10.8.13

I'm having a relationship with my pizza.

After spending an entire night in Schipol airport, attempting to sleep on a bench, whilst my flight got delayed & delayed, I finally made it to Naples.  Unfortunately, having wrapped up in jeans, for the air conditioned setting I'd come from, I failed to have the foresight to change my attire, before leaving Naples airport.

I stepped out into sweltering heat & whilst I've always been quite confident in my Italian language skills, suddenly I realised how little I knew, as I approached people to ask for directions.  Having nothing but a few screen shots to guide me, I pointed avidly at my phone, in the hope that someone could send me in the right direction.



Two of the men working outside the airport pointed to a bus & ushered me to get on.  I dragged my rucksack over the road to the bus & then proceeded once again to gain advice on where to go.  The bus driver told me to get on & then get off at the next stop.  So I did.  Only the next stop seemed even more confusing & further from where I was aiming for.

Three bus rides later, I was on the right street.  Sweat pouring off me & my jeans sticking to my skin.  I walked down the hill, following the map I had on my phone, then got told to go back up the hill by the guy in the local pizzeria, when I couldn't find the road I was looking for.  Then another guy on my way back up the road, told me it was by a church down an alleyway.  Choosing not to believe him, I carried on walking back up the hill.  At the top, another guy told me to go back down, take a left & go up yet another hill.



By the time I'd managed to drag my bag to the top, I realised it wasn't the right road.  Ready to give up & melt into the floor, an old man approached me & told me to go back down & head for the alleyway the earlier guy had suggested.  Muttering to myself, I headed back down the road, into the alleyway & there, next to the church, was the bloody hostel.  I arrived soaked in sweat & headed straight for a shower!  Never been more grateful for a cold shower in all my life.

Within a minute of being in the hostel, I made my first friend in Naples.  A young guy from California, who'd been traveling for a little while.  We walked into the old town together for a look around.  The buildings in Naples are all crumbly & battered & the streets littered with garbage.  In essence, I think this is roughly what I had expected from Naples.



Every few streets, you come across a piazza, centered around a monument & always with a beautiful church.  Through the lanes there are endless shops selling tiny hand crafted figurines.  These stores are often small & every space is covered in an array of tiny people & animals.  Makes your eyes boggle at the sight of them.

That evening California & I sat in the hostel's garden, with two Parisian girls.  It was a Saturday night & the hostel got very busy, both with guests & people from outside.  There was a little sausage dog with a bandana wrapped around his neck, who ran around, attempting to extract food from people.  Made me miss my Pig.



The next day, California left for Venice & I made a new friend; a guy from New York.  Young & enthusiastic, he'd been cycling round Europe for about a month.  We too went into the old town & determined to taste a true Naples pizza, stopped at a tiny pizzeria in the lanes.  The pizzas were only €4 each & tasted amazing.  This was truly Naples pizza!  The only thing that bugged me was paying to sit down.  In Italy, they charge you a cover fee to sit & eat in a restaurant or cafe.

After filling ourselves on pizza, we headed down to the port & walked along, until we got to a tiny beach.  I took off my sandals & went in for a dip.  The water was filthy & there were families all in their swimwear, wading around.  If it hadn't been so incredibly hot, I wouldn't have gone in, but it was so damn cooling!  Although, once a tiny crab started jerking towards me & then I saw a rather large school of fish, I ran out.  I'm not big on small creatures.



Back in our hostel, we met an English guy from Brighton & two Canadian girls & the five of us went out for pizza, again!  This time I could only manage half.  Two pizzas in one day is kinda pushing it.

The next day New York left for Geneva, Brighton & the Canadians went to Pompeii & so I got the ferry to Capri island.  Everyone kept telling me it was only €20 for the boat, but when I went to buy my ticket they charged me €40!  I handed over the cash, but felt like I was getting the ripoff tourist treatment.




Capri was only forty five minutes on the boat & I slept the whole way there.  Once there I avoided shelling out more money for the funicular & headed up some stairs, in direction of the center.  Unfortunately, the steepness of the stairs, combined with the ridiculous heat, lead to me almost hyperventilating like an idiot & nearly fainting!  It didn't help that I would get to the top & then suddenly there would be more bloody stairs!

Eventually, after nearly forty minutes, I made it to the top.  The views were amazing.  I found a quiet road & followed it all the way down to the beach, on the other side of the island.  There weren't particularly any tourists, just Italians & I just about got a spot on the pebbled beach, right near the waters edge.



For anyone that knows me, it is pretty common knowledge that I have a fear of the sea.  Seaweed under foot.  Fish brushing past my legs.  It all freaks me out!  But, in an attempt to get over my fear, I left my things on the beach, within viewing distance & went into the clear sparkling clean water.  It was the clearest, cleanest water I've ever been in & not one fish in sight.  I fully immersed myself.  Although, I did get out once some of the kids found a jellyfish.  There is a limit.

Heading back up on the bus, I grabbed some gelato & headed back down the stairs.  The thing about Italian ice cream is, it doesn't roll into some perfect ball, it's thick & gloopy & is just scraped & piled high onto a cone.  For €2 you get a small cone & a huge scoop of which ever two flavours you like.  It melts down your hand within a minute of leaving the store & you have to devour it as quick as you can.  My favourite flavour has definitely been Kinder.




On my last day in Naples I tried to prepare myself for moving onto Sicily.  I gathered up my laundry & headed down to reception.  There was this lovely Italian guy who worked in the hostel, who helped me with the machine & rather than charge me the €4.50 fee, let me do my washing for free.  You cannot appreciate how good it is to have clean clothes when you're traveling!

Shortly after, I met a Cuban guy, who was working in the hostel, to pay for his traveling & the two of us took a final trip into town.  I tried a panini napolentani, which is apparently a typical Naples staple.  It's a bit like a bread roll, which ham & cheese inside.  It wasn't amazing.  Then I tried a cannoli.  A hard pastry shell filled with a sweet cream filling.  I wasn't convinced, although, it's meant to be Sicilian, so perhaps I shall try them again in Sicily.


Four days in Naples, was quite sufficient.  Bar perhaps Pompeii & Mount Etna, which didn't come back with rave reviews from the other guests, I feel I experienced most of what Naples had to offer.

x

6 comments:

  1. it is so amazing you're doing this trip.
    travelling alone for some months is the thing I want to do before 30.

    have an amazing adventure!

    <3
    Isabelle

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    Replies
    1. Thank you!
      I wasn't sure how I felt about doing it on my own at first, but it's been fine. You meet lots of people.

      You should definitely find time to do it.

      <3

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  2. You sound like you're having a wonderful time, especially after certain scary events and faraway hostels!
    I am loving the nicknames for your male acquaintances! Please never change! Plus it helps me remember who's who!
    You are meeting so many people and having such a lovely time, I still think you're brave but you are also turning into one wonderful adventurer! I cannot wait to hear more!
    And it's only just begun!

    Missing you like crazy! Be strong, have fun, live free, and carry on snapping wonderful pictures to show me on here!

    Love you Miss P!
    xxxxxxxx

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    Replies
    1. Well, this was before the scary events. Haha. But I have gone from feeling forced out into the world, to feeling like this is making something of me. So I guess everything does happen for a reason. Shhh, don't tell my mum.

      Still miss you trillions & can't wait to see your face along the way!

      Love you Miss Wall!
      xxxxxxx

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  3. i'm not sure how i haven't popped over to your blog already since you and charlotte are such good friends, but i'm so glad that i've finally found my way here!
    reading about your solo adventures are so exciting to me as i'm planning on doing the same in a few short months.
    can't wait to hear more about your travels :)

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    Replies
    1. Thank you, I really appreciate that! It's getting harder to find the time to write, but I still want to post about everywhere I'm going.

      Where are you off to on your travels? :)

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