In Napoli

We had been advised by the Roman policeman (see previous entry on losing the cell phone) to take nothing with us into Naples. So apart from a couple of umbrellas, 20 Euros and a cash card we followed his advice. Catching the train was pretty straight forward and we drew into the Garibaldi station after passing some colourful graffiti en route. A couple of hundred yards outside the station and we were into the cell phone, stolen laptops and ‘designer’ accessory district. On the way through we were able to get away with buying just a new cell phone having shaken off the dodgy laptop and camera sales men.

Our main destination in Naples was the archaeology museum, not understanding the scale on the map we headed off by foot and quickly descended upon a street market that went on and on and on. Quite a fun experience, the streets laden with stalls of junk stuff, designer copies and clothes, clothes lines hanging at all levels from the buildings (including across the street) and scooters making their way down what really seemed like pedestrian precinct only. The traffic was really quite entertaining throughout the day. The cars, scooters and pedestrians just blurred into one mass, weaving and bobbing. It kind of all works, but you do notice a fair few cars with dinged bumpers and hobbling dogs that have come off the worse for wear.

This really felt like what you expect from an Italian city, a great experience.

For lunch we stopped at a lonely planet recommended restaurant just down from the museum, good food, Rachel made the best choice with a yummy local pasta dish (gnocchi Sorrento – tomato, cheese, ham).

The museum was very good (thanks Barend Jan for the recommendation). All the mosaics, statues and trinkets from the various Vesuvian towns and cities have made their way here over the years. The mosaics are fantastic and the frescoes, well you do have to wonder why they go on about the Renaissance dudes discovering perspective, these Romans etc. knew the vanishing point as well as De Vinci and that crowd. We were pretty blown away with other sophisticated stuff, the glass and silverware could have come straight out of Victorian England and the medical and dentistry instruments would not have been out of place in a hospital today. When you compare this with what the Brit’s were up to in their mud huts up to 1000 years later it is hard to comprehend.

We avoided the bottom floor statues, figured we had seen enough in Rome.

Don’t tell anyone, we went in the secret room (BJ did you go there???). Can’t say what we saw there, might be read by young people… nudge nudge, wink wink say no more. Suffice it to say those fauns and satyrs did more than sing and dance in the forest!

On the way back we managed to get caught in a storm (Tasha’s comment – it was really lightening and everything), but dodged the worst under €1 umbrellas and the canopies in the markets.

Becca bought a hat that doesn’t have a top (bizarre) and a watch. Ivan spent large on an Italy sweatshirt (12Euros but he could have got it for 8!!), Tasha is sporting a flash watch (3Euros) and Rachel got nothing!!

Note: I hope you all appreciate the good spelling and grammar, Rachel has helped with this one.

And so was our day in Napoli.