Naples city
By Jaimy de Vries
The city of passione (translated as Chaos)
I became a real passionate Italian when we drove from Venice to Naples. There are so many toll roads!! Me and toll roads I can tell you, we’re not friends. The trip to Naples didn’t always go smoothly. I’ll give you an example: we had to make a stop for a pee-break after a 3-hour drive. The road exits are quite short, so unfortunately we missed our first gas station. We took the next exit to a gas station but it turned out to be highway exit and the gas station was on the other side of the road: so that meant: paying toll again!
And then the nightmare started: the ticket machine didn’t take our toll card, not my bank card, not my credit card … and meanwhile the Italians were honking behind us. ‘ Yes, damn it’ I was murmuring; ‘ This F machine isn’t working!’ So I pushed the service button – I don’t like asking for help so this was quite a thing to do for me. An Italian answered the call – and like most Italians – he didn’t speak English very well. At first he speaking Italian that we couldn’t understand and then he shouted: ‘The black hole – The black hole!’ Haha what the F… the black hole? – in the meanwhile I’m visualizing all dirty and weird images – I’m shaking my head. ‘okay, Jaimy concentrate’ I’m telling myself.
So… he meant the black money slider, but it just wouldn’t open I’m telling him. But he kept repeating ‘ The black hole, the black hole!’. Status quo; a blonde frustrated and stressed lady who pushes all the buttons . ‘Oh my, another tourist’ the Italians behind us were probably thinking. Luckily the Italians – despite their excessive honking – are also very kind and helpful people. A woman came to help me and told the man of the service button that the money slider won’t open. In the end we succeeded with cash and we managed to find a parking spot. After I turned off the engine, I took a moment to ease the stress …’breathe in – breathe out ‘… I felt better after a few seconds, but then we found out there were no toilets. So we had to make a stop again…the second time went a bit smoother.
We didn’t beat ourselves up that day, and after a couple of minutes rehabilitating we just kept smiling!
After our 7-hour drive we arrived in Naples, which is located in southern Italy. There is much to experience in Naples and the surrounding area; the city itself, the lost city of Pompeii & Herculaneum, the volcano Vesuvius, a beautiful road along the coast; “the Amalfi coast” and – saved the best for the last: island Capri! You can read more about these places in my other blog posts.
If I could describe Naples in one word, it is “chaos” – and as the Italians and Napolianas like to call it: a city of passione! Well, that’s a way to romanticize chaos. While walking to the city center I feel a lot of emotions stirring up: curiosity, insecurity, excitement, stress and then….suddenly my inner Italian temperament arises! I was almost swearing in Italian ‘Cretino!!’ (which means idiot) when a scooter just shot past me. But, you adapt fast to the city and you’ll quickly stagger through the city like an Italian. No rules, just do it and grab your moment! Use your creativity and move with the city and nature as the Italians would describe it themselves – then you’ll be fine! You can visually see the passion around you in the city: an Italian shouting angrily and loudly through the phone and shaking his arms (see video!), a lot of tin damage to the cars and a lot of cars and scooters that squeeze through the crowd.
And talking about cars…. that reminds me to give you a little bit of advice if you decide to go to Naples: go with an old car! If you look around you all the cars are damaged, so your new car won’t get out of the city without a scram. But you’ll have to give credit to the Italians, how they park their cars and squeeze them even in the smallest parking spot – is impressive. They can learn us a thing or two about parking.
I find the city very chaotic and busy. Many homes were weathered, damaged and full of electrical wiring and fans. If you like peace and nature, look for a stay outside the city of Naples in one of the picturesque villages. A stay at the Amalfi coast is of course the most beautiful option but pricey.
We explored the city of Naples with a hop-on-hop-off bus, this is an easy way to quickly explore the city and its highlights. The best spots in Naples are: the painter’s district and the coast line.
We stayed in Naples but spent most days exploring the area outside Naples-city. On a rainy day we took a pizza baking course. It was quite an experience to cook with my kitchen princess Amy. We were crying from laughter because of the fact that Amy was corrected and helped with her pizza every single time. I think this was a one-time thing for her….
In short: The city of Naples was an experience, but it’s not my cup of tea.
A short impression of the city:
My recomendations for a city trip in Napels
# 1 – Don’t go to Naples city!
Yes, sorry! As you could’ve guessed from my story above, I’m not very enthusiastic about the city of Naples. My tip, therefore, would be to stay somewhere in the area around Naples-city. The best place (and most expensive) is to book a stay on the Amalfi coast. You can always decide to take a day trip to Naples. A one-day trip is really enough. But maybe if you’re a real city person and like chaos, then perhaps the city is something you’ll like. I didn’t like the city myself. I prefer a more quiet place in nature.
For Naples-city my door is closed
# 2 – take a pizza baking course
Well, if you decided to go Naples city, then my recommendation would be to take a pizza cooking class. It was real fun to do this. The Italians discovered and made the first pizza’s, the first pizza was the Margherita pizza, made in Napels. Pizza’s were reported in Naples in the 17th century. The pizza was discovered in the poorer parts of the city, because a pizza was cheap to make. People were coming to these pats of the city to eat this peasant dish. The people who made it were called pizzaioli. The best pizzaioli was invited by the king and his wife Margherita. His wife liked the pizza so much that the pizza was named after her: Margherita.
# 3 – Explore the Mediterranean area!
Yes, as I said the area around the city is beautiful! The city is surrounded by Mediterranean nature & culture. For the best Mediterranean environment go to the Amalfi-coast!
For more information see blog post: Amalfi-coast
# 4 – Enjoy the view from the Vesuvius
For a panoramic view and unique location take a hike up to the Vesuvius volcano. There are several tours in the city to take you there. We took a combined tour with a visit to Pompeii city. The tour costs us around 85 euro per person.
For more information see blog post: Vesuvius & Pompeii
# 5 – Pompeii
One of the most famous volcano eruptions in history comes from the volcano Vesuvius. You probably know it: the story of the buried city of Pompeii. The city of Pompeii is easy to visit. Various tours are offered. We took a guided tour.
For more information see blog post: Vesuvius & pompeii
Underneath a short video of our road trip in Italy