Jupiter's wrath

Starting at the end of the day for a change... We were walking around the historical centre (again, it seems like we're always in it! But that's okay) when the skies began to darken ominously. Lo and behold, the expected deluge began and we had to take shelter in a shop doorway. It was quite interesting watching other people go past with and without umbrellas (ombrellini), and seeing the shopkeeper's hastily covering the goods they had set up outside. The rain became heavier, so we sheltered in the internal courtyard of a nearby apartment building. We were sitting there, waiting, when an enormous thunderclap broke right on top of us. It was so loud you could feel it through your body, and all the car alarms went off . However, this was nothing compared to the flash of a lightning bolt striking the centre of the courtyard about 20 feet away from us! Holy cow. I spent the next several minutes jumping around whooping with delight. Poor Anna, but it was pretty wicked.

Anyway, today's visits included:

The Duomo Cathedral - an impressive cathedral, sanctified in the name of Saint Gennaro. We were lucky enough to witness the miracle of the liquifying blood; that is, the cathedral has a couple of phials of the Saint's congealed blood, which magically liquify once a year. It's a miracle! And we saw it!

Castel Nuovo - a slightly underwhelming castle, but with impressive views and a nice, if small, collection of art.

Piazza Reale - an opulent palace, which was curiously deserted when we looked through it. Was quite nice to have the run of the place - we could pretend it was ours.

Umberto Shopping Gallery - looks like something out of the film Metropolis, crossed with the Musee d'Orsay. This place is infamous for the attentions of its resident gypsy children. I had a cute lil tyke fixate on me at the entrance, but it was more like a fun game of 'tiggy' than anything to worry about. Awww.