Procida Part III

It was time to start hiking up to get a better view of the island. It was not a bad hike because I was distracted by the pastel coloured buildings! This was what I came for in Procida - the million dollar view!

A and I hiked all the way up the top of the hill where the ex-prison building in Procida is located. Can you imagine being a prisoner there and having this view? Maybe not so bad?

As you can see, I took a million pictures while I was up there. I love the sweeping panoramic view of the sea, buildings, and the hills.

After walking around some more, it was time for lunch. We took the stairs down passing by beautiful houses along the way.

We ended up having lunch at Bar Graziella. The patio pretty much sold me to eat here and it was a good choice because they had a seafood platter that was divine! The best part of this platter was the fried sardines. I could have eaten a whole plate of those!

One day, I will return here to spend a few weeks. Get my own little room with a view of the sea. Eat on the patio and write all day!


(Part I,  Part II)

Procida Part II

After gobbling up my gelato (Part I here). We finally explored the island. It's a sleepy fishing village full of cats. We found cats everywhere. Some of them napping, some enjoying a stroll, on stairs, on scooters..the cutest cats!

I didn't even see the cats when I took my photo above. A pointed out to me after and I started laughing. 

I was loving the vibe of this island. It was so relaxed. We just kept walking around. Not following a map. We went up a hill and looked at the houses/buildings we passed by. We went on empty alleyways. Everything was beautiful! 

I'm not sure if the island comes alive in the summer but I loved it being so peaceful.

I want to wish my family, friends, and readers from the States a very Happy Thanksgiving! 

Procida Part I

 

I have been saving posting this until the very end. Ooh Procida! If you watched the movie "The Talented Mr. Ripley" then my photos will be familiar as the movie was partly shot on this island. I completely forgot about it until I saw photos on instagram. 

I picked this island because it was quiet. I wanted a peaceful but picturesque island to visit on a day trip from Naples.

We picked the slower boat for this trip. It was a great choice because we snapped photos along the way. If we took the high speed boat, it would have been impossible to take photos while riding the boat. 

We lucked out on the weather being sunny so we stayed at the top deck to enjoy the view! I think the ferry was only 9 Euros each way.

Of course, my first order of business (aside from taking some photos) was finding a gelato shop. I had two scoops of gelato before we proceeded to walk around. I just couldn't function without it in Italy!

Church of Gesu Nuovo

The exterior of this church is so simple that you can walk past it and not realize the hidden gem inside. I'm glad that our curiosity lead us inside this church.

I know the saying that "once you see one church, you have seen them all". But I disagree because no one church was the same in Rome and Naples. Each one was different and distinctive. Each one had a different personality and mood to it. Even the exteriors are all different. And I like that very much.

The church of Gesu Nuovo has the dramatic intensity of Baroque architecture. I loved the dramatic frescoes, the grand sculptures, and opulence that it projected.