Naples & Pompei: Day 3

This morning we had to rush around and get checked out of our current hotel and move to the temporary one nighter hotel (see previous blog). No problems there- in fact we LOVED the place he put us in for the night. MUCH bigger room and comfier bed. However no internet or breakfast service (though we got a voucher for the café down the street so not a total loss). We caught our train to Naples with no problem (though it was a little confusing going from the Metro to the train station- all in one building!) The ride was quiet. Saw some awesome views of mountains and the water- and the cities built on water! But mostly the views left much to be desired. Lots of trash and run down apartments. Not what I was expecting AT ALL. Our arrival in Naples was also…different. The station looked like any other train station we’ve been to but then you step outside. Oh my goodness. You are immediately bombarded with beggars and men wanting to offer you things (I don’t know what things..I was too scared to look). I was too afraid to take out my guide book so we just walked back and forth trying to figure out the stupid metro thing. We never did really figure it out so we rode the metro for free. I also couldn’t find the stupid stop Rick Steves had listed so we got off in the Spanish Quarter which he had listed as the “most historic” um yeah. About that. Historic as in old, run down, and GHETTO! In fact on the metro ride there some old man with 3 teeth came up and tried to press a card into my hand and I said no. He stared at me and tried again and I said no. Then he bit his pointer finger in what I’m guessing was the Italian way of flipping me off and just opened his eyes all big and crazy like and got really close to my face so I said NO really loud and stared back at him. He seemed shocked and then quickly did a hurt look and then just as quickly switched to raising his hand up like he was going to back hand me!!! CRAZY!! I just stared him down and he FINALLY walked away- but still stared at me. Same ride 2 minutes later and another man- younger this time- came up and shoved his dirty hand in my face and was muttering in Italian. I tried a different tactic this time (after all- who needs an Italian slapping you- then Matt would get involved and then it’d just get ugly. No thanks.) So I just ignored him. After a minute he finally moved on to the next person who did the same. So freaking awkward. FINALLY we get out at the “historic” Spanish quarter and I was just as frightened off the Metro as I was on it! There was just trash EVERYWHERE. And the buildings are all sooo close together. And the people are just nasty. Oh and there’s stray dogs just laying around all over. Matt then tells me “Man this is like Mosul (Iraq)” um thanks Matt- that’s NOT helping my comfort level here!!! Rick Steves had said to stay on busy streets and avoid little alleys where the gangs hang out so we just followed the Metro crowd around. Again I was too nervous to take out my tour book/map and figure out where we were going. I didn’t want to draw any more attention to us than necessary. I’m not exaggerating people- it was that freaky. I’ve been in downtown Houston, Chicago, and Paris AT NIGHT and never been this scared. Even in Rome- ok you watch your pockets in the crowds but never scared. In Naples I was scared Matt was going to be killed, I was gonna get kidnapped for the slave trade and my baby be stolen away and also sold!! And that’s during broad daylight! Ok so anyways we followed the crowds and eventually I had to pull out the map. I tried to keep it discreet and even kept my jacket around it and we eventually found our way to the main “shopping street.” Um I thought Italy was fashion capital?? And for Naples being the third largest city in Italy I was a little disappointed that the nicest store on the main shopping street was the Disney Store! However the Disney Store offered calm and security for me to take out my guide book and figure out how to quickly get to the main sights so I could get my butt out of that city!
We finally found the castle, palace, and old theater we wanted to see and then we walked along the ocean road. We thought this would be a beautiful walk however you can’t even SEE the water because of all the yachts and buildings blocking it! Grrr whole reason I wanted to come to Naples! >:-( Matt got his Naples pizza and LOVED it- it was his favorite in all of Italy. Afterwards we finally made it back to the “commuter” train to head to Pompei.
Ah the commuter train. It smelled like pee and beer and was nicely packed- lovely. After a hot and stinky ride (about 30 minutes) we arrived in Pompei. Neither of us knew how BIG Pompei was! There was NO way we would be able to walk around the whole place in an hour or two so we just hit the highlights. Pompei is really neat but not fun to walk around because of the uncomfortable cobble stone roads. IMPOSSIBLE for strollers just FYI. I was getting hot and frustrated because I couldn’t look around me when I was having to concentrate so hard on walking without tripping. Despite this I still liked and Matt LOVED it. We didn’t get to see Mt. Vesuvius because the clouds were nearly down to the ground- a beautiful thing to see though! We saw the base though so I can say I saw it lol. Another meal of pizza (well my first- I was too nervous to eat in Naples) and then we left. The ride back was less crowded thankfully (but still stinky haha). We missed the first train back to Rome so we had to hang out in the train station for about an hour- hour and a half. We sat in the McDonalds and watched “Juno” on my iPod. During that time we had 2 different people come up asking for money and one guy came and asked for my half drunk bottle of Diet Coke. At first we couldn’t figure out what he wanted- I thought he was asking where I bought it so we kept pointing. Then I thought maybe he was one of the employees cleaning up. Finally (at least I think) we figured out he wanted the bottle. I don’t know if he was thirsty or just wanted the bottle to turn in for the deposit money…he snatched it up when we said he could take it and left so no clue- WEIRD!!!! We finally got home after a long train ride and we CRASHED. We were hot, sweaty, exhausted, and sore but neither of us could do anything but fall into bed. So that was our eventful day.
Recap: Do NOT visit Naples- No point! Nasty, dirty, scary, and nothing to see.
Pompei is amazing but allow at least half a day to enjoy it! Do NOT take a stroller and wear comfy shoes!! :-)