Today was a trip into Naples via the fast ferry. After fast marching Michelle down to the ferry we arrived with five minutes to spare. The sailing was smooth and efficient with some great morning sights of Mt Vesuvius and surrounds. Only snag was the camera card I replaced that morning was full (a few family photos had to be deleted). First mission on arriving was to find a bathroom (Rs continuing mission for the whole day for some reason!) That was almost impossible, so we headed into the castle by the water front, paid up our €6 and found the facilities. What we discovered after this though was probably the highlight of the day - which says a lot about our day more than the this location. It had a ram shackled museum of artworks donated by historical families of significance in Naples. As such the displays were not great but the artwork and stories were interesting, especially when there was some English translations (few and far between). The range of busts (made out of marble or stone, not flesh) or statues either not complete or completed, but never given to the commissioning agent, was probably the most interesting display. The gate way to this castle facing the city was amazingly detailed marble formation (see photo). After this enforced stop we headed along some streets not entirely sure what we were going to do next, which became the theme of the day. In this manner we stumbled on the large glass roofed with steel and glass dome at the centre, shopping complex. This is a landmark building in Naples and stands out from across the city given its height, there is a very similar one in Milan and Paris) As luck would have it there was a store selling camera equipment, so a large storage Compact Flash card was purchased. Walking the shopping district was followed by having the hardest choices to make at the best bakery we have seen yet. Lunch was well catered for this day, and had sitting out on a street bench watching the locals going about their daily lives. The hunt for the facilities started again, this time ending with a Burger King, and was followed by a mission for youngest daughter Abby to a clothes shop, OVS. The shop was amazing but the buying was painful, so whilst Michelle queued, Richard stood out on the street and watched the mayhem of a semi controlled intersection of four roads converging. Watching scooters dodging cars and trucks, and large buses nearly collecting small cars, was entertainment. Watching two guys on a scooter with a large dining table wedged upright between them was a circus act. How the guy at back stayed on the scooter as it weaved through traffic is a mystery. He could see nothing as he had the underside of the table in front of him, with the table legs pointing back. Both his hands were up holding the table (no other rope used) and he was relying entirely on his sense of balance to stay on the scooter. Watching other families on one scooter reminded me of China. In this case the parents wore helmets and the children sandwiched between them, did not. Apparently safety only matters to adults. Our next adventure proved madness. We decided to head-up to a large mystery building high on the hillside above Naples port area. To do this we thought we would use the Funicular we had passed earlier on the shopping mall. On arriving we found it had closed due to mechanical issues. Michelle was staat this point, but after watching a wedding party come down some steps (everyone was dressed in their finery except the dad who was in his old jeans and tracksuit top. He was the one organising everyone, and the photographers); we decided to trek up the steps and enter into the narrows streets of the Spanish quarter, and area in the past that was once considered a no-go area of Naples. The buildings accommodate small businesses on the ground floor, and tour or five floors of housing flats above. Once the washing is strung out over the streets, the roadway becomes dark, and is cluttered with cars, bins etc. It did not seem like a safe place to be, and some of the locals gave us funny looks, but we felt safe and went exploring, which meant climbing up. As it transpired (and we almost expired) we made a few false turns, so as we were about to give up (and Michelle was literally struggling to move), we found the steps to the castle/museum on the hilltop. What we thought was a few steps turned into a massive vertical climb taking at least twenty minutes to achieve. Let's just say Michelle was gone by the top, and Richard was not popular. The museum looked interesting, but at this point we decided to take the bus back down the hill, thinking we were headed for the port, only to be dropped off a few blocks down the hill with the conductor pointing to the Metro station. We shrugged in an Italian way, and after some confusion headed to the Metro system. This is one very confusing system which we could not make sense of, so we decided to take another funicular back to town. Once down Richard detour thinking he knew exactly where he was headed. Unfortunately he was completely wrong. After a while we resorted to Apple Maps, by turning on Michelle's Mobile date for the first time, and learnt our terrible navigation error. apparently we had been ported right under the castle in a completely different direction. Being Kiwis we setout and walked, we walked and we walked. Unfortunately the shortcut Ric************* Apple Maps was a road tunnel only, more walking, and then the realisation we were not going to make the ferrying Sorrento. Finally a taxi was used. Probably the most expensive one kilometre we have travelled. The chaos at Italian ferry terminals came next, where one usher sent us down the ward to one gate, only for that use to send us back, followed by the original usher sending us back again (I'm sure they were having a laugh at our expense). It was all done with such earnest voicing, and waving of hands. As it happened where we started from was the right gate! We also discovered our return tickets had a eternal time on them, which fortunately for us was the 5.30pm ferry we were attempting to board. Tiredness ruled the dinner decision, which was good food but very slow service. We staggered home up the hill to the hotel (it gets dark around 7.30pm) and fell into bed, (after Richard attempted several times to buy tickets online for the rail journey to Chuisi on Thursday. Tomorrow we are off to the island of Capri (cap-rie)