The first train trip was about an hour to Florence and the Florence train station is something to experience first hand. Everyone crams in to the same space at the end of the platforms staring up at the departure board. The platforms for departures are not released until 10-15 minutes before the train leaves, to deter congestion on the platforms. This causes "organised chaos" at its best. I left Shannon waiting for our platform number to appear and went and bought us coffee and croissants from the bar. I managed to get half of my coffee down the front of my top and then had 3 hours on the train to Naples stinking of coffee...yes, delightful.
We jumped on the fast train to Naples and were there within three hours traveling up to 250km/h. We managed to work out the Metro with ease and caught the underground just one stop to Toledo. From there it was a short walk to our hotel.
After having a couple of cooler days in Tuscany, the humidity was a little hard to handle again at first. We settled in to our hotel and rested for a while before heading out. Shannon had organised for us to join a food tour for the evening. We figured this would give us a good orientation of the city and also sample the local delicacies with a local.
I don't think I had really had a chance to take in what was happening around me when we first arrived, because I was so focused on steering the suitcase around people and obstacles. Stepping out of the hotel on to the street I finally looked up and around and was overwhelmed with the density of the living. The buildings are so high and close together. Everywhere around there are people yelling at each other across the narrow lanes, women hanging washing out on the balconies, children playing soccer in the street while the motor bikes and cars whizzed by. We wandered down Via Toledo, the main street in Naples and absorbed the scene before us.
Hopefully in the next couple of days we will be able to be more descriptive about this fascinating city. We met with our guide for our food tour at a local pizzeria. We were a group of seven including us, with two from the UK, two from Holland and a lady from Jordan. Our guide led us through the streets of Naples describing the local food and drink of Naples. She gave us some insight in to the history of the city and traditions.
We stopped in at local restaurants and shops to sample some amazing food. We sampled parmigiana, deep fried pizza that oozed all over your hands, spaghetti putanesca, clams, octopus, stuffed zucchini flowers, buffalo mozarella, sausage, savoury biscuits, limoncello, gelati, local wines and finished with local pastries and the best espresso coffee we have had so far on our trip! It was a great way to start our short time in Naples. I am excited to explore the city more tomorrow in daylight.
Tomorrow - Anywhere as long as it's Naples
Doesn't sound pleasant Marion! I would say things have improved since you were here on the rubbish collection front. Mind you, the population density is clearly a problem, as much as it is fascinating for tourists!
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