Naples, Pompeii Day One- February 5th 2010
I was awoken this morning by the sound of Bryce at the door of my room telling me to get up- which was the last thing I wanted to do at that point. “Dude we have to go to Naples!” ohh yeah… well I guess ill get up, I was up too late last night. I got ready and headed to the train station with one bag for the weekend- a couple t-shirts and an extra pair of shoes to climb Mt. Vesuvius in. We met up with everyone shortly, bought a train ticket, and boarded a train to Rome after I grabbed breakfast at a McDonalds at the station (and yes they have a one euro menu- but no double cheeseburgers!). The first problem we ran into on this trip was that we boarded the wrong train. Apparently the train we boarded was a first class non-stop fast train to Napoli, and we were supposed to get on the ‘regular’ train that stopped in Rome, where we were supposed to get off and board a train to Napoli. Hey, none of us are experienced in traveling around Europe so of course, this was going to happen eventually. I found this out when I was in the midst of a sleep in the back of the train. Apparently, one of the train attendants made the 4 people sitting up front pay 50 euros right their because they got on the wrong train. He was making his way to the back of the train, checking tickets of everyone on board. Immediately I told myself I WASN”T paying 50 extra euros because I made we made a stupid mistake. I remember my Italian professor telling us that sometimes if you don’t have a ticket or if you got on the wrong train, they will ask you for 50 euros- and if you’re nice and ask to get off at the next stop, they might let you. Otherwise, just give them a credit card and tell them that you don’t carry around so much money with you- of course they won’t have a credit card machine with them, so there is nothing they can do right? So my gameplan was to hand them a credit card if they asked or to get off at the next stop. When the man came around, we asked for a break because we didn’t know- and the man said he’ll see what he can do. Shortly, the train stopped in Rome and we bailed! Haha. So, I didn’t have to pay the extra money AND I got to Rome in record time.
We had about an hour layover in Rome before we had to board a train to Napoli. I got a panini for lunch and slept and read my book most of the train ride to Napoli (Naples). When we got to Naples, we walked the whole way to our hostel, which was about a 30 minute walk. Anything we could do to save money was our top priority- and I don’t mind walking everywhere as long as I don’t have to pay for a taxi.
Naples is located in Southwest Italy, along the ocean. Naples is the founder of pizza- and their pizza is the best in the world. The best thing about Naples is their food is amazing and cheap as well. I got slices of pizza and pizza bagels for only a euro each- and it is much better than any American food, which is crazy to believe, but let me tell you- Italians know how to make good food, especially in Naples. One of the first things I noticed when walking through Naples for the first time was how dirty it was. The streets were littered with trash on nearly every corner, a lot of buildings in certain parts of the town were run down and abandoned, and there were homeless people everywhere. However, the skyline was unbelievable. Naples is located in the middle of two volcanic mountains: Mount Vesuvius and Phlegraean Fields, sitting on the coast by the Gulf of Naples. So you can imagine the city is very hilly, with great views of the city stretching across the mountains and the across the bays of the ocean. All I can say is to see the pictures I post to just get a glimpse of how beautiful the area is. One of the other things I noticed about Naples is how crazy the drivers are. Lanes don’t matter, and you can park pretty much anywhere. The only way to get across the street is to just walk into incoming traffic, and im not lying. They will stop for you, and you feel kinda bad at first, but that’s because you are American- in America we would get pissed if someone just walked in front of us when driving down the street- but in Italy, especially Naples, it is very common. If you just wait for traffic to clear, you will get nowhere, and walking around in the city would take all day. So I got used to just putting my head down and walking across street after street, and im still here alive to tell you about it. Hahaha!
We finally got to our hostel- which was very nice and spacious. Their was a bar area (which was never open, ohh well), a nice lounge area with couches and a TV, an area for breakfast in the morning (which was free), and a kitchen fully equipped with everything you could need- not bad for 13 euros a night. The second problem I ran into was the fact that I booked the hostel separate from everyone else, so I was placed in a different room- which I wasn’t too worried about. I realize that if you worry about things too much you wont have a good time and enjoy yourself- so I didn’t. I unpacked my things and made my bed in the same room as everyone else. Ohh well, what can they possibly do? It was a 10 person dorm room and 9 people were my friends- so if I was in the room their would be 10 of us placed in a 10 person dorm room. Perfect.
The first thing we did after we got settled in was explore the city at night and walk to the ocean- a lot of people brought swim trunks to swim but I forgot mine. Plus it was way too cold and it was raining out at night- not the best conditions to go swimming in the ocean. We went to a restaurant along the bay that sold pizza by the meter. So, of course I got a ½ meter pizza just for me. At the door they told us a meter pizza could pizza could feed 5-6 people- and I alone got ½ meter. Hahaha! And I almost ate it all! By the last 5 slices I liteally had to force them down my throat- and I almost finished the entire pizza ecept the last 3 slices, which would’ve definitely made me throw up. We got a total of 2 meters of pizza- which the Italian cooks working their were surprised to hear it was only for 6 people- and we finished every last piece. That’s how we do it in America! The waiter gave us each 2 free shots of lemon cello- which I found out is common in Naples after your dinner. He was very nice, and the food, like I said before, was cheap. Much cheaper than eating out in Florence at least. We headed out to a castle along the bay of Naples, were we took some pictures before heading back to our hostel later that night. The lady who was supposed to sleep in our room asked to get a new room because she had to wake up at nine and we were all still awake- so I got to use her bed. Problem settled.
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