We woke up really early to make the first flight out to Naples with 'EastJet' (the European 'Kulula') which was cheaper than the train. However, when we got there the flight had gone up 140 Euro's! We still can't understand how they would rather fly with empty seats, but I guess they don't expect many travelers to do what we then did. We hopped back on the 30min bus from the airport to the train station, and made it just in time for the Naples train - saving €100. It was a 5hour train trip, and much like a plane, we were issued reserved seats. Lucky for us, we sat next to Americans who were hopping off in Tuscany - and so the journeys conversation was in English. A little later on the trip, an Italian man cuddled right up to Bruce.
Naples was not really what we had imagined. It's very different to the other Italian cities - far louder, more vibrant, a lot cheaper, but also not as clean. It is, however, the home of PIZZA!
We found our hotel down a side street off the main road "Corso Umberto I' which is very basic and personal. Bruce refers to it as 'The Custard Palace' as everything is yellow or gold, from the curtains to the breakfast. What we'll never forget about this hotel, is that the Wifi only works if you sit on the stairs, and that you need a backpack to carry your room key around. It's definitely got character!
DAY 2: The Americas Cup
On our first full day, we strolled around the streets of Naples, saw the Piazza Riale, visited some cathedrals, and then walked down to the coast; only to find ourselves sipping beers in a massive crowd of supporters watching The Americas Cup. This is the worlds premier yachting regatta, and the oldest trophy in sport with some of the fasted and wealthiest boats and boating teams in the world. We didn't even know this event was on during our stay here, but locals kept asking us if that's why we are here.
What's interesting about Napoli is that we've only come across a handful of people who can speak a few words of English; making communicating very hard. A lot of people speak to us in Italian, and we just nod. Another thing very distinct about Napoli, is their driving! We've come to the conclusion that being a bus driver is Napoli must be one of the most stressful jobs in the world, and that owning a car - you're guaranteed one accident/ding every two weeks. In fact, your family has to either run a panel beaters or a cafe / retail store in Napoli. Waiting to cross the road on the first day, we witnessed an accident. We've also come to learn that you can't be scared as a pedestrian - you just walk and hope cars stop. It's also not frowned upon to do the "touch parking" method.
Around the corner from our hotel, we found a restaurant with cheap pizza (£1.50) and Peroni beers (£1.60), plus free wifi. This became our dinner spot for our time here, as it was also a couple of steps away from our hotel doorstep.
Here are some photos of The Americas Cup:
DAY 3: Getting lost in Napoli
In Napoli, if you order a coffee, you'll get an expresso. If you order a Caffe Latte, you'll get a glass of milk. And if you order a Hot Chocolate, you'll get a cup of actual chocolate, hot with a spoon.
After breakfast we started getting ready for the day, only to hear a huge festival street parade right outside our hotel window- so exciting! However, it turned out to be the African population here striking for rights in Italy! So, after much thought we decided not to join ha ha, and instead we went to see the Duomo and the huge castle on the top of the hill.
After the Duomo we got so lost trying to find the train which took us up to castle. Eventually, after going through back roads and residential areas, we managed to find it. From there, our long day began! We took the right train up, but we clearly got off on the wrong stop. A bus driver at the stop said we should come with him, and he'll take us there. But an hour later, he told us to get off and take bus 181. Bus 181 never came, and so we found ourselves in a road with three Italian men debating about the best route back. Each man gave us a different route, and the two older men convinced us that we shouldn't listen to the younger gentlemen - as he is from Rome. But to make our dilemma worse, he was the only one who could speak a few words of English! When we showed another man where we wanted to be on the map, he pointed to a nearby tree- and said that is where we were, relative to our map. We weren't even on the map anymore!?
Eventually, we decided to surrender amongst the italian debate for us on the side of the road - and we headed to the train station close by. We got advised to not use the Metro Line in Napoli, but we were so lost we had no other option. It was a cool experience seeing Napoli off the beaten track, and while getting lost and not seeing the castle wasn't on our agenda today - we made it back home and suddenly "The Custard Palace" looked more like a castle than ever before!
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