Napoli we love you

Hello everyone

We just want you to know that we have had a delighful train journey from Rome to Naples. I think what was most pleasing was the sight of so many little olive groves and orchards and although I am sure that Italy is full of huge commercial farms as is everywhere, on our train journey their was lots of husband and wife teams working their own little small holding, weeding in between the melons and picking the fruit for the market.

The train was very busy with Romans travelling to the Amalfi coast for their holiday and the only reason that most of them were heading to Naples was so that they could catch the ferry to the islands especially Capri.

We managed to find the campsite okay, it is only 5km from Naples and a straight ride on the metro although the last km we had to walk up a hill in 32 degrees which was a bit of challenge but after all the steps we climbed in Rome we were well up for it. This is our home for the next few days.

The campsite is fantastic, we are right beside a volcanic crater which we worked around the first day and we were fasinated by the steam coming from various holes in the ground. The steam comes out at 160 degrees so you have to be careful were you stand and it also releases clouds of sulphur and so we came home covered in ash and stinking of rotten eggs. The mossies loved it and instantly attacked us leaving us looking like a bad case of giant measles. however other areas of our skin feel lovely and smooth and silky, it's just a shame that there is nobody here to appreciate it. After our trip around the crater which is right beside the campsite, we needed a shower and then went straight to the bar for well derserved beer before buying our tea.

Here is a picture of the view from the end of the road, we are overlooking the islands and it is one of the most beautiful views we have ever seen.

Last night we invented a great tea, we had bacon with courgettes accompanied by noodles cooked in chicken and leek cup-a-soup, with a few fresh plum tomatoes thrown in and a couple of huge crusy rolls to mop up the sauce. It was absolutely delicious. Just to add a bit of culture to our food for the day, when we got to the bar, we decided to have a bowl of mixed olives to accompany our wine, bellismo......