My Crazy and Dangerous Adventure in Naples, Italy

21 July 2003, Naples, Italy

Naples, Italy

In the summer of 2003, I had the amazing opportunity to visit my good friend living in Naples for a 2 1/2 week Italian adventure. On 21 July, I ventured out on my own and got to experience the uniqueness and craziness of downtown Naples. My friend (who I am calling Jane) drove me to the Aversa train station where I caught the train to Stazione Centrale downtown. There I caught the Metro to the Montesanto stop where I was to start the walking tour I had planned. Instead of pulling out the map immediately as I now know I should have, I started to wonder around aimlessly, my favorite method of exploration.  

Castle Nuovo

I walked down some narrow streets past outdoor fruit vendors, looking for breakfast and coffee (caffe).  I found a small store that sold Italian doughnuts but no caffe.  I bought a doughnut and ate it as I wandered again in pursuit of that ever-needed jolt of caffeine plus I was already hooked on Italian cappuccinos!  Sorry Starbucks but they've got you beat. It was not even 10:00 am yet and the day was already sweltering.  I walked past several tiny stores selling clothes and other various items and finally spotted a cafeteria.  I sipped a delicious cappuccino in a real coffee mug at the counter and paid the friendly Italian man on my way out.  I wasn't sure if I was supposed to pay beforehand but he seemed ok with it. You do not pay the person behind the counter where you order as in the US but a separate person behind the cash register on the other side of the store.

Downtown Naples

Now that my first two needs were met, I decided to pull out the map and figure out where I was.  I did not see any street signs so I kept on walking, hoping to see a piazza or a church that I might find on the map.  It was like I had a map to a different city, however, because nothing matched up! After several tries, I finally gave up and found a taxi who could take me to a landmark I knew from the map.  I found a very nice taxi driver to take me to Castel Capuano.  He dropped me off at what looked like the castle so I thanked him and said goodbye in Italian.  As I walked through the grand arch and around what I thought was the castle, I discovered it was a church instead. I decided no more wondering aimlessly for me so I asked a man at the door of the church where the Castle Capuano was. He pointed across the street and I was relieved.  After a choppy conversation in Italian with the taxi driver, he had taken me to the right place after all.

A statue of Caesar in Naples

So far Italy was not like other foreign countries I have been to in that not as many people speak English. It was fun to use the Italian I had learned for the trip.  Finally, after half a day of being lost in a strange foreign city, I knew where I was. Then Jane called to check on me and told me where to find the street signs. They are on the buildings quite a bit higher than my eye level. Knowing this helped to ensure that I wouldn't get lost again (or so I thought).

Naples Duomo

My next stop was a Duomo (cathedral) that was only a couple blocks away.  It was lovely from the outside but I couldn't go inside because there was a herd of people on the front stops and quite a few polizia around.  My guess was that it was some kind of protest.  

The narrow streets of Naples

Downtown Naples is an amazing place that is almost indescribable. The streets are very narrow with many cars, scooters and pedestrians trying to share the same limited space.  People don't wait at crosswalks to cross the street, they dart across the street, dodging cars like a live arcade game of Frogger.  There are vendors of all kinds occupying stores no larger than my bedroom at home. People live in crowded apartments above and hang their laundry out to dry in the alley outside their windows. The pace is fast but the people are usually friendly, especially the men. At one point I politely declined an invitation for a date by a friendly polizia by explaining I was married and he told me he didn't mind because he was married too!

Laundry hanging above the street in Naples.

After having an un-sliced square pizza pie in the birthplace of pizza for lunch and a delicious gelato for dessert, the intense heat drove me to seek the coolness of Jane's apartment.  I thought I found my return Metro station without incident until I arrived there and saw nothing but a small snack store.  I made the mistake of asking a man (up until now everyone was so helpful) where the metro stop was.  First he wanted me to sit down and have some pizza. I said no and the next thing I knew he led me to the small store inside the station and tried to get me to buy a ticket.  I said, "no, I already have a ticket," and then realized I was surrounded by 6 or 7 men. Immediately my internal alarm went off and I high-tailed it out of there as fast as I could.  I'm pretty sure they wanted to rob me and looking back it was quite scary!  I later found out from Jane that I was in a high crime area.  I decided to risk no more and took a taxi to the Stazione Centrale where I caught the train to Aversa and arrived safely back at Jane's place with a grand adventure to tell!

Me in front of Naples Lake.

I hope that you have enjoyed reading my entry from this Traveling Travel Agent's travels.  I am a travel agent because I love to travel and I love helping other people discover our big beautiful world! If you want to learn more about my travel agency and the services we provide, visit us at www.PurplePalmVacations.com. Happy Travels!