Destination : Rome to Naples!

Destination : Rome to Naples!

Happy Birthday to me! Wednesday (19th December) I turned the golden 30 yrs of age! That morning Steve and I packed up our bags and checked out of Hotel Mirage near Roma Termini. That morning was sunny and bright and there was still an obvious chill in the air but at least it wasn't raining! Steve and I decided to grab our breakfast at the train station before boarding the train to Naples. We sat down in a cafe with table service to relax and enjoy our last day in Rome. Our breakfast was delicious but we just couldn't eat in peace.. I was shocked by the number of beggars that approached us while we were trying to enjoy our breakfast... I politely declined the first two.. but after the 5th and 6th I was shooing them away like flies rather abruptly! I honestly don't mind contributing to those who are less fortunate than us and often do, but it was just one after the other and women with babies playing the sympathy vote... Shocking! But in my previous post I mentioned that all the money that goes into the Trevi Fountain each day is fished out and used for services for the under privileged. So just by throwing those three superstitious coins into the fountain goes a long way.

Anyway, I am waffling. Steve and I boarded our train to Napoli around 11am. It was an Italian version of the Eurostar (Treni Italia). It was a really nice train, much like the TGV trains in France, roomy with plenty of leg room and space for luggage. When we boarded we sat across from another English speaking couple, so me being me I hooked them into conversation to find out where they were going. From memory I think they were going to Sorrento (which is past Naples) as they were on their honeymoon... We chatted for a bit and settled into our seats for the short train ride of around 90 minutes. I was glad and fortunate that I had been to the loo before we boarded the train because the toilets on this train were over flowing... and there was a rather foul stench coming from the cubicle every time some poor unsuspecting passenger would open it. It was the same reaction each time I think.. the smell would waft out, hit their noses which would be instantly crinkled in disgust and a prompt slamming of the door shut and turning around hoping that they could hold on until we reached Naples! *chuckles* Otherwise, the ride was pleasant. I spent the time writing the pile of postcards I had purchased in Rome with my mobile phone sitting beside me beeping as people back home texted me for my birthday

I don't know what I expected when we arrived in Napoli...actually I can tell you what I had pictured in my head. I had pictured a coastal city much like the one I had experienced in France - Cannes. I had imagined it to be busy but relaxed and rustic looking. A nice, clean, fresh and friendly coastal city is what I had in my mind. That picture as it turned out was a complete illusion, just a fragment of my imagination. What we were presented with when we arrived was completely different. The train station itself was actually pretty clean and looked much like any other station. When we got outdoors to Piazza Garibaldi we were greeted with a representation of pure chaos! Steve and I weaved our way across the Piazza dodging cars, buses and what seemed like a million pedestrians and scattered rubbish on the street looking for our hotel. Actually, the hotel wasn't hard to find, again Google maps had deceived us on the actual distance from the Central Train station to Hotel Rebecchino where we were staying.

On arrival at the Hotel, the staff were kind, helpful and the hotel in comparison to the Hotel Mirage in Rome was much higher in standard (which we discovered on further exploration). What Ɛ65 got us in Naples compared to Rome was much better. Our hotel room was beautifully decoréd, with what looked like antique furniture and the coolest part was that we had a small balcony. We had a lovely cosy doona and as always I had to ask for an extra pillow. What were weren't really prepared for was the level of noise outside. The small balcony itself had some wooden shutters, then a layer of double glazed doors with another layer of covering. THEN about 2 feet into the room another set of double glazed doors. Remarkable actually. In order to sleep you have to close all of those levels to shut out the noise outside. Downside is that you get no natural light in your room to wake up to naturally. The room is completely pitch black...

Steve and I settled into our hotel room and had a bit of an afternoon nap and then went out to explore what the city had to offer since we had arrived early enough in the day to do so. We also went in search of a bit of a late lunch as well. With our map in tail we wandered around the city to get an idea of the way of life in Naples. Napoli is very different in way of life I think in comparison to Rome. Rome was clean and tidy. The way of life in Rome had structure, traffic lights, parking laws...public transport was clean and efficient. In Naples it was the complete opposite. It was heavily polluted and had a massive problem with rubbish. In London for example there are people who work the streets everyday cleaning them up, emptying rubbish bins, sweeping up cigarette butts etc. NOT IN NAPLES. I also discovered they they incinerate their rubbish (right in the middle of Piazza Garibaldi) which contributes to the pollution problem extensively. There are also so many cars, buses, motorbikes on the road. They also still use leaded petrol there and with that much traffic on the road you can imagine! They don't seem to have many traffic lights nor parking laws in Naples and pedestrians cross at own risk most of the time. The traffic will only stop for you once you are on the road..and the vespa's just weave in between! Its truly nothing like you have ever seen before...

Steve and I wandered the streets of Naples for a while just taking in the whole place. Finally our stomachs got so growly we had to find something to eat PRONTO! Steve and I came across a Pasticceria and gave into the urge and got ourselves a couple of nice pastries for lunch. A little further on I came across a shop that stocked those little Zipper Pals that you attach to your keys. mobile phones and/or zippers. I am not sure what compelled me to look in, but I discovered they had my name in full "Eleonora" which I have never been able get back home. I guess the name Eleonora is popular in Italy because I had come across a store in Rome as well. Anyway I slapped down my two euro's and happily attached it to my key ring but not before trying to explain to the shop owner why I was so excited about the stupid Zipper pal..IN ITALIAN! *giggles*

Thoroughly embarrassed Steve dragged me out of the store and we then headed towards the Port. I don't know what compelled us to come to Naples. Probably me actually, my father used to talk about it a bit as he emigrated to Australia by boat from the Port of Napoli. It always stuck so I always wanted to visit it. The port of Naples is very large. It is a main port. It functions as an industrial port as well as a tourist port with boats to Capri, Sardinia, Corsica and Sicily... Of course most importantly you can see Mt Vesuvius from the Port of Naples... well kind of! Naples and surrounding areas are so heavily polluted you can't actually see it clearly. Really all that is visible is the peak with a haze of smog surrounding it as you will see in the pictures! Still, you have to stop and take it all in despite of the haze to be looking at a still active Volcano is something you would never experience in Australia. Naples of course has its own character and charm and really the feeling you get when you are there is really quite inexplicable. I figured we'd either love it or hate it.. and we still had a few days to let some of the Neapolitan Charm rub off on us!

Feeling a bit tired and cold, Steve and I returned to our hotel room to consider where to go for dinner. Before coming to Naples we had touched up on other people's experiences from their visit to Naples and had been recommended a few places to eat. So that evening we decided to head to one of the restaurants that had been recommended to us - Da Michele's. This restaurant was found in 1870 and consider there only to be two true types of Pizza -The Marinara and The Margherita and that is all they serve.. with doppio Mozzarella (double Mozzarella) and a few options to drink Nastro Azzurro (Peroni), L'Aqua Minerale, L'Aranciata and Coca Cola. Believe it or not people come far and wide to eat at that place and many famous faces have eaten there because that is where you will get a true Neapolitan Pizza... and of course there is always a line out the door! It's very efficient though.. you get a number..and you are in the door, you stuff yourself with this gigantic thin crust pizza and before you know it you are back out the door in the freezing cold!

Full and tired from our big walk around Naples, Steve and I retired to our nice hotel room to relax and try and get some rest for our next full day in the city!

Photo's from smoggy Napoli : http://picasaweb.google.com/hillsj/Naples