Campania

The last four nights of our travels have been spent in Campania, which is home to Pompeii, Naples, Sorrento and the Isle of Capri.
Unfortunately Mike came down with the tummy wobbles which really put paid to some of our plans. For those concerned about him, he is now on the mend and has sampled a beer so he must be getting better!
We were staying almost in the ruins of Pompeii which was a blessing in one way as it enabled us to just cross the road to visit the ruins, spend a few hours there then hurry back to our accommodation so that he could lie down for a rest.
We had planned on visiting Naples but illness put paid to that idea.
Fortunately we did get to Sorrento yesterday and then hopped the ferry over to the Isle of Capri. It is a beautiful coastline in that area and I think it did wonders for Mike being out in the fresh air. We jumped on the funicular which took us to the top of Capri, where we wandered around then walked back down via back lanes that tourists just don't get to. The views were great and it is always fun looking into peoples yards.  Italians certainly make use of every available inch of land - there are always veggie patches and, for this part of Italy, lemon trees with huge lemons.  We do love our Limoncello!!
Nik, I tried to find that path we walked, without success, as I recall it was a stunning walk along the cliff tops.
Anyway, we ended up opting to go on a boat trip around the island, the aim being to keep Mike off his feet for a while and of course to see the island from the water.  We thought we had booked on to a proper cruise boat. Wrong. It was an open top motor launch. For 2 hours we bobbed about on the ocean, sometimes gently, most of the time not so gently.
We were taken into several caves and caverns around the island, all very interesting.  The highlight for some, not us, was the Blue Grotto.
Our launch joined a veritable herd of other boats and launches all amassed around the inlet where the grotto is located.  For thirteen euros per head they then take you into a dinghy, make you lie down flat, squeeze through a small cave entrance, stay inside the grotto for maybe 2 minutes and return you to your own vessel. Those who did it said it was great, personally we figured that kind of money buys a pretty good dinner.
I will not go into detail about our accommodation in Pompeii, I knew from previous visits that the place is not the greatest but I really had no idea we would be staying in a brothel - that is not a joke!
We moved on today and are now located in a beautiful hotel in Matera, which only cost about 20 euros more per night than the brothel in Pompeii. For those who have never heard of Matera go and visit http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/670
I visited it a few years ago and am so looking forward to taking Mike to see it - it is an incredible place.  If we have time later in the day I hope we can get to Trulli, http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/787, another fascinating place.
We only have 2 nights here before we push of again, so not sure when or from where the next post will be done.