We didn't start the day off very well... We waited in line to make our train reservation for over an hour (the train system in Italy is HORRIBLE). Then our train was 20 minutes late. No big deal, we were in a great mood and were trying to keep ourselves positive for the 4 and half hour train ride, surely there would be some great scenery to take in...
Well the ride just got worse and worse. The train was very hot, crowded, smelly and we quickly found out that none of the bathrooms were working! Well that's not true, there was one working, but the seat was ripped off and it looked like your typical train or airplane bathroom, except it hadn't been cleaned in months. There was thick, black grime all over the toilet and walls and the water didn't work. This was going to be a long trip...
Sure enough about an hour into the trip, just far enough from the city to be in the middle of nowhere, the train breaks down. They made numerous anouncements in Italian. We didn't understand what they were saying, but after each announcement everyone on the train would get more and more aggravated.
I have no idea why they didn't send another train to pick us up, numerous trains flew past us on the next tracks, but we sat still in our hot train, baking in the sun, full of people, with no air conditioning, no bathrooms and no food for almost 4 hours!!! When they finally got it fixed we had to backtrack, yes, head back in the wrong direction to another town "for parts" as a lady translated for us. We sat at that station for another 20-30 minutes. Many passengers got off and didn't return. I guess they were getting on other trains. We couldn't understand the announcements, plus we already paid the reservation fee for this train, we didn't want to pay again.
Eventually the train started moving again. At this point the train was running 5 hours late! We chugged along the bland area near the tracks. We were expecting some great views, but didn't see any on this train, it was just flat and boring. Our ride to Naples was supposed to be 4.5 hours but it ended up taking just over 9 hours! We were hungry, tired, worn out and REALLY had to go to the bathroom when we got there. Finally stepping off that god-forsaken train was one of the best feelings we've ever felt, haha.
During the last leg of the trip we started talking to a couple ladies that had spent their whole lives living in Naples. We told them our plans for that evening, and they quickly warned us that it would be pretty foolish to walk around the streets or even take the subway in Naples with our backpacks at this hour (we were supposed to arrive at 6pm, but now it was after 11pm). They told us that we should just take a taxi and be safe. We didn't think 11pm was that late, and were a bit skeptical about their concern, but we followed their advice and spent 10 euros taking a cab.
The first day was pretty hellish and we ended up not seeing any of the city, but don't worry, the rest of our trip was nothing like that! We both really enjoyed Naples. The city was great and the food was excellent. To quote Jesse, "If there were no Italians here, the city would be perfect", haha. His personality is basically the exact opposite of the typical Italian. About 90% of the people we encountered in our 3 weeks in Italy were rude, pushy, arrogant assholes. Sure there are a ton of nice, friendly people, they just don't leave their houses, haha. There were quite a few times when he had to stop and calm himself down, haha. We stayed in a hostel a couple blocks away from the national museum, right in the action. This was one of the cheapest rooms we booked on this trip and weren't expecting much, but were greeted with one of the best rooms we have stayed in so far! Even with hardwood floors! The staff was amazing and had a ton of advice for us. One of the guys, David, actually gave us a map and plotted out the exact route we should take if we want to see all the sights worth visiting. He also recommended the best bakery for some traditional pastries, like baba, as well as a pizza shop that has been serving slices for 120 years! To get a couple pizzas from this place took us 20 min and we "skipped" the line because we ordered it to go!
You really need to see the traffic in Naples to believe it. In some areas, you'd have to be suicidal just to cross the street, even at a "cross walk". No one ever stops or yields, even the ambulances are helpless. The streets are packed with scooters that swerve in and out everywhere, completely ignoring lanes, street lights and common sense. At a red light they will cross with the pedestrians, drive on the sidewalks or just flat out blow the light. If they do stop, everyone crowds as close to the line as they can. If there is enough room for a scooter to fit between two cars, even if its only a couple inches clearance on each side, that's where he'll go. A street with 2 lanes will somehow have 3 cars and 8 scooters all with their front tires on the stop line. We don't know if you need a license to drive a scooter in Italy, we assume not. It seems like most kids start driving on the streets at a very young age without any training, rules or understanding of road signals. Maybe we are exagerating, or maybe it was just the area of the city we were in, but we could stop and watch them drive in bewilderment for hours. "If I were that guy, what is the absolute stupidest thing I could do? hmmm, why not force my scooter between the bumpers of these cars, across 3 lanes onto the sidewalk, then pass everyone on the sidewalk and cut back across all the lanes before the light turns green?" Yup, that's what he just did, but we didn't expect him to honk/flip the bird at the ambulance with it's siren on for getting in his way, we're still new at this. We both agreed that it is best to leave the driving in Italy to the locals.
We just want to state again that we enjoyed Naples and had a fantastic time. I think writing about the bad stuff makes for a more interesing story. The pizza in Naples is something you really need to try. It is very thin and crispy and isn't smothered in cheese. Just a bit of cheese is sprinkled on top.
During the night we walked trough the harbor and took some pictures of a great castle that was on the shore. We couldn't get in because there was an evening concert. Then we walked back trough narrow streets of the spanish quarter.
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