Naples

Observation:

You don't want to go to Naples.

I mentioned in my Amalfi post that if we knew what lay ahead, we might not have been too excited.  Welcome to my Naples blog.

Only pictures can tell this story.  And even that’s not adequate enough to describe a dirty, crowded city that is impossible to drive a car through.  The curvy, mountainous roads and high speed insane drivers on the highways pale in comparison to trying to make your way around Naples.

Driving in Napoli.  The cars on the right are parked.

The view from our balcony. Yes, this is a balcony. Yes, this is a street. A typical street. To turn onto it, you need someone standing outside to direct you in, as is the case on most streets here:

 The courtyard of our hotel:

I took this next picture because Chris noted how unstable it looks.  Later we realized we had been walking on it.  It’s the hallway that led to our hotel room.  Let’s not even think about earthquakes:

Yet, there’s a major contrast.  Next to filth and dilapidated buildings, there are churches.

Outside a church.  The steps that lead in (on the right):

 Inside that church:

 The outside wall of a church:

Inside that church:

 Interesting, huh?

 A few shots of the streets of Napoli:

Of course the people are as awesome here as anywhere else in Italy.  I could watch them and listen to them all day.  Twinkling eyes and good humor, warmth and passion all intertwined make the Italians a source of continual fascination and delight for me.  I am very proud of my herita

Mount Vesuvius from the car.  We had originally planned to visit Pompeii, but because of the hot weather (and there are no shady spots to hide there), and time constraints, we sadly decided to forego it.

Funny picture of the day:

 Chris pulling his hair out after driving in Naples