Meta Beach and Naples (Sorrento Part 3)

Day three took Jay back to
Pompeii and I suffered by staying back and taking the girls to the
beach!  We rode the little public bus for about 20 minutes to a village 3
towns down the coast right to a little pebbly, black sand beach (again
most of the shoreline is made up of steep cliffs and the black sand is
from the volcanic lava).  The water was a little chilly (read COLD!) but
the girls didn't care. They climbed on the rocks and gathered millions
of rocks, tumbled glass and shells to take home (what's that baggage
weight limit??).  The water was a brilliant blue/green and the sunshine felt so good
after our long winter.  We ended the day with a beautiful sunset from
the park overlooking the ocean across the street from our apartment and
of course gelato shared with an American family we happened upon!  It
was fun to share stories.  Everyone we meet reminds us how blessed we
are for this extended opportunity to LIVE in Europe and not just make a
whirlwind tour for a few weeks.  Staying in the apartments when we
travel has really allowed us to mingle with the locals and live like a
local more than what we get when we only stay in one place for a few
days.  We get a chance to use the local buses, go to the market and
become familiar with some of the shopkeepers etc. (like Jhonny of
course! It's kind of nice to feel like someone recognizes you!)  Never
did get too friendly with the fish guy though - girls wouldn't linger long
enough around the baby octopus, whole fish and the lovely smell!!

Day 4 took us into the city of Naples.  About an hour away by a rugged
train trip.  This particular train system leaves little to be desired. 
It is covered with graffiti, ,stops constantly and is quite crowded -
also known for pick pockets.  Fortunately we didn't have any problems
with that.  We were all pretty excited to go the National Archaeological
Museum in Naples which houses many of the treasures found in Pompeii
and Herculaneum.  The museum is filled with frescoes removed from the
walls of the homes, household items (pots, pans, silverware, decorative
vases etc.), floor mosaics, coins, etc.  Much to our dismay, entire
sections of the museum were closed including the "Secret Room" exhibit
(for adults only).  We didn't get to see any of the floor mosaics or
coins but we did see a couple of models of Pompeii which were quite
interesting.  One from the late 1800's and one from the late 1900's. It
is amazing to see how much they have dug up in the last century.  We
found Naples to be crowded and dirty (it has a reputation for that) so
we headed back early to the beautiful coast.  Although the day was
somewhat disappointing it wasn't anything a gelato and Jhonny's Pizza
couldn't fix!  And a little souvenir shopping - always a favorite. 
Dayna has quite a collection of postcards!