It’s been a few weeks since my visit to Bella Italia. I spent five days in Naples and on the beautiful small (and still quite unknown) island of Procida, where I experienced the last warm days of the year and enjoyed lots of pizza and pasta. Read and view more in today’s post: Ciao bella Italia: a trip to Naples and Procida!
I have held back the pictures from Naples and Procida for quite a few weeks, as I was originally planning to share a short Youtube video with you from my trip to Italy. However, since I’m back in Germany, I’m finding myself caught in lots of baby-related topics – the list of things waiting to be organised, bought, read and done seems endless –, plus work keeps me busy and, well, just life itself I suppose.
Therefore, I will skip the video editing part and share some pictures from my trip with you instead.
From Frankfurt I flew to Naples where I had one whole day to explore the city. And I must say: I was glad it wasn’t more. I was simply overwhelmed by the hectic in this city, the noises, the people, the cars. After all I’m pregnant and therefore probably worried about everything a little more than usual. After one car actually hit me (not badly, I was crossing a crosswalk, and one car driver simply must have thought he doesn’t need to stop, so he kept on driving very slowly, until his car actually touched my legs and I “fell” on his car trying to jump away. It wasn’t serious, but the fact that he just ignored the people crossing the crosswalk made left me shaking for a few minutes), I decided this place is not for me.
Which is sad, because Naples is beautiful indeed. I had an Airbnb close to the old town of Naples, where I ended up walking up and down Via dei Tribunali, and was sat at Piazza Bellini for hours, drinking coffee and eating pasta – with aubergines, with mussels, with tomato sauce and with courgette. I must admit, I probably didn’t see enough of Naples to form an opinion about it. But what I noticed is that it’s a pretty vibrant place and not an ideal travel destination for pregnant ladies.
However, Procida is! This tiny island southwest from Naples is still pretty unknown – and pretty beautiful. I stayed at the 4-star hotel and spa resort La Vigna in the north east of the island, just 20 minutes by foot from the ferry port. La Vigna has an outdoor swimming pool, a spa area with a hot tub and Turkish bath, its own vineyard and a huge garden with terrace over-looking the sea. From the minute I arrived, I felt calm.
From my hotel, it was a five-minute walk to Marina de Corricella, which is what I would call the place to be on Procida, with restaurants, bars and cafés lined up and beautiful fishermen’s boats swimming on the water. That’s where I spent most nights (alternating with Via Roma, the street where also the ferry port is situated), eating pasta with mussels, fish and pizza.
One day, I walked to the other side of the island, to the south west, where a long sand beach, Chaiolella, is to be found.
Apart from that there is not so much to do on Procida, it is a very calm little island, with an old prison from which one has a stunning view over Marina di Corricella. There’s a long sandy beach to realx, the water is clear, there are plenty of Italian restaurants and plenty of Italian inhabitants. For anyone who is rather restless or looking into exploring more, I would suggest to stay two or three nights, to then continue a trip to Ischia, Capri or Positano, where it’s a little more vibrant and perhaps a bit more touristy and glamorous, too.
Have you been to the Gulf of Naples? And what are your thoughts on Naples? I look forward to reading from you!
Love,
Lea Lou
