We took a high-speed train from Florence to Naples. They are much more expensive than regional trains, but most definitely worth it. 3 hours vs 7 hours.
I had heard through the grapevine that Naples has somewhat of a shady reputation: gangs, crime, etc. They say that about many large European cities, but this one in particular I was under the impression to be extra-cautious.
We got off to a rocky start. Being wise Shannons, we neglected to write down the address of our hostel. So upon our arrival to the train station...we had no clue where to go. Therefore we wandered the streets in search of an Internet cafe. Bad idea. It was hot and there were lots of people on the street selling crap and trying to lure us with their broken English sales pitches. The funniest one we encountered was a guy on a motorcycle who pulled up to us out of the blue, opened his leather jacket, and said "Would you like to buy an iPad?", showcasing the one tucked into his jacket. Weird.
We walked back to the train station and found a tourist information center aka SAFE HAVEN. They gave us a map and directions.
We had to take the metro to our hostel, which ended up being AMAZING. It was called Welcome Inn, and it was perfect. We had an apartment style room that was lovely, air conditioned, and large. It was family-owned and we were well-received by the man and his wife, "Mrs Pancakes" (she makes pancakes for all the guests every morning!!!). Here's a pic of the room:
It was then time to explore Naples. Daniel, the son of the hostel owners, mapped out the best way to walk the city. He also insisted that we go to Gino Sorbillo's: the self-acclaimed birthplace of pizza. Daniel clearly said, "the best pizza you'll ever have." And then we were off for the rest of the day.
We were starving, so Gina Sorbillo's was our first stop. It was clearly a local favorite as well as a tourist attraction because the place was packed. We had to wait 15 minutes for a table. The anticipation was high! The pizzas were classic Italian style, but they were truly remarkable. I ordered a spicy salami and onion pizza, and Andrew ordered a Salami and ricotta pizza. Both were insanely delicious! I could understand why the pope says its his favorite...its DIVINE (get it?).
YUMMY!
Naples is beautiful. The water, mountains, and islands make up an idyllic scene. We walked, saw all the sights, castles on the water, everything. It was a great day.
At night, we were exhausted. There was an epic lightening storm unlike anything we'd ever seen. There were parts where it wasn't even raining, but the clouds were full of electricity and the lightening was nonstop in the clouds. Check out this video:
Up Next: POMPEII!
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