Wake-up at 5 in the morning on the only day the RAI weather forecast (which throughout the trip proved as reliable as always) had predicted a break from the bad weather. Obviously it's pouring rain. At customs I lose an hour over the usual organisation, domestic and international flights mixed together, people laden with Christmas hampers and parcels, one guy gets one of the hampers stuck in the belt because he sets it upright!!! Brilliant... and he's even about to miss his flight.
Time is wasted because the anti-terrorism checks are stricter (that's the excuse); the reality is that there's a pile of people, only two working counters (one of them blocked by the Christmas hamper), people pushing ahead of you because with all the chaos they're about to miss their flight and risk making you miss yours too even though you arrived on time — and on top of that nobody checks my document or my ID... Some security!! As soon as I get to the belt to collect my luggage, my suitcase is already there (so, like in Milan, same waiting times). I take the bus towards the centre. My best friends arrived the day before by train (because they said it cost less, when in reality I paid 20 euros more than them). Safe and sound I arrive at the Hotel Candy, which the girls had already announced to me by text as a disaster.
I quote the text: 'bring a towel, a sleeping bag and a fleecy pyjama. The hotel is very chic and essential. There's even a deer in a state of putrefaction. Prepare yourself psychologically'.. Now, I know it's a 1-star hotel and I don't expect much, but in hindsight I have to say that maybe it would have disgusted me less to sleep in the station. First of all, three flights of stairs on foot in a very dilapidated building await me. First floor: primary school. Second floor: primary school out of use because it's closed for pest control (and you've already got the picture), third floor: the hotel. Terrible stench. I say I'm the last of the five, but she doesn't seem to understand, then she takes me to the girls. She knocks like a desperate woman on the door even though it's very early and shouts 'your friend has arrived'.
There are 5 of us in an icy room with a gas and electric stove (lent by a friend) because of the cold. The squalid furniture has 3 cm of dust, the floor hasn't been cleaned for years I think. The icy, filthy bathroom is in the corridor, shared with people who look decidedly unsavoury. All of this for 13 euros a night near S.Chiara.
Day 131 Jan 2003
At 6 in the evening they are already firing rockets everywhere....We think who knows what awaits us later if they're already starting now!!! We go to Piazza del Plebiscito and learn about a Naples New Year's custom, that is, walking in the middle of the street and not on the sidewalk under the windows to avoid sharp, dangerous and flammable objects falling from up there. Not foolish at all!!! In the Square we discover the second custom: you have to arm yourself with umbrellas and raincoats, but not for the rain (which then did come), but rather to shield yourself from firecrackers and from a truly intelligent sport, throwing empty glass spumante bottles at people's heads...Obviously we left the umbrella at the hotel!!!
We sit through a very nice concert of typical Neapolitan music. When it comes time for the toast, someone comes on stage who, in our opinion, is a cabaret artist imitating Iervolino...Well, it really was Iervolino, scary stuff!!! He was such a convincing imitator...
Once the party in the square is over, we move to Castel dell'Ovo to watch the truly spectacular fireworks!!! I understand why Neapolitan fireworks are famous all over the world.....
The downside of New Year's Eve was the freezing cold mixed with rain; in fact, we ended up toasting with hot tea instead of spumante.
fires
Day 21 Jan 2004
This is a holiday everywhere and in Naples too everything is closed, but this day will be remembered for another reason, for having experienced hunger!!!
We have breakfast with yet another warm sfogliatella later in the morning (10 a.m.) and start walking around the city because the transport isn't running. Of course it's the day we go to the Vomero (which is at the top of the city). All on foot. Around 4 we'd like to have a snack to fill the gap, but everything is closed. Still walking, we go all over the city in search of a famous pizzeria near the Station. It's closed. We wander around and by now it's past 8 p.m. and we're looking for any filthy place that has something edible. Around 10 p.m. (still walking) we find a dive like a fast-food place, but you have to put your name on the list because it's full. The place doesn't inspire us and we decide to walk another 200 meters. We find another pizzeria where they tell us we have to wait 30 min. But it looks nice. We wait, exhausted, in the cold. Around 10:30 p.m.
(10 and a half hours after the last food we touched and after about 10 hours of nonstop walking in the freezing cold) we finally conquer a table. I didn't think it would be so hard to find a place open in such a touristy city....
panorama
Day 32 Jan 2004
Let me say that even though I'm an international woman I found Naples one of the most beautiful cities I have ever seen. The sisters took me all around it, all on foot, really all of it, museums, remote corners, culturally interesting places above Vesuvius, below Vesuvius, around Vesuvius. We even caught a mega-romantic sunset with 2 rainbows in front of the volcano. And in fact after this sign from fate I had decided to buy a lottery ticket (given that according to statistics they always win in this area)....well I tried all the tobacco shops in the city and they told me the tickets had been sold out for months....that's why they always win, they're the only ones who buy them!!!
We used the metro (which is beautiful, very clean and each station has a different color from the others, with galleries decorated by artists like in Stockholm). Unfortunately the Funiculì-Funiculà "was closed." We went around the Spanish Quarters without any problems, without being mugged as people go around saying, Spaccanapoli, the Vomero, Capodimonte, underground Naples. The latter is a series of tunnels that are dozens of meters underground. It was a part of a Roman aqueduct (it seems it extended for 400 km) later used during World War II as a shelter. This place is not advisable for those who suffer from claustrophobia or for those who are overweight, because you have to go through paths even 150 meters long, a meter high or a little more and 50 cm wide.
If you get through without getting stuck you're lucky!!! But it's worth it because then you end up in a kind of wishing well complete with little coins
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