By jadoerge
After returning to Munich to re-pack and reload on supplies for a day, Morgan and I were on the road again with a small group from our program led by the program director on a romp through Italy! On the agenda: Naples, Sicily and Venice. We decided beforehand that we wanted to pay particular attention to the old ruins in these areas and spend most of our time revolving around ancient history and culture in Italy in addition to the usual sightseeing!
After another uneventful overnight train ride with a very kindly German grandfather, our group hopped off of the train in Naples and got our bearings before leaving on a search for the apartment/B&B where we would be staying. Going from the bustling and somewhat shady train station out into the old quarter of the city was like being in two different parts of Italy. In between, of course, we got a glimpse of the rather run-down Italian transport system in the form of the Naples subway. Although slow and deafening when braking, the ride was uneventful and we stepped out of the station to a picture-perfect cobblestone intersection with small boutique shops and restaurants leading up a hill which we climbed before following a small alley enclosed by former city walls to get to our apartment. Having settled in, the group set off to explore the surrounding area. The first thing that seemed to be at every turn: laundry. Whether from a line, window, door, or just hanging on some random piece of pipe, there seemed to be laundry drying everywhere in this residential area of Naples. This lent a very charming and homey feel to our experience and the inviting nature of this neighborhood certainly set aside some concerns that had arisen after reading about Naples’ sometimes unsavory reputation. After walking down a small alley lined with a local butcher, small drug store, and residential buildings, we came out onto the most amazing view of the coast of Naples with the water stretching out uninterrupted for miles in front of us. As we walked along the coast, we managed to find the most amazing pastry shop whose English-speaking owner invited us in for some pastry and even offered us a small sampling plate of mini-versions of the most well-known pastries so that we could really get a taste of Naples. With our bellies full, we took off down the coast once again until we would up walking in the direction of the city center. While this first day was really more intended to help us get our bearings in Italy, we actually wound up seeing a significant amount of the city. Having seen a few sights, including one of the oldest indoor shopping malls around, we wound up going on the hunt for some grub. After wandering the maze of Naples’ side streets, we happened upon a small local eatery that was absolutely packed with people from around the neighborhood. With no one that spoke Italian in the group, we had to rely on the words that we somewhat comprehensible in Spanish and asked the waiter to explain a few of the dishes in broken English. We all would up going for the lunch special which included 4 HUGE dishes which (for me) included an octopus pasta with tomato sauce, grilled swordfish with eggplant and cheese, mixed grilled vegetables, a small desert, and, of course, plenty of house wine. After stuffing ourselves to the point of bursting we headed back out, but not before leaving some change in their hanging tip basket for which the entire staff cheered every time someone left a tip. After wandering around for another couple hours, we ventured back to our apartment which was conveniently located right next to the now well-known pizza parlor from “Eat, Pray, Love” where we settled in for some of the best pizza any of us had ever had, followed by complimentary meloncello and chocolate liquor that was an experience in itself!
The next day, we began our tour of Italy’s ruins! First stop: Paestum. After taking the regional train to the Paestum train station, we walked down a small road through some gorgeous farms for around 20 minutes before arriving before the grounds of the Paestum ruins. Fenced off from the small suburban street lined with a few restaurants and the museum for the site, the ruins of Paestum are truly a sight to behold. With the purchase of a ticket one is allowed to roam the grounds freely, as well as go to the museum and see all of the artifacts recovered from the site. Having been founded in the 7th Century (BC) Paestum stands now mostly without walls where the houses once stood, but the foundations survived quite well, including some amazing mosaics whose color remains to this day. Particularly amazing, was the enormous amphitheater as well as the two massive temples which still stand. Being able to simply wander around these ruins was truly a privilege and an experience that I would certainly recommend to anyone who finds themselves in or near Naples. After a few hours looking around and seeing the exhibits in the museum we took a lunch break at a small restaurant near the museum which also happened to have quite a few kinds of gelato (which we obviously had to try.)
The next day, we explored the city Naples itself a bit more intently. From the multitude of old churches to the bustling streets of downtown, the city of Napes is certainly a city of contrasts. We wandered through the hustle and bustle and found ourselves walking through the halls of the university and through the old courtyards of monasteries filled with orange and lemon trees nearing full bloom. As a break from the outdoors, we eventually found our way to the antiquities museum which housed all of the artifacts recovered from the famous ruins of Pompeii. While we unfortunately didn’t allow ourselves enough time to visit the actual ruins, seeing what was found in the museum was an experience in itself. From ancient glass work to beautiful mosaics, the remains of the ancient city were truly impressive. After a couple of hours, we split up into smaller groups to enjoy our last day in the city before leaving that evening for Sicily.
After a long day of side-street-wandering, souvenir purchasing, and gelato eating, we were all ready to hop on our ferry that we were taking across to the island of Sicily. After a few misunderstandings and aimlessly strolling the harbor for a couple of hours, we finally found our ship and settled into our “sleeping seats,” for yet another adventure in Italy.
Well that’s it for Naples! As I said, it was a very interesting and divergent city, full of cultural highs and lows that I enjoyed a ton, without encountering any of the legendary pickpockets from travel blogs or running into any problems with the mafia! Arrivederci, Napoli! Next stop, Sicily.