The next day, I was ready to rock. I had planned to do a day trip to Pompeii and Vesuvius (get it, rock?), but I was so intrigued by Napoli that I decided to spend the day cruising around the neighborhoods. Rick Steve highly recommended the Archeology Museum, which has a bunch of artifacts from Pompeii, so I figured that was second best to going to the site itself.
I ate a quick breakfast in the hostel, where I shared a table with a young woman from Azerbaijan, who works on peacekeeping missions with Armenia… and what do you do for work?? That’s the best part about staying in hostels — meeting all sorts of cool people — especially when you don’t have to listen to them breathe all night.
I forgot to mention all the interesting, cool, and thought provoking graffiti that covers Napoli
After breakfast I set out for the museum. I would have walked the mile, but my feet have begun to feel like they are going break recently. After successfully navigating the Metro in Barcelona, I was confident that I would be able to figure out the Napoli Metro, which I ultimately did, but the handwritten signs pointing in ambiguous directions made for a wild goose chase and I probably walked the same distance through the giant metro station as I would have to get to the museum.
One of hundreds of frescoes - looks like an ancient seafood menu to me
After arriving at the museum hot and sweaty in spite of taking the metro, because it takes 90 seconds of walking outside to become soaked, I spent the next two hours perusing ancient Greek and Roman statues, frescoes, gladiator helmets and all sorts of cool shit. The erotic art that was excavated from Pompeii was particularly entertaining. The ancient Romans loved their penis statues.
I booked the wrong tour but at least it was cool
After the archeology museum I had booked a tour of the crypt of San Gennaro, the patron saint of Napoli, so I hopped on the local bus (look at me go!) and made it to the church without getting lost once. That said, I do not know how people traveled before Google Maps. That little blue dot is my lifesaver. The crypt was cool (temperature-wise) and somewhat interesting, but I thought I was going to see underground cisterns and aqueducts. As it turns out, I booked the wrong tour. Oh well, just another reason to go back.
Prego
On my way home, I was determined to get some good Napolitano pizza, so I had my sister research the best places. She sent me a list, and one was within walking distance, so I hiked through the narrow alleys and popped out at a very busy restaurant with a long line out the door. When I was finally seated, I ordered a margherita pizza and a glass of red wine to celebrate successfully navigating Naples. The pizza was super fresh with a delicious, salty, puffy crust, and they gave me damn near half a bottle of wine in my glass. My server was disgusted when I couldn’t finish either. Based on my limited experiences here, servers are not particularly friendly (to me, at least). I’ve even gone so far as to research Italian dining etiquette to see if I’m doing something glaringly wrong. So far I haven’t been able to figure it out.
Full and sleepy, I wandered down through the neighborhoods, following my friend Rick’s recommended route, to see the points of interest: 2,000 year old Roman ruins in Plaza Bellini, the multitude of book stores in Plaza Dante (sadly all closed on a Sunday afternoon in August), more cute and intriguing alleyways begging to be explored.
I would have liked to explore the night scene in Napoli, but I was still pretty wrecked and decided to utilize my private palace to the fullest before I headed off to Positano and a bunk bed in another dorm the next day. All in all, I was pleasantly surprised and impressed with Napoli. If you’re ever looking for a cheap and interesting Italian get away, I highly recommend it, at least for a few days.
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