I'm in Naples ... mamma mia!!

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Getting to Naples was a train journey that took about 5 hours in all so needless to say that once I got here, I only managed to walk around a little. I had had a couple of people tell me that Naples wasn’t that pretty or that great of a city to visit. I had that in the back of my head when I came in but I didn’t want it to taint my perception of the city. I wanted to make my own opinion. Before I go on with the story of my arrival into Naples, let me say that one of the things when I travel (and especially because photography is a such a big part of my travelling) is that for me, I always try to find the city’s personality. There is always that little something that makes a particular city be what it is.

When I stepped out of the subway, Naples’ personality came and slapped me right in the face just to make sure I got the point. Oh sweet Jesus. I walked out at the Montesanto subway station and I literally stepped out into utter madness … with suitcase in tow. The owner of the small Bed and Breakfast I am staying at had emailed me a couple of days and had sent me directions on how to actually find the B&B, which I thought was really sweet. The instructions were essentially to walk down Via Porta Medina and turn left on Via Pasquale Scura. It is number 77 … just across the street from the Pizzeria 900. Easy enough … what she kind of left out is that Via Porta Medina is mayhem and chaos rolled into one. It is one small shop after another that seems to spill out onto the sidewalks and spill out even further onto the streets. It is hundreds of people making their way through these little shops. It is sidewalks and streets that are not exactly cobblestones but these big square blocks … which makes pulling the rolling suitcase one spectacular workout. You could seriously open a gym and have this be one of their classes. And this hotel is similar to the one in Florence where the entrance is you having to buzz you in as if you were entering an apartment building. So I buzzed and a voice called out “it’s on the second floor”. Oh crap … By the time I got to the door, I was out of breath and I literally had sweat pouring down my back. It was not pretty.

So that was my introduction to Naples. So after regrouping for a few minutes, I went out for a short walk. And there it was … another big slap in the face … hey Caroline … you’re in Naples ... just want to make sure you remember!!! It is noisy … there is definitely a high decibel level. There seems to either be construction, cars honking or someone yelling at pretty much all times. It is filthy … there is litter, there is garbage, there are graffiti. I love me a good graffiti but this is insane. There are people … EVERYWHERE! You are either dodging a person, a scooter, a car or trying to not step or trip on something. Insane … I may need a Zen garden after these next couple of days!!

So kind of a wasted day but I think that the photos will tell part of the story. Tomorrow … just a little bit more of the same. Just aimless walking around in Naples with no set things to go and see. I think that I may have a slight case of museum-fatigue and just need a couple of days of not following green arrows in the direction of the exhibit and trying not to lean in too close so as not to set off any alarms (not that I would ever do the latter ... ahem).

So now I am relaxing in my room. I bought this wine which comes from the Sorrento region. It is a red but I didn’t realize that it was a bubbly … ooops … had a bit of a spill. It is really good though. I have continued the drawing thing … I will post a photo of the work in progress. It probably looks better in a photo than in real life. I am definitely rusty … but then again I have not really drawn in over 20 years. I am definitely enjoying getting back to it though. One of many things to come out of this trip!

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Photos

1 Room
at the B&B Visconti I

15 I'm not sure
Is he dead or is this a little shrine to a favorite soccer player.

21
Meant to ward off back luck and the evil eye