Naples

Sailng from Civitavecchia, the port for Rome, to Naples overnight we had the balcony door partly adjar to enable us to enjoy the gentle sound of the water as the ship sailed on the Mediterranean Sea. our balcony, with the obstructed view of life boat hydraulic mechanisms was sheltered from any breezes the ship may have experienced. Unfortunately our body clocks are still on Australian time, so staying asleep, or going back to sleep after 3am is almost impossible, but our adrenaline of arriving on this beautiful, big and newest ship is still evident.

My day in Naples is to trek through the older part of the city, past Castle Nuovo, Opera House and Piazza Plebisclto to Borbonico Tunnel, several meters under the city buildings. the steps heading down were reasonable easy to use, however I proceeded with care for fear of falling. The tunnel was orginally constructed as a military passage from the castle, in a time when the king was faced with possible revolution but never used. This tunnel and the nearby disused cistern was opened up during WW11 to be used as a bomb shelter, then in the 50's as a storage area for illegally modified vehicals confiscated by authorities and later forgotten untl 2000's when it was opened up as a tourist attraction.

We emerged from the other side to the Bay of naples to walk along the esplande to the Castle of the Egg in Santa Lucia, a fortified castle perched on an island in the bay. Part of this tour inclded lunch of margarita pizza and local wine at one of the restaurants on this esplanade. Naples is noted as the birthplace of the pizza.

As we walked along the narrow footpaths of Naples we had to watch out for the busy traffic. It was even a risk to life and limb to use the pedestrian crossings! One of our group had a walking metre on her phone which recorded our walk took 4 1/2 miles.

After dinner we just managed to stay awake to hear one one of the cultural performances by the Symphony Orchestra of the Chinese people's Association for friendship with Foreign Countries, giving us a taste of Chinese Heritgae and Culture covering the Maritime Silk Road ( the name of the maiden voyage of this voyage).
Some of the pieces were Myriad of birds hail the phenix, Horse riding and the silk road (my favourite)

                   
                                     Outside Castle Nuovo with its round towers

                         Surprise enterance to Borbonic Tunnel in a very narrow lane.

                          Section of the tunnel where confiscated vehicals were stored.

                                                       Narrow stairway in tunnel.

                                                  Main through way in tunnel.

                                               Street in which we exited tunnel

                 Castle of Egg, built on island of Megaride and connected by causeway.

                                       View of Mt Versuvus on arrival into Naples

   
                                                                     Our cabin

                                                                      Bathroom