Italy 2016 — Naples
Our afternoon train from Rome to Naples travelled at the impressive top speed of almost 300 km/h. This made the trip in just over an hour and brought us into the incredibly humid city just after 5. We transferred to the local metro which is confusingly also operated by Trenitalia. We got off the next stop and emerged into a very lively city. Where Rome was either bustling with tourists or relatively empty, Naples is full of people who live and work there. The streets were full of vendors or fruit, fish, clothing and much more.
We walked a few blocks up the hill in the Stella neighbourhood to find our Airbnb. The humidity had us dripping with sweat when we arrived and were greeted by our hosts. They showed us around the lovely apartment and gave us a recommendation for pizza that evening before heading on their way. We had a nap and then ventured to the aforementioned pizzeria where we acquired our first Naples pizzas to take back to our apartment. We planned our two main day trips we’d be doing from Naples before heading to bed. Overnight, a rain storm came through Naples and broke the heat and humidity of our arrival.
In the morning Phil and Leanne arrived from Holland and joined us at the apartment. After settling them in we proceeded into the city for a day of exploration. We first acquired some breakfast pizza pastries from a local shop them headed to the local Cathedral. This was the first church visit of our trip and showcased lovely paintings, mosaics and marble statues as well as a crypt and some intriguing and occasionally menacing tin statues.
After the Duomo we walked through a bunch of old Naples traveling along narrow streets filled with shops, vendors, tourists and locals plus the occasional scooter. The rules of the road in the cities of Italy, and especially Naples are more chaotic than North America. In many places cars, scooters and pedestrians share the same narrow spaces requiring constant attention for nearby vehicles. Especially exciting are the groups of teenagers, three to a scooter who fly around the cobble stone streets. As well, road crossings are rarely controlled and involve a necessary level of assertiveness to function.
Passing through down town Naples we visited the Castle Nuovo near the port. An interesting castle to look at but we decided against paying admission. Instead we decided to make our way to the other castle on the hill. Along the way we stopped for lunch of pizza, pasta, salad and sandwich.
After lunch we discovered that the funicular that we had planned to take up the hill was out of commission until at least 2017. Before abandoning the trip to the castle we decided to try another funicular line and luckily this one was functional. Traveling up the hill we then made our way to St Elmo’s Castle, an impressive structure built on the bedrock of the hill. The long climb up the ramps was rewarded with amazing views of Vesuvius, Naples and the bay.
We walked the stairs down from the castle back into the city proper and then made our way back to the apartment. One location in Naples that we did not get to visit was the National Archeological Museum of Naples. It is closed on Tuesdays so our one day in Naples proper did not permit us to take it in. Another site I would have liked to visit is a small astronomical museum which has on display many old telescopes and other instruments related to astronomy.
We relaxed for a few hours before heading back out around 8:30, a typical time for dinner here, in search of food. We found a nice outdoor pizzeria on one of the roads we had explored earlier in the day and enjoyed a lovely meal. After dinner it was back to the apartment and off to bed.
