Every time I have come to Naples two major factors have prevented me from doing what I intended to do; weather and the time it takes to get back and forth from the place I was trying to get to.
It’s a fifty minute hydrofoil ride to and from Ischia y’see, and that’s difficult to maneuver around when there’s a comparatively early all aboard time. Add to that the fact that every single time I’ve come to Naples it has poured down rain and the hydrofoils don’t like to run in poor weather? Recipe for not getting anywhere.
Today though, they gave us an overnight in Naples, and the weather deities granted us bright sunshine pouring down instead of rain. One of those rare beautiful days that you hardly ever get in November, even here.
So why this bizarre compulsion to get to Ischia? Easy, one of my favourite movies was set here years ago. Of course, I have since found out –well after the fact – that it was actually filmed in Sorrento, but at the time I didn’t know that.
The thing about finally visiting a place that you’ve always wanted to visit is precisely that you’ve always wanted to visit it.
No matter what, t’s not going to live up to your expectations.
I sum up:
Was it terrible? No, not really. Not at all. Once you get away from the ferry docks the little winding side-streets are really charming. The problems rests with the fact that for the rest of the world this is off-season, meaning that the island is essentially shut down. While I’m sure in the summer months there are plenty of ways for tourists to get up to where the actual historical sites and famous views and such are, but this time of year? Definitely no such thing. And every shop is closed.
Trying to make the best of what was – sadly – a disappointing day, I wondered through the streets of mostly closed shops just kind of taking in the quiet. It is an odd experience to see a tourist town when it’s basically empty. It’s somewhat eerie really, like a ghost town.
There was – thankfully – at least one gelato shop open, which went a long way towards salvaging my afternoon as gelato pretty much fixes everything.
Even in Europe they can’t all be winners, and if life was always perfect it would be awfully boring.
Besides if the biggest issue in my life right now is that one Italian port didn’t live up to my expectations? Then I am fully aware that I really have no right to complain.
Besides, as it turns out, the movie was filmed in Sorrento anyway!
Oh honey we were really surprised when we hit Naples! Even for Italy there was so much graffeti but then we found the Christmas alleys and all was forgiven
There was even a whole street that specialised in music. Sheet music,instruments,lessons and to top it off a cellist busking! Yeah mixed feelings but oh so worth another try 
Next time Sorrento