Travel Tips

This is downtown just across the street from the Castle Maschio Angioino. You can take boats from here to various places including Capri, Sorrento and the Amalfi Coast

Sunset at Pinetamare. This picture was taken from my window at the hotel I stayed in for six months back in 1999. Boy, what a great time that was.

A view looking towards Vesuvio and Mergellina/downtown.

This is the street my wife grew up on. It is a total nightmare to drive here, as evidenced by this "traffic jam". You can also see my blue 4x4 truck on the right. Don't ask how much fun that thing is to drive here.

There is only room for one car to go in either direction at any given time on this street. So when 2 or 3 cars are trying to get in, and another 2 trying to get out, it creates quite a nerve racking experience. You can only access the street from the direction at the top of the photo and the street eventually dead ends around the corner to the rear.

Typical real Napolitan life, but it's all part of the experience. If we wanted normal we'd never leave home.

Castel dell'Ovo is the splendid castle in the Borgo Marinari, the "fishing village" on the sea-front of the Santa Lucia district. Its foundations rest on a tufa rock in the bay which was later connected to the mainland. In Roman times the out buildings of the villa of the patrician Lucius Licinius stood on that site. At the end of the 5th century, an order of Basilian monks settled there and in the 12th century a fortress was built. This was later enlarged by both Normans and Angevins.

Maschio Angioino is the landmark of Piazza Municipio, the large square facing the port. It was built by the Angevin dynasty in the 13th century, but was then completely rebuilt by order of the Aragonese kings and restructured over the years. Its most noteworthy features are: the Cappella palatina (Palatine Chapel), also called the Chapel of St. Barbara, and the Sala dei Baroni (Hall of the Barons) where the meetings of the City Council of Naples are held. The magnificent Arch at the entrance to the castle was built to commemorate the triumphal arrival of Alfonso I of Aragon in Naples on February 26th 1443.

This Birreria is a fantastic place to party. It's definitely off the beaten path, but the locals go and dance the night away. They serve food as well. I actually got the nerve to sing Karaoki here (first time for everything). I cannot sing to save my life, but the Napolitans loved it because I was obviously American. This place is in Pinetamare, also home to very crowded beaches in the summer and the hotel I stayed in for six months, The Fontana Bleu.

This place was pretty much a dump on the outside, but my hotel room was nice, although full of old decor. I had a kitchen, two bedrooms and a great balcony to watch the beach crowd. The sunsets were beautiful here, and I must say that I miss it. I plan on going back this summer, 2002, just to hang out for a day/night to soak up the sun and party.

La Spiagga in Pinetamare was where I spent many hours soaking up the sun on my days off. This is a picture in the evening on a weeknight. Weekends were the time when it seemed everyone was here. I still love going back here to take a stroll on the beach when I'm down in Naples. So many memories. The early dating times with Mariangela were spent when I was living here, so it will always be special.

This was taken in October. The beach chairs gone, the music silent, and the beachgoers abandoned the sandy shores until yet another summer. The smell of salt water still fills the air, and you can feel the sea breeze while standing on your balcony. Ahhhh. Breath in the air, and slowly exhale a breath of contemplation. Life is good!