Ignore the garbage, Naples is alive and well!

The title kind of explains my first impression. “Where does all this garbage come from and why don’t they pick it up?” The answer is, they seem to every night but somehow it doesn’t seem to help much. It only takes a day or so and you begin to look past it and realize just how alive and magnificent this city is. People here do not speak much English but you can usually get what you need by staying humble (Scusami, Grazie and Por favor) and doing your best to communicate using any means necessary.

The narrow streets, shops and the smells from the restaurants and street food vendors make it easy to spend days just walking people watching and eating. Even though the city seems to run at a hectic pace, the people seem relaxed and content. You do need to be an aggressive pedestrian when it comes to crossing streets. No more than a glance and you better be on your way because not only is there an abundance of automobile traffic but the scooters do more than their fair share of filling any and all opportunities for space on roadways. It almost becomes a game, if you start walking, don’t stop or you will be struck, every nook and cranny is filled, no space is wasted. The trains are overcrowded and aside from “pickpocketers” can be an interesting experience. Funicolare cable cars are a cant miss, they save you countless climbs and descents of stairs to old town.

A visit to Pompeii is a must, the history will give you goosebumps. I also recommend the trip to the top of Mt. Vesuvius (The volcano that covered Pompeii), from where the tour bus drops you off it’s about a 45 minute walk up a steep incline. This is a taxing walk but the views are worth every step. The underground tour (Sotterranea) was also worth the time. In short it was an aqueduct and then used as a bomb shelter during WWll. It is also a good way to cool off on a warm day as you travel 40 meters under Naples.

Naples struck me as a big city and a fun city. Not to sound overly philosophical but I was reminded several times both giving and receiving kindness here (not withstanding the pick pocketing incident) that even with language and societal differences we are just human beings trying to do our best. Naples is one of the best places to easily get lost in and understand how truly small we are, but how big the little things can be. One last thing, eat Ragu at Tandem, it is almost worth the trip on its own! ha

Safe travels,