Finally the Sun

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Hi all,
Well yesterday marked the start of my total lack of a plan. I had a flight from London to Frankfurt and I was standing at the Frankfurt airport asking myself “what next”. I did have a flight booked from Naples 11 Aug. to Helsinki Finland, then onto Stuttgart a week later for the wedding. So I had 8 days before my flight out of Naples to spend somehow. I realized I was spending too much time in transit and not enough in one place in the previous week so I booked a train to Naples right from Frankfurt airport. It was 220 euro and about 20 hours getting me there the next morning. There was a change of train in Munich and I got off at the wrong Munich stop!! I am a little panicked at this point. The overnight train to Naples was leaving in 20 minutes and I was at the wrong station, my train had left and I was in a little train stop in the rain and didn't speak German. I found a policeman who spoke a few words of English and he told me to jump on the next train heading the right direction. I did and fortunately it all worked out OK. I was in Germany long enough to grab a sausage and jump on the Italian train to Naples which was a world apart from the sleek polished ICE train across Germany.

As I type this I am in a small international phone shop where it is very hot and people come in and talk extremely loud, all at the same time, in different languages, none of which I understand, many from India and there is some guy singing loudly too. It is a bit of crazy scene.

Driving is insane here. Not like you would think though. There are vendors set up in the middle of some of the streets and mopeds zooming everywhere including inside some buildings. It is true that here you honk before turning a corner because the path is only sometimes wide enough for one car to pass and tight for 2 mopeds to squeeze by. Within these tight confines, still the Italians seem to all be in a race and floor it to make it the half block until they have to slam on the brakes to negotiate around the next obstacle.

I am staying in a nice hotel *hotel nazionli* or something like that for 45 euro right next to the central station. The hotel is nice enough put the surroundings are anything but relaxing.

Finally I am in a sunny location and off the cloudy islands of the UK and Ireland. Streets run anything but straight around here and chance directions and names every block or so. It makes it a bit more difficult to follow a map. I am not taking my camera around because pick pocketing is pretty common here so sorry for the sparse photos. There are amazing facades and churches, but sadly it is a city past it's prime and most are in very run down areas surrounded by dumpsters and graffiti.
I am going to head out of the big city and to Pompeii which looks great, maybe the island of Capri and the Amalfi coast, for a bit more of a resort setting.

You should see the answer you get back when you ask and Italian about the night life here. Lots of guestering, raised eyebrows and “ahh very nice, very nice.” They are very visual and will stand right in the street and have a conversation with someone in a building across the street and break into song half way through.
I don't think I have seen one car that isn't all dented, even if it is only a year old and I also see 12 year old girls zipping around quite quickly on Vespas.

I am looking forward to getting out to the water soon. Most likely a ferry out to Capri tomorrow.
Ciao
Garret

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Photos

cliffs
A welcome change from the filth of Naples

cliffs2
This is right next to where the ferry drops you off on Capri

Comments

[Deb]

Hey
Glad to hear you're finally enjoying some sun. I commented on your UK posting from 8/2. (don't worry, there's no work-related content!)