Safe in Naples

Today, I said goodbye to Roma for new and uncharted territory - Naples! I woke up to something of a nasty surprise: I'm covered with insect bites that are in a particular, suspicious pattern dreaded by travelers everywhere. Now I feel like a leper. I guess it was bound to happen at some point, but now I'm terrified that they're going to follow me back to the States. I'm not sure what to do about it.

Anyway, I took the subway to Termini, and arrived a bit early for my train - I decided to take a regional train that took a little longer, but saved me 10 Euro! While waiting in the station, I'm afraid I broke down and ordered something disappointing for lunch:


Don't judge me too much! It was the only food available in Termini with a good seating area, and I had my bag with me so I wanted to sit somewhere comfortable. Also, I was out pretty late last night, and sometimes after a night like that, you really crave greasy, salty food.

The train ride to Napoli was pleasant, and beautiful in many parts. Unfortunately, I was sitting next to a pretty dirty window, but I still got lovely views of rolling hills and my first look at the Mediterranean.

It wasn't too difficult to navigate the train station or the subway, and when I got to my stop, I could tell I was definitely in the right place:


So here I am in Naples! Giovanni is indeed lovely - he gave me some delicious pasta with chickpeas when I first arrived, and a little while later we talked for well over an hour about places to visit in and around Naples, and how to avoid crime (don't go where the Mafia is - and he even colored those places in purple on my map!). I'm thinking of staying here the entire time I'm in the Amalfi Coast area - we'll see how the next day or so plays out.

Anyway, that's all the news for now! I'm going to need to rustle up something to eat.