Sotterranea (Underground): Not for the claustrophobic

It's so difficult to explain the feeling of being in Napoli. It's familiar yet I see so many changes, many of them good. The streets are cleaner and seem safer. There are Carabiniere (law enforcement) posted on what seems to be every other corner with their big guns and funny looking hats. There are more people here now who speak English and there is more variety of restaurants: steak houses, German beer gardens, sushi, etc. I even saw a couple double decker scenic tour buses catering to the tourists from the cruise ships.

Today we were going to go downtown to the Sotterranea (Naples Underground) only to find there was a strike for the trains and busses. Hmmmm. So we had to huff it down the hill through some questionable neighborhoods with interesting street scenes. After 45 minutes we made it to the downtown and rewarded ourselves to a wonderful lunch at the Osteria da Carmela! Love the mozzerella e parmigiano and the buffalo mozzarella.

So next the Sotterranea which is a labyrinth of geothermal tunnels used as a aqueducts by the Ancient Greeks more than 2,500 years ago. The tunnels were also then used as bunkers during WWII. One portion of the tour actually takes your through the dark narrow aqueducts for several minutes. I didn't think I could do it, but with the guide and while holding Janice's hand I made it through. You had to stand sideways to walk through without a backpack and it was pitch black except for a couple cell phone flash lights. At times you had to duck your head through portions of the tunnel. My God - it was scary but we were rewarded with large caverns of fresh blue water reservoirs. Later we also toured small portions of large Roman Theater first discovered in the 19th century. Many of the ruins are still covered with plaster and occupied by residents. Very interesting. Later we enjoyed a stroll down Speca Napoli or Christmas Alley lined with crafts for the famous Neapolitan Presepes (nativity scenes).

Another great day even though I walked too much and paid the price later.

Scenes from the day