April 30, 2017. Today we decided to get out of Rome and explore Naples and the Amalfi Coast. We rented a car for the day. Our itinerary: Naples, Pompeii, Sorrento, Positano and Amalfi. Our objective: to eat the world’s best pizza and to see one of the world’s famous coastlines.

Our driver, Jun was a bit of a spoilsport. He kept trying to dissuade us from going to Naples, saying it was a terrible and unsafe place, and that our lives would be in danger. I was beginning to get creeped out. But, Cara, having visited Naples on her own years ago, said it was alright. Besides, the quest for the world’s best pizza is not something to dismiss that easily. Naples is known for its pizza, and Niccolo was already researching the best pizza place in Naples.

A port, Naples is a run down city. Another place lost in time. Somewhat like busy Divisoria, what with carts selling a variety of goods clogging the streets, and a mass of people weaving in and out. Clothes hung out to dry from apartment buildings. The streets were dirty, littered with refuse. Cars looked unwashed and beat up. A motorcyclist without a helmet zoomed by an uncaring cop. Yes, there was a hint of lawlessness about the city.

Our driver was so scared of Naples, he even hinted that we should take a cab into the city. But, hey, it was midday. The sun was up! And his passengers grew up in Quiapo, familiar and at ease with the hustle and bustle of the metropolis. Hello? Recto?

Niccolo chose Pizzeria Trianon, but alas, it was still closed. Cara did a quick Google search and came up with Antica Pizzeria da Michelle which was just around the corner. I must say it was the best pizza we’ve tasted, bar none. They only had two flavors to choose from: Margherita and Marinara, and they’ve been serving this up since 1870. The Pizzeria was busy, but we were lucky to find a table. We sat across the warm oven, a welcome treat from the nippy air outside.

Next on the itinerary was Pompeii. Again, Jun tried to talk us out of it saying it would take long. He asked us to drop one of our destinations as we would not have time to see everything we wanted. But visiting Pompeii has long been a childhood dream of mine. A bucket list to tick off.

The line for buying tickets was very long and snaked up the hillside. My children hesitated, asking me if I could handle the rolling terrain. We lined up nevertheless. The streets of Pompeii are cobbled and difficult to traverse, especially with a sprained foot and a walking stick, but I soldiered on, adamant to see the ruins of Pompeii.

Pompeii lies in the foothills of Mount Vesuvius. It was a bustling city, with many fine houses, a rich culture, and a booming economic economy. All these came to a halting stop when Mount Vesuvius erupted and covered the city in lava and ash. Most of the city’s 15,000 inhabitants perished, and today you can still see calcified corpses of people fleeing the destructive volcanic violence. There was a man in a sleeping position, another one hunched as if to pray. My heart sank when I saw the body of a small child and a dog. The volcano’s wrath spared none.

Pompeii lay hidden and forgotten for centuries until it was rediscovered by some diggings. And little by little, the beauty that lay beneath was unearthed and revealed, giving us today a glimpse of Roman life 800 years ago. Giant sculptures dotted the ruins, dwarfing us. What grandeur Pompeii must have had! If I could come back in time, I would like to visit Pompeii, avoiding he volcanic eruption, of course,

I wish that I was in better shape to explore Pompeii and that we had more time, but the rest of the trip beckoned and so we left. Perhaps some day I will be able to revisit this jewel from ancient times.

Soon, I saw glimpses of the startling blue sea as we zigzagged along the mountainside on our way to Sorrento. At times, the sun would be blocked as we entered a tunnel carved out of the mountain, and then the scape of sea and sun would once more be revealed.

Sorrento is a seaside town, very pretty. The apartments look airy with wrought iron balconies and colorful awnings to shield against the sun. The streets were narrow and twisting, with many a harrowing close calls as cars and buses met each other on the street. We drove down to the busy port where yachts were docked then back up again.

Just about everyone in Sorrento must have decided to come out and enjoy the sun. There were people in sleeveless tops and shorts, and here we were bundled up in our jackets. Hankering for some gelato and coffee we asked to be dropped off, and entered a hip gelatteria. I had a dark chocolate and cheese and figs ice cream while Cara had a Limon. Bea had a Nutella coffee while Niccolo had pistachio. We all loved it! Sorrento is known for its lemons, and so before we boarded the car, we bought a limoncello to bring home.

Our next stop was Positano. Once again, we found ourselves driving along the mountainside with a magnificent view of the sea on the other side. Italians drive extremely fast, and many a times we were overtaken by zooming motorbikes and cars. How they manage to escape harm bewilders me, given the sharp twists and turns of the narrow road, and the number of oncoming vehicles.

We stopped at a convenient point to take photos of Positano’s houses clinging to the cliff side. Positano is smaller than Sorrento but just as quaint. Our driver wanted to drive down to shoreside to show us the town and then head back to Rome, but we asked him to proceed to Amalfi instead so that we could catch it before sunset.

And catch it we did, just as the sun was beginning to wane. The driver dropped us off at the square and we walked to the church. The steps were steep, but it looked like such a beautiful church that we wanted to see it. Besides, the church had a relic of St. Mark. A mass was going on when we finally reached the church.

We then looked for a place to eat dinner. Amalfi is known for its seafood, and so we capped our tour with a fantastic seafood dinner at La Piazzetta. We had spaghetti con alici di cetara, pangrattato e noci (spaghetti with salted anchovies and walnuts), scialatelli amafitani con frutti di mare (homemade pasta with seafood), ravioli al pomodoro ripieni di ricotta di agerola, melanzane e provola (tomato ravioli with smoked mozzarella and eggplant), frittura mista del golfo (mixed local deep fried fish), lemon cake, pistachio cake, washed down with vino blanco de la casa and limoncello to end the meal. It was an amazing meal! And to think they had just been open a week!

It was the witching hour by the time we reached Rome, tired but happy. It was definitely a memorable tour of Naples, Pompeii, Sorrento, Positano, and the Amalfi Coast. And one, I would be eager to repeat but allotting two days instead of one.