Naples & the Amalfi Coast: Summer is Finally and Definitely Here.

Before arriving in Naples we had been warned multiple times about how dangerous the city was, how crafty and numerous the pickpockets and hoodlums were, so we were on high alert when we arrived into the city on the sweatiest train ride of our lives. Half an hour later, Felix was at the local police station reporting the theft of his wallet. This was obviously rather stressful, but thankfully the police officer we talked to was a bit of a legend, offering us biscuits, seats in his air-conditioned office, and even getting his wife to call Felix twice, just to check that he was managing emotionally. We only stayed one night in Naples, which is a pretty rough and chaotic city, but situated in a very beautiful region.

The backstreets in Naples are all pedestrian, except for the cars and scooters which hoon through them with no regard for the po-po. Also, being the birthplace of pizza, it's pretty damn delicious and cheap.

 A visit to the ruins of Pompeii is essential for anyone visiting the Bay of Naples.The ghostly town with the looming shadow of Vesuvius in the background had a pretty haunting feel about it, and the town was surprisingly huge and filled with easily the best preserved ruins we saw in Italy. They even have body casts of people who were found amidst the ruins caked with ash and debris.

The next 4 nights we spent camping on the Amalfi coast, immediately south of the Bay of Naples. We were clearly the most novice campers at the site, sometimes fellow campers would shake our tent and laugh at how poorly it was pitched, unaware that we were sitting just inside on our deflated air mattress. Aside from that the Amalfi coast is unbelievably beautiful; steep hills and cliffs rising straight up out of the turquoise Mediterranean, dotted with villages, lemon and olive trees, and crazy winding roads, all clinging to the sides of the cliffs. The only tourists there are those crazy enough to hop in one of the buses that speed along the clifftops at alarming speeds, so it's fairly easy to find a quiet spot along the coast.

The stunning town of Positano gives Wellington a run for its money in terms of buildings built on hills!

Big cliffs hanging over blue sea creates huge potential for cliff jumping. Most of the cliffs actually looked decidedly lethal, but we found a few fun-sized ones.

Escaping the tourist crowds is pretty key to really appreciate the beauty of the Amalfi coast. This beach was only accessible by walking track or boat. It was hard to lie on the sand for more than half an hour without turning into a baked potato.

We decided to splurge and go on a day trip to the island of Capri. We had a tour guide explaining the history of the region, while we circled the island and squeezed through the iconic Faraglioni rocks.

Capri was very touristy; the cost of getting to the top of Monte Solaro in a one-seater chairlift was 10euro each.The cost of walking to the top was a mere 10litres of sweat.

On Positano beach we were chatting to a neighbouring sunbather, who harmlessly asked if we wanted a photo together. One thing lead to another and she made us get into the water and was ordering us into lots of different poses and making us (Felix more than Phoebe) feel mildly uncomfortable. At least we got a couple of nice ones from the 20 photos.

In Sorrento we stumbled across a gelato/limoncello factory on their opening night. We got to try so many of their products including walnut and basil varieties of limoncello and at least 10 gelato flavours each. They took us beyond our comfort zone in terms of gelato quantity eaten in one sitting, and we loved it. Phoebe's curiosity for following free-tasting signs finally paid off.

Next time: Heading north to Venezia and across to Slovenia, failing miserably to escape the heat!