We'd been worrying about the amount of stuff we are dragging around: David brought stuff he doesn't need, and I am buying stuff we don't need to carry with us. On our previous trip around Europe, we took a bundle of stuff tot he PO is Salzburg, and shipped it home, so we thought we'd do the same now. Yesterday I collected cardboard boxes, since the PO man said they didn't sell them, so we packed them and took them up. It took about 50mins for our number to reach top of the queue, and then the man wouldn't weigh the boxes, just gave us the customs forms, all in Italian, and sent us away. We tried to do them there, but it was impossible, so we came home again, and tried some more, but without the weights, we could do nothing. We looked up private couriers, but they seem hugely expensive (except one half the others' price), so in the end I gave it away, and decided if I got rid of one of my big handbags, that might make enough space for the stuff I bought yesterday.
So finally, we went out at lunchtime. We got a train to Montesanto Station, and tried to go to San Martino Museum nearby, but at quite a difference in altitude. Our google lady advised us where to walk, up another huge set of stairs, and we had nearly got to the half way mark when we saw a funicular gliding past.
So we got that from middle to top. Then the google lady sent us all around the block, and finally we made it to Castel S Elmo and S Martino's museum.
St Elmo's castle. The original fort was built in 1329, and this castle between 1537-46.
We went looking around,
because there was only one thing I came to see here, and that is what could be the world's biggest nativity set, made in 1877. In true Neapolitan style, it is multi-leveled, and full of villagers and other miscellaneous people, who are bent on 'relegating the Holy family to quite a marginal role.'
There were others there as well
Only 14 left of 41 carved wooden figures from 1478.
Then it was back to the station, back one stop, and another walk to the Naples Archaeological Museum, renowned for it Pompeii collection. The mosaics are spectacular,
and there are some other good things in glass, bronze, stone and painting etc,
but after a while it all got a bit repetitive, so we moved fairly quickly and went home, stopping at Centrale to order our rail tickets for Italy.
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