Arrivederci, Napoli

Yesterday, to say goodbye to Naples, I went through a long walk through the old city, a lot of which ended up in my street art post of yesterday. I checked out some souvenir stores and bought an odd little Christmas ornament for the Christmas tree that Charlie and I will be putting up together for the first time in December. And then, I decided to take one of the city's famed funicular lines up to Vomero, a neighborhood on a hill that offers some of the best views of the city. The funicular car was pretty cool:


That's a diagonal train car, set up in stepped platforms so that you can sit in it and never feel uncomfortable as you're being hoisted up a steep hill at about a 45 degree incline. Neat! I didn't know what to expect from this ride, so I'm glad I decided to do it. Now I can add one more ride to my list of Italian train experiences.

And the view from the hill was indeed stunning:


That's Mount Vesuvius in the background, always watching over Naples, and waiting. I can't imagine what it must be like to live so close to a volcano with such a murderous past, and to see it there on the horizon, every day. I wonder if this has anything to do with the Neapolitan psyche.

So, to sum up, Naples is not as scary as everyone says it is. Sure, it can be dirty, and there's garbage and dog poop everywhere, and there are places in the city where you just shouldn't go, but as long as you avoid those places, you can have a wonderful stay here. I'm so glad that I decided to stay here for the past ten days rather than changing hostels every few nights - this girl is travel weary, and the single home base has really helped.

I have Giovanni to thank for so many of the great experiences on this part of the trip. Sure, I came here with my own agenda, and I was able to complete pretty much everything on it, but Giovanni's suggestions and recommendations added just that little bit of something extra. Great pizza, mozzarella in Paestum, extraordinary sculpture in the Cappella Sansevero, conquering fears underground in the Napoli Sotteranea, the Vesuvius Express bus, the amphitheater and volcano at Pozzuoli - thanks, Giovanni, for all of your help.

Well, that's about it - next time I post, I'll be back in Roma, and 24 hours from now, I'll be at the airport for my flight home!