Blogs from Naples, Campania, Italy, Europe - page 22

So this is where we ended up...Napoli. Let me just say one thing...it's about as dirty as Athens was. At this point I am happy to just be stopping and taking a little rest. We were finally able to do some laundry and just like most of the places, we met some new people that we went to dinner with. It was nice. Basically, I am considering taking my own way around Europe because I canìt stand travelling with Kirst and Manda together....I am going nucking futs!!!! I flipped out on them about 10 times, today alone!! I think I need to take a little vacation from them for a bit. I want to visit the counrtyside or something tomorrow I think, just get away for a bit. We'll see I guess!... read more

Italy is the Country, Campania is the region or state, and Naples is the city (Napoli). I have made it. it was a more than 25 hour train ride with 6 trains but Im here. the @ key is in different places on keyboards from separate countries. Anyway, I am at the hostel pensione Mancini. Ive met people from all over. The dorms back in Barcelona are part of the Universitat Autonamas de Barcelona and they are also part of the hotel Serhs. the Sehrs rents out rooms for 20€ a night for travelers and so we meet a lot of people. To name a few, Austrailians, Irish, lots of Canadians, New Yorkers, Danish (Kickass language), and french. Not to mention the Catalunyan people everywhere that consider themselves different from Spanish. They have their own language ... read more

Today we docked in Naples and set out to explore. We had been told by many experienced cruisers as well as our waiter at dinner not to buy excursions from the ship, but to go ashore and then figure things out, as there will inevitably dozens of local cab drivers and tour companies just waiting for our arrival for us to choose from. It is true that the excursions offered by the cruise company are exceedingly expensive and there are many people waiting for your business on shore. The part about us being able to choose didn’t exactly work out that way, though. As Salomone Salvatore, our cab driver, said later in the day, “I saw you like 4 lambs, not knowing where you were going, and I said to myself, they are the ones. ... read more

Today we did a walk through Naples with a local guide. We saw the Galleria Umberto I, built in the late 1800s as part of an urban renewal project. The marble floor contains mosaics of each of the zodiac signs, it's a very impressive building. We walked over to the Palazzo Reale (Royal Palace), construction began on this in 1600 and it was finished in 1843. It was so beautiful on the inside, everything was gilded and marbled, and it had the most amazingly intricate tapestries. Then we went on to the the Museo Archiologico Nazionale (National Archeological Museum) to see the ancient artifacts that were unearthed at Pompeii, a Roman town that was buried in ash by a volcanic eruption in 79 AD. There are still some things remaining at Pompeii, which we would see ... read more

So Im not such a fan of Naples. Its crowded and busy and the traffic is ridiculous. Most people dont speak English and they just look at me like Im stupid when I try to speak Italian. I know I obviously dont speak great Italian, but Im trying. Give me some credit. Yesterday I hated Naples. Today I still dont like it, but Ive adjusted and its okay now. So after seeing the Pope... I saw the anti-Bush riots. They were peaceful, but I was still kind of afraid and spent a lot of that day in my room. It was my last day there, but I had kind of run out of things to do anyways. So I came to Naples the next day. And hated it so much. I couldnt find the hotel I ... read more