Napoli and Amalfi Coast

Napoli!  There's lots to see and do from the port of Naples.  The Isle of Capri, the gorgeous Amalfi Coast, the ruins of Pompeii, wining and dining, beautiful ceramics, and more!  The Amalfi Coast is one of my favorite destinations. 

The first time we were in Naples, we took the ship’s tour which included Pompeii, Sorrento and Capri.  Be sure to see Pompeii; there is nothing like it in the world.  The Isle of Capri is beautiful!  It was a full day but we saw a lot.  We had lunch in a wonderful restaurant in Sorrento and I remember the waiter serving me profiteroles for dessert and saying “Amore” while he did so.   Ah, Italy.  Another time when we were in Naples, we once again took a ship’s tour which included an olive and lemon farm.  We saw how olive oil is made.   We were served a light lunch of Italian cheeses, salami, wine, and limoncello!   Delightful!

On our next visit to the area, we did an independent tour of the Amalfi Coast with two other couples.   We saw Amalfi, Positano, Ravello, and had a wonderful Italian lunch in a charming local family-owned restaurant overlooking the sea.  The lunch was a family style tasting menu and included wine and all flavors of limoncello.  I bought some beautiful pottery, some watercolor paintings, and, of course, limoncello. 

Here's a photo of me in Positano with Roberto, our guide:

 
And when we were there again... 
Our tour was Sorrento and Amalfi Drive and it was perfect for us, since we had already visited Capri and Pompeii.   Our guide was excellent, one of the best we have had. In Sorrento Ken found a doctor - an Italian sculpture, a piece of art for our home! The doctor is an anesthesiologist, so it's a perfect fit! Quite intricate and beautiful. The landscape of olives, lemons, grapes, kumquats, artichokes, and capers is terraced and breathtakingly beautiful. We had lunch overlooking the Mediterranean Sea in Amalfi. Divine -- first a glass of champagne, then cannaloni filled with spinach and ricotta, followed by chicken breast stuffed with mozzeralla and topped with pomodora sauce... dessert was sponge cake filled with -- of course lemon sauce- and strawberries.... the white wine was flowing! Amalfi is beautiful and the hair pin curves along the Amalfi Drive can be terrifying! Most cars that we saw had no side view mirrors because they had been stripped off when meeting other vehicles - the road is VERY narrow... but the scenery is breathtaking. I could live in Italy very easily!


When we again docked in Naples two years ago, we decided to wander around and explore Naples since we  had done most everything else.  I would not recommend doing this.  It was dirty and pickpockets were everywhere.  I had been hoping to go on a self-mapped pizza tour to sample the famous pizza from Naples... but this did not happen!  We enjoyed our pizza back onboard Celebrity Silhouette.  So my advice is to take a tour here, either private or ship's tour.  I think you will have a much better day!