Tunisia and Naples

Tunis, Tunisia (for some reason this did not originally post so I'm posting it now)

I can now mark off “See Live Camels” from my bucket list! Okay it’s not actually on my list but it was pretty unique to see 4 or 5 camels lined up outside our cruise ship and they were giving rides. Very tourist trap like but it was fun to watch! This port is the only one in which we arranged a shore excursion and I was curious to see what I thought of going on an organized tour since I’m a do it yourselfer. Tunis is on the northern tip of Africa and is 98% Muslim but is very liberal compared to most Muslim nations. We did see some women with the headgear on but there were probably more women that were not wearing it. The official languages are Arabic and French but English was also on most signs. This was the best port to enjoy a shore excursion because the merchants are known for being extremely aggressive and it was nice to be with others on our ship for this tour.

We enjoyed visiting Carthage which are ruins of Ancient Roman Baths (those Romans were everywhere!). We also visited Sidi Bou Said, a hillside community that reminds me of Greece. All the houses are whitewashed with ornate and colorful (usually blue) doors. The weather was beautiful and we had an outstanding view of the Mediterranean. Tunisia also has a lot of Olive Groves and produces Olive Oil, which is exported.

Considering that most Americans only speak English I am always amazed when I hear people from non-English speaking countries talking fluently in English. Most of them are able to speak several different languages. In Tunis children learn Arabic in school and then they introduce French to them. In 5^th grade they begin learning English.

We really enjoyed having explanations as to what we were looking at and our tour guide was very good. Hey, he even talked to Sydney and Eric so he’s A-Okay in my book! Glad I took a shore excursion because I’ve often wondered what they were all about. They’re all different but in this case we all agreed it was worth it. Sydney said that Tunis was her favorite place we’ve visited so far.

Naples

Naples surprised us! We had heard all the stories about how dangerous it was because of pickpockets and the Mafia. Therefore, we expected it to have an element of danger. That couldn’t have been farther from the truth. When we departed the ship we needed to catch a bus to the train station and catch the train to Herculaneum, which was buried by the same eruption as Pompeii. We bought a combo bus/train pass and as we were waiting at the bus stop I asked a man, who was also waiting, if we were at the right place. Luckily he spoke some English and confirmed we were going the right direction. Once we got on the bus our tickets didn’t seem to work in the machine and 2 or 3 Italians tried to help us out. It never did work and apparently the bus driver didn’t care so it wasn’t a problem. Before we got off I asked the guy, who I originally talked to at our bus stop, which direction we needed to go to the train station and he said “I show you”. This nice stranger walked with us all the way to the station and down some stairs to the ticket window. He then asked the person (in Italian) at the ticket window if we had the right tickets for the train and she confirmed that we did. We thanked him and then he went on his way. His name was Giovanni (very Italian!) I kept waiting for someone to try and rip us off but it never happened. We found the people to be extremely warm, friendly and helpful!

The kids loved going on the train, which was mostly frequented by the locals. Once there we took a walk down thru the town until we reached the site. When we entered the ruins Sydney and Eric thought it was so cool to be able to look down on the ancient city and see where buildings were. There was a boat that was recently restored. Must have been trying to get away when the eruption occurred. It showed the charred remains of it and they even salvaged the oars and anchors. It’s about 2000 years old so amazing it could be restored and on display. We were able to walk among the houses that have been excavated. This had been a very wealthy town so the houses were huge with columns and frescos on the walls and ceilings. Most houses even had the original tile still on their floors. This was a great site to visit for many different reasons:

· It’s better preserved than Pompeii

· The site is not too large which makes it easy to explore with kids

· Not very touristy which makes it much more relaxing than Pompeii. No vendors were outside the entrance trying to sell us trinkets.

· No crowds

On our way back to the train station we saw a Museum that looked interesting. We didn’t really know what it was about and kind of had to convince the kids to go to it. Turns out it was a Virtual Museum about Pompeii and Herculaneum. It was very high tech and interactive. One room had a floor that just looked like gravel and pumice but when you walk on it the floor becomes the beautiful tile that was found in the houses. They also had holograms of the jewels that were found and there were even images on the walls of people walking. The kids had so much fun here it was hard to get them to leave. Sydney said it’s her favorite museum she’s ever been to! Some of the most interesting things you find when traveling are not necessarily listed in guidebooks.

After our big day out the kids decided that was enough for them and just wanted to hang out in their kids clubs. David and I decided to find a place to have dinner in Naples. You can’t go to Italy and not eat their food! In our quest for food we discovered that most restaurants do not open for dinner until at least 7:00pm. We found a place up an alleyway and it turned out to be a good choice. Very authentic and we were the only Americans!

We found a huge mall with high domed ceilings. The tile and details on the walls looked more like something you’d see in a church. Seems to be a tourist and local hangout. The mall leads into a mostly pedestrian street lined with shops and street vendors. Great area to walk around in and avoid some of the crazy traffic. The traffic is quite chaotic and lets just say that all the drivers in Naples would be given traffic tickets if they drove that way in the States. The Vespas (motor scooters) almost outnumber the cars. It was not uncommon to see 3 people on a Vespa. Lots of times you’d see one or two children on them. The little cars usually have many people in them as well. We saw one of those smart cars (tiny tiny) that are originally designed for 2 people. In this particular car there was 2 adults, a 3 year old and a child probably about 1, sitting on the dads lap as he was driving. I guess safety isn’t a concern.

Our overall impression of Naples was very good! This was probably our best day yet and we did not feel unsafe in any of the areas we visited. You still have to be aware of your surrounding though and probably not a good idea to be out late at night but other than that we thought it was a great destination!