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12 January 1881 — Naples | |
Wednesday. 12th January [1881]. We intended to go [to] Baia & got up early but it looked threatening & we gave it up when abt 10 the porter sent up to say it had cleared & the carriage awaited us so we decided to go & were rewarded by the most charming day. The sky & sea became blue—the sun was warm & the lights & effects very varied. We drove thro’ the Grotto to the Solfatara at Pozzuoli—there we got out & were presented by a wretched guide who insisted on taking us altho’ we begged him to leave us alone. We did not descend into the crater of the Solfatara but saw it from the edge—the horrid guide then led us round by fields & vineyards under the pretence of taking us to the amphitheatre which was a long way off– The amphitheatre is enclosed & very interesting being very perfect. From there we had to walk again to find our carriage & were furious with the guide who had deceived us & to punish him gave him nothing. We drove to the temple of Serapis wh has some fine columns in sites. They are eaten into 9 ft from the ground by sea shells showing the sea had once been up to that height. The ground is now sinking at the rate of ¼ of an inch a year. From here we went to the Lucrine Lake & stopped at the Hotel de Russie to have lunch. It is a clean little inn on the sea shore & we got excellent oysters there & a very decent luncheon. After lunch we drove to the lake of Averno a few minutes drive & did not get out to visit the Gates of the Infernal regions as we were begged to do by the guardian– The lake is a small one & much diminished by the eruption of the Monte Nuovo in 15th century. We drove on by the sea side to Baia & all along there were lovely views & curious remains of Roman Villas all along the sides of the cliff. We drove to the Mare Morto & thence turned to the right & thro’ the Elysian fields which certainly did not seem to merit their name. We passed the Lake & saw the site of Cuma in the distance—& then got into the road again the other side of Baia & came back to Naples by half past 3 ocl: On the way back the views were lovely– The hills were every variety of blues & purples & clouds came up on all sides—the sea rolled in with big waves. We dined at table d’hôte– Went to bed early. | |
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