Writer: Helena Bergström
Travelling is not always comfortable... The ferry ride from Sardinia to the Italian mainland was a tough experience. After that, a city awaited us that really made us sweat as we tried to force our way through it... But these kinds of travelling experiences are usually fun to think back on at least. Happy Friday!
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The last days in Sardinia
We spent our last days in Sardinia in the main town of Cagliari. We were in a central and convenient (albeit excessively hot!) campsite and had good conditions to explore the city. Cagliari is a nice and pleasant city that has a lot to offer. Read more about Cagliari here!
An uncomfortable journey across the sea ...
Then it was time to continue the journey, from Sardinia to the Italian mainland. We booked the trip with Grimaldi Lines and left in the evening, to spend the night at sea.
There were no cabins available to book, so we spent the night on the ship's floor, along with hundreds and hundreds of others. You could barely find a square metre of floor to try and sleep on... This experience deserves its own post - coming on Sunday!
Naples - a dirty and hard-to-navigate city
After a rough night, with only some sporadic sleep, we arrived in Naples. And it was not a friendly reception we can say! Heavy traffic, extremely bad roads and difficult to drive straight through all the horrible bridges and viaducts.
Our plan was to get to Pompeii, but it was a real challenge to get through the strange junctions - often through such deep potholes that it felt like the motorhome would rattle.
When we got onto the motorway that runs between Naples and Pompeii, the next surprise awaited - for 50 minutes of travel, the road was constantly lined with garbage bags and empty bottles. Have people just thrown them out of the windows while driving?
The route gave us a sense of doom, but since we constantly had to parry for potholes, rushing motorists and sudden turns, I didn't have much time to take photos ...
Well, one more picture I took. We found the road so extremely black and gloomy, with so many demolished houses and nightmare places, that I actually came to my senses and took a picture of one of all these ugly houses along the road.
But, is Naples this black, dirty and horrible? Interestingly, our friend and fellow blogger, Daniela posted on Discovering The Planet, at the same time a post about the 9 most colourful places they visited - and here was Naples too! So there is probably another side to this city, even if we didn't see it...
And so ... an amazing sight!
But, we got a little reward in the end! We have seen an amazing sight, in the form of Pompeii of course. Wow! It was really fascinating to see this place. What an incredibly nice and well-organised city this must have been! And what a terrible downfall! Reportage coming of course!
This week: Grateful for ...
This week we are grateful that the journey to and through Naples actually worked, and that we are now safe and sound on a campsite on the Italian mainland! I'm also grateful to have a husband who cooks amazing meals, even when we're camping in a motorhome on a tarmac car park! How about cod loin with carrot mousse, bacon, peas and lemon?
What are you thankful for this week?
The week ahead
We are about to start our journey northwards in Italy. There are some places we want to see, but we also have a lot of focus on fixing the brakes of the motorhome, which sound very bad right now... You can expect reports about Cagliari, the ferry trip and Pompeii, maybe mixed with guest reports and a little bit more.
Did you miss the last Happy Friday? Read the Everyday travelling and camping in a different way
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End of the long journey: Cape Town and Victoria Falls
Our South African friends are now visiting Sweden!
Friday's blog: Summer days – and our first speech in the Swedish parliament
Friday Blog: Skåne, Halland, Småland … and repeat
English (UK) 
Svenska
Znogge says:
I recognise that from our road trips in Europe. I remember when we drove on the roads in northern Italy. Rubbish everywhere but when we entered Switzerland it was clinically clean. What a difference! Even worse were the roads in Egypt... Sad when it looks like that.
22 August 2025 - 9:30
Helena says:
Yes, it really is different in different countries! First we drove for a long time in France, and there it was clean. Then Italy ... sooo rubbishy, unfortunately.
22 August 2025 - 21:44
Eval8 says:
It certainly sounded like a worse trip! I still think the picture on the road is nice.
I am grateful that The Husband suggested a trip to the beach on Wednesday, for baking what I am going to the family reunion and because I am freshly cut ☺️
Happy Friday!
22 August 2025 - 9:40
Helena says:
Sounds like great things to be thankful for! Have a great weekend!
22 August 2025 - 21:45
Marika says:
I've been to Naples twice and I love that city. More "laid back" than Rome ha haha! Point of view. Garbage is a huge problem and you send it to Sweden...or did. Don't really know anymore. Then people are incredibly stupid too. Not only in Naples. The Romans are really good at ignoring how to handle garbage and their surroundings. I recognise the problems with full ferries. August is the holiday month here so of course it is overcrowded. Would never travel around in August if I could choose.
22 August 2025 - 10:34
Helena says:
Yes, it feels like a combination of poor waste management and attitude. It's a shame about all the rubbish! And of course you're right, if you can choose, it's always better to travel a little before or after the absolute peak season!
22 August 2025 - 21:47
Jossu says:
Naples has its treasures, like the garden of the Santa Chiara convent with its beautiful tiles. But it is still a special city, which I still don't really know how I feel about.
Pompeii is such a memorable experience. To see Vesuvius looming over the ancient city it destroyed is powerful.
22 August 2025 - 14:43
Helena says:
Yes, we can certainly imagine that Naples has nice places! However, with a motorhome, it is always difficult to get into cities and therefore it will only be certain cities for us. In Naples, it was Pompeii that was the main goal for us.
22 August 2025 - 21:48
BP says:
Sleeping on hard floors is a thing of the past - about 50 years ago;-)
Seeing that Naples is living up to its reputation as a rubbish dump. Absolutely awful. I remember that the sanitation workers often go on strike there and you never catch up. And that in the summer heat - no yuck!
Add to that bad roads and...
22 August 2025 - 14:59
Helena says:
Haha, yes, we also tend to think that we have become more comfortable ... but despite that, tents and hard floors insist on returning from time to time 😉 And yes, they seem to be working hard on that garbage dump rumour ...
22 August 2025 - 21:50
Daniela | Discovering The Planet says:
Yes, Naples is really special. A city you learn to love. When I was there for the first time, I learnt an expression that really sums up the city.
"You cry for Naples twice. Once when you arrive, and once when you have to leave".
In my case, this is very true. But you need time. The city has a lot to see and experience.
23 August 2025 - 20:06
Ditte says:
Have visited Naples a couple of times but without a car. Had Italian friends who lived here with us and that made it a lot easier. I know I rode on the back of a scooter a lot and it was smooth. And fun.
Pompeii is amazing. A great piece of history... I was captivated by Pompeii by a teacher in class 9 that we had in history. She also got me interested in Rome, Venice, Florence, Milan and Sicily. And these are places I visited later in life both once and several times.
And here, as in many places , need a time.
23 August 2025 - 22:13
Marianne Cargus says:
The reward of seeing Pompeii was well worth it, and a dinner that could have been served in any fine restaurant, if it tasted as good as it looked, and I am sure it did.
What am I grateful for? That I am living the life I want and that the dog is starting to leave the age of defiance.
Have a nice weekend!
06 September 2025 - 16:36