t brought many toys (just some books, and his beloved robotic vacuum), so he finds ways to play with furniture in the room! The only thing that is more tiring about traveling with a baby is that you don’t get to have help from a nanny, or family and friends, so you are on-call 24/7. But then you get to spend precious time together as a family!