Today, September 26, Val and I left Roma and boarded the train for Napoli. We were very lucky to get two seats together after juggling around a bit and trying to keep an eye on our luggage a row away, in the aisle of the carroza, the train car. It was a crowded journey of almost 3 hrs, and did not present too many outstanding views of the "countryside" between the two major centres. As were moved through the outskirts of Roma there was yet more evidence of the mighty Roman Empire including a long stretch of aqueduct -another piece of ho-hum ancient architecture to the most-likey blase modern Romans.
We arrived in Napoli exactly on schedule (must have been some Swiss involved...) and easily found our way to our accommodation (I often just get right down to business and approach a cop to ask for directions - works every time), just a few blocks from Napoli Centrale Stazione. I pre-booked a room in a rather lovely, almost old world hotel, with "fine" furnishings and charm to spare. Our room is small, but clean and complete with the modern convenience of fully functioning wifi (unlike my second location in Roma, which had lamentably disfunctioning wifi - so bad, in fact as to be pretty much a non-starter, for 5 days). Okay, so the air-con isn't exactly fully functioning here, but we can open the window and let the cool night air waft through without being disturbed by traffic noise.
Already, after only 4 hours of being in Naples we noticed the price differences from Roma. For instance our accommodation in Roma for 5 nights came to about 390 euros. Here in Napoli at this lovely place, it is about 250 euros for the same number of nights. On top of that, in Roma there was a 3.5 euro/p/n city hotel tax. In Napoli it is 1.5 euros/p/n. Our dinner tonight was also less money than what we would have had to pay in Roma. Mine was an excellent dish of risotto with lemon, cream and shrimp and a perfect half bottle of Greco di Tufa d.o.g.c. vino bianchi. Val had pizza, for which Napoli is famoso. It was also superb - literally paper thin crust. I'm holding out until I find a hole-the-wall type vendor, in the next few days. There is all together too much pizza available in Italy, and I have a personal commitment to no over indulge in it. But when in Napoli, one must eat pizza, because this is where it was born. So I will, and am looking forward to having my first pizza so far, this trip.
Blogspot is still failing to allow me to include photos in my posts. I can't figure out why I can't attach my photos from my Picasa web album (a Google product) onto my Blogspot (another Google product) post, like I used to be able to. So, I guess I will have to upload them to Google + (you guessed it - another Google product) until I can get help from my I.T. support maestro, who happens to live in Vancouver...
The next few days will be filled with adventures in this chaotic city, which is entirely different from Roma. The buildings are more like Austro-Hungarian in appearance(although obviously they are Neoplolitan): the traffic is UNBELIEVABLE and pretty much seems to go on Aussie rules (a complete free-for-all with little to no regard for traffic lights on the part of vehicles AND pedestrians - worse even than Bangkok); the people are 'way, 'way less attractively dressed and made up - clothing styles are much less classy than in Roma, and folks are just less attractive as a result (Romans OOZE style. Here it's pretty much a kitchy cheese fest.) It is immediately evident that there is much less wealth in Napoli than in Roma. Real estate prices are a good testament to that! Anyway, there is a lot to see and do here, and I plan to make the most of the next few days. Stay tuned.
Mosaic at the National Archeological Museum. Rich or poor, we all meet the same in the end.
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I think Aubrey Beardsley took his inspiration from ancient Greek frescoes in the "Fourth Style"
Much copied, this is the real one. Isn't it lovely?
A small piece of Naples from San Martino, which has just about the best museum of all!
We arrived in Napoli exactly on schedule (must have been some Swiss involved...) and easily found our way to our accommodation (I often just get right down to business and approach a cop to ask for directions - works every time), just a few blocks from Napoli Centrale Stazione. I pre-booked a room in a rather lovely, almost old world hotel, with "fine" furnishings and charm to spare. Our room is small, but clean and complete with the modern convenience of fully functioning wifi (unlike my second location in Roma, which had lamentably disfunctioning wifi - so bad, in fact as to be pretty much a non-starter, for 5 days). Okay, so the air-con isn't exactly fully functioning here, but we can open the window and let the cool night air waft through without being disturbed by traffic noise.
Already, after only 4 hours of being in Naples we noticed the price differences from Roma. For instance our accommodation in Roma for 5 nights came to about 390 euros. Here in Napoli at this lovely place, it is about 250 euros for the same number of nights. On top of that, in Roma there was a 3.5 euro/p/n city hotel tax. In Napoli it is 1.5 euros/p/n. Our dinner tonight was also less money than what we would have had to pay in Roma. Mine was an excellent dish of risotto with lemon, cream and shrimp and a perfect half bottle of Greco di Tufa d.o.g.c. vino bianchi. Val had pizza, for which Napoli is famoso. It was also superb - literally paper thin crust. I'm holding out until I find a hole-the-wall type vendor, in the next few days. There is all together too much pizza available in Italy, and I have a personal commitment to no over indulge in it. But when in Napoli, one must eat pizza, because this is where it was born. So I will, and am looking forward to having my first pizza so far, this trip.
Blogspot is still failing to allow me to include photos in my posts. I can't figure out why I can't attach my photos from my Picasa web album (a Google product) onto my Blogspot (another Google product) post, like I used to be able to. So, I guess I will have to upload them to Google + (you guessed it - another Google product) until I can get help from my I.T. support maestro, who happens to live in Vancouver...
The next few days will be filled with adventures in this chaotic city, which is entirely different from Roma. The buildings are more like Austro-Hungarian in appearance(although obviously they are Neoplolitan): the traffic is UNBELIEVABLE and pretty much seems to go on Aussie rules (a complete free-for-all with little to no regard for traffic lights on the part of vehicles AND pedestrians - worse even than Bangkok); the people are 'way, 'way less attractively dressed and made up - clothing styles are much less classy than in Roma, and folks are just less attractive as a result (Romans OOZE style. Here it's pretty much a kitchy cheese fest.) It is immediately evident that there is much less wealth in Napoli than in Roma. Real estate prices are a good testament to that! Anyway, there is a lot to see and do here, and I plan to make the most of the next few days. Stay tuned.
First cena, dinner, in Napoli.
My risotto. Delizioso!
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Much copied, this is the real one. Isn't it lovely?
We walked down down down from San Martino (highest point in Naples) and into il Quartieri Spangola.
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ReplyDeleteRemember the heat when you are in Edmonton in January! Is Val Toogood your companion? Love reading the post and I am salivating for both the food and the vino.
ReplyDeleteNot Val Toogood. Trying to catch up a bit with this. Giving me a few headaches - almost time for a break with a light meal and una bicchiere da vino.
ReplyDelete