Naples Thursday

So, I actually arrived in Naples yesterday, but didn't feel like blogging. I caught the train down from Rome, it only takes two hours. I was actually kind of scared to come to Naples as everyone I spoke to was like "you're going to Naples alone? Watch out, I got pick pocketed there!", or something similar. Or yelled at or followed or whatever. Well, it is WAY different to Rome, but I don't feel that it's all that much more dangerous. I was halfway convinced half my stuff would be stolen and I'd be harassed by men before I even left Napoli station, but I haven't had a problem so far. It's much more tightly packed than Rome, and much more run down and scrappy. A lot of people in Rome smoke, but walking down the stretch in Naples is like having your own cigarette! Seriously, the secondhand smoke is intense. There's also, much to my surprise, and crap ton of black people here. Like, really really dark skinned. Not what I was expecting at all. They don't seem to be tourists, either. Not sure what that's all about.

Anyway, I got to Naples no problem and found my hotel without fuss. It's ok, not amazing, but clean and there's a bed and hot water, so no complaints here. I checked in and thenwent for my customary checking out the area walk. I ended up in these twisting tiny back alleys full of rundown shops, motor scooters, and people's washing hanging from windows and balconies. The Naples you see in pictures really does look like that! My knee was starting to hurt again, so I walked home, bought a pastry dinner and called it a day.

Today was the day of my Pompeii tour! I went and got this special Nepalese pastry for breakfast called sfogietelle. It's sort of like many layers of file pastry around ricotta cheese. After much examination, I think my ricotta had orange peel in it. I liked it at the time, but felt Carrick very soon after, and now even the thought of eating any type of pastry is making me feel nauseous :( after eating I went to thick up point for the tour and hopped in the van. There were three other people on the tour, one guy from New York, and a mother and daughter from New Jersey (but actually from Colombia). They were all really nice. The guide was Italian, but he spoke excellent English. At first I though he was going to be no good, but he turned out to be really, really great! I never got the chance to ask him, but I think he might have had a degree in Roman history or something because he was amazingly knowledgeable and passionate about the ruins at Pompeii. I was impressed.

The ruins themselves, from 2, 000 years ago, were equally amazing and impressive. I can't really explain what it's like to see, touch, and walk on history like that. The paved streets, the pillars, the mosaics, the walls! All really very intact and you could tell what they were. We saw restaurants, houses, gyms, a spa, and a bordello! Inside the bordello there were even fully preserved pictures of sex positions that apparently acted as a menu. Men just popped in after the spa, pointed to the picture they wanted, paid, and off they went. I really loved the ruins at Pompeii and would definitely go back again.

Oh! And I almost forgot. We also saw two statues of people from ancient Pompeii. When they died from the volcanic ash, it covered their bodies and made kind of a shell. Scientists used these shells as moulds to makes replicas of the people. They are pretty creepy because the people knew they were suffocating to death so they're no exactly laughing and smiling, but they are just grey statues not realistic wax models anything, which I'm grateful for.

After the ruins, we had lunch. I had pizza and it was total crap. Then we drove up mount Vesuvius, which was EXTREMELY long and windy. I got super car sick :( Again. But, anyway, then we walked about 20 or 30 minutes up to the crater. It was a bit of a steep climb, but not too bad. It was cold because it was so high. The crater was awesome. It's still active, so there is steaming up out of it. Also, the hole it blew in the top of the mountain... through all that rock. It's like just a big direct hole in the top of the mountain. You can clearly see all the layers of rock going down into the earth. Pretty awe inspiring.

Then the drive back down the mountain, another round of car sickness, and we were back in Naples. I'm still feeling pretty nauseous, so maybe no dinner for me tonight. But in the morning I have plans to visit 'da Micheles', the famous pizzeria from Eat Pray Love :) Apparently you often have to wait for over an hour for a table but the pizza is simply amazing. After that, I'm going to a top notch gelato place and then going to check out the botanical gardens. I'm o.d-ing on the history a bit, so a park might be great :)

And last, but not least, I bought a brace for my knee. It really helped today, though the walk down the mountain was not so good. I will keep mountains to a minimum and hope it gets better :)