Naploli è Mt. Vesuvio

There wasn’t reliable internet access in the south, so I am back in Rome and today I head for Bologna. I wrote this and the Sicily post (which I’ll post in a few days) on my laptop in the lonesome hostel. Enjoy...

So I have been to Naples, and I can say can now say with confidence that I have eaten some of THE best pizza in the world. Upon arrival, I was very nervous about being mugged due to stories I’ve heard about the poverty there (I had the same fears in Sicily). But, I tried to walk to the hostel in Margellina (10 miles), with my bag to save money after I got off the train. However, as it began to get dark I erred on the side of caution and took a taxi the rest of the way. Plus, the watch I’m wearing hasn’t helped, I bought it off the street for 10 euros after the battery on my old watch died. But this watch doesn’t work properly either; I constantly have to synchronize… I hate time. However amidst all this, the area where I was staying was, from what I understand the nicer part of Napoli (score!).

In my hostel, I met a German guy named Jan (pronounced Yahn) who was awesome. He had been to Naples before and took me to some great pizzerias. In fact, all that I ate whilst in Napoli was pizza, and every pizza was the best pizza I’ve ever had. We did have some mussels one night, but everything else was pizza (very cheap). Among my favorites, I would have to say the best was either the Pescatora, which basically means ‘Fisherman’s pizza.’ This pizza had calamari, octopus, shrimp and mussels. Then, there was pizza Diavolla, which is salami and peppercorns with basil. We also partied and met some Italian girls from around Bologna (hmmmm).

One day, Jan and I planned to climb Mt. Vesuvius, which is the old Volcano that destroyed the Roman city, Pompeii. We then planned to spend the night on the beaches off the local island, Capri. Well, we didn’t reach Capri but we climbed Mt. Vesuvius and went off the path up to the highest point, and went around the crater (smelling sulfur) and back down the other side, to Pompeii. It was a good day, and we probably walked 15 – 20 miles. Exhausted, we were lucky enough to catch a late train back to the hostel. Already, I think back very fondly of that day; our view at sunset was the best reward imaginable.

Naples is also very beautiful at night. The tough areas are very tough according to Jan (he has some stories), but the tourist area is really quite beautiful. I loved my trip to Naples, and on my last night I took a ferry to Palermo, Sicily. It was expensive, but it saved me a night at a hostel so that plus trains, I figure it was about the same. I slept outside on the deck, and the next morning watched the sun rise in Palermo. It was beautiful….

I will post on Sicily later, which was quite an experience too. Pictures of Naples below.