The official language thread

I was a half day off and what happened to my beautiful thread? It was occupied by posts about the famous Dick Butthead! Can’t I left you guys unattended for five minutes…? :crazy_face:

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You should be grateful that we went “in-topic off-topic” :stuck_out_tongue:

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Yes, I don’t think Mr D.B. needs his own thread :stuck_out_tongue:

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I was listening to Tarkus from ELP and the hits were perfectly in time with the snare drum. Wonderful. And hypnotizing.

A question for the Italians: I’m going to Sorrento next week. I always make an effort to speak the local language, but do they generally speak English there?

Any other tips for visiting? (Pompeii :ballot_box_with_check: Capri :ballot_box_with_check: ice-a cream-a :ballot_box_with_check:)

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Herculaneum!

What do you want to know? Ask a local!
I’ve been tons of times there, even by bike from home. :stuck_out_tongue:
They speak English in Sorrento. Quite a simple English, but in the end they’ll be able to understand you, of course.
There are so much things there… What do you want to do?
Are you more into history and architecture, swimming, sunbathing, SPA, museums, eating, hiking…?

Sorrento!!! :heart_eyes: I went there on a secondary school trip many years ago. Unfortunately I can’t remember enough to give you advice on sightseeing, but I really liked the town.

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You’ll land in Capodichino airport (which is quite out of the city of Naples) and from there you can take a bus (or a taxi) to the city. Probably the best way to go to Sorrento is by train with CircumVesuviana at the Naples Central Railway Station. Then I’ll suggest you to go to Piazza Tasso, and from there go down to the old town where there are a lot of little shops, and also your beloved chocolate covered orange peels. Going down to the sea, there are Marina Grande and Marina Piccola. In Marina Grande I suggest you to eat “da Emilia” a little restaurant literally on the sea, especially if you love fish. There’s plenty of good ice-cream shops also.


photo taken by me a month ago, not a shiny day, though

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If you like hiking, there are really great trails, like the Path of Gods or the Jeranto Bay, and Vesuvius volcano itself. It is not so easy to go there, but I’ll provide you infos if you like it. If you like swimming, there are also beaches, especially in Piano and Meta. Also Capo di Sorrento hosts the Pollio Felice roman house (now just an antique) with the wonderful baths of Queen Giovanna.
On the same railway track (CircumVesuviana), there are many interestig stops.

Ercolano - Herculaneum (beautiful as Pompeii, it is smaller than Pompeii, but you can see the ancient harbour.)
Torre Annunziata - Oplontis (Poppea’s villa) a wonderful roman villa, one of the best preserved ever
Pompeii - wonderful, I suggest you to visit it
Piano di Sorrento (beaches and nice town)
Meta di Sorrento (quite similar)
Sorrento (see above)

Capri is a different chapter.
The island is part of an archipelago of three islands with Procida and Ischia (the ancient Pithecusa which literally means Monkey Island :stuck_out_tongue: ) in the Gulf of Naples.
You have to reach it by sea on ships that leave from Molo Beverello (quite central in Naples) or directly from Sorrento. Capri is really nice and deserves a visit. Quite chic and expensive, there are also places more vernacular where you can meet the local spirit.

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Ooh. Is it worth going there as well as Pompeii? I read that it’s better preserved but much smaller.

All of those! Some tips on where to eat dinner would be good, actually.

We arrive pretty late so giving in to a private transfer.

Eeeek! :heart_eyes:

*hastily taking notes!* that all sounds amazing, thank you. That photo is getting me very excited!

Perfect.

Yep we’ve factored that into our Pompeii trip :+1:

I love swimming. I hope it’s warm enough for it. Which do you think is the best beach?

I want to get on the plane tonight! :grinning:

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All I can tell you is that I thought Herculaneum was lovely. And it might be smaller but it’s still pretty big. At least a few hours’ worth I’d say. I think we visited it from about 17 to 21. Assuming you have a modicum of interest I’d certainly say it’s worth it but I should probably add that we’re the kind of people who spend like like half an hour looking at a metro stop in Athens. (They’re like miniature archeological museums.)

You might want to try pizza fritta. Now as someone not really into deep-fried things I’d call it closer to something you should try than something I’d truly recommend but you can get chocolate covered orange peel on practically every street corner. :stuck_out_tongue: (At least here in Belgium.)

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Come on… you come from the UK. It would be warm enough in February :stuck_out_tongue:

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But I mean, every other ruin I’ve been to was just that — a ruin. Pompeii is also much more ruinous. Herculaneum is more like a place stuck in time.

We started swimming class in late February or early March and that could be a touch cold sometimes.

(In the Netherlands that’s a regular elementary school thing.)

Haha. Noted :slightly_smiling_face: Googled it and it looks nice.

A fair point :stuck_out_tongue:

Ooh, that’s a thought - are there any good scuba diving sites? :open_mouth:

Are there any volcanoes you can swim in? I went to a volcano in Germany and that was pretty cool.

Not really vulcanic cones. But Ischia (one of the three islands of the Gulf) is plenty of vulcanic activity. There are thermal (hot and cold ) waters, both in beaches and in thermal parks.
As for Pizza fritta, yes, as Frenzie said, it is a local product. I like it. It is a traditional street-food. In particular I like the “Montanara”.
As for scuba diving sites: I suggest you Punta Campanella (Capo di Sorrento, see above). It is a protected marine area.
http://www.sorrentodiving.it/en/

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