Kris and I headed to the Amalfi Coast to do the Path of the Gods hike, but refusing such practical things as maps or directions we found ourselves on a "more difficult and far less civilized" (according to one English tourist we ran into after) path that went UP the mountain rather than along it. 5 hours later, it ended up being a great workout with some killer views.
We made it to the coastal town of Amalfi for dinner and gelato...
...and just in time for sunset.
Naples has a decaying kind of beauty to it and it's current look seems to reveal the eruptions, earthquakes, bombings, rebellions and conquests it's endured.
Nowadays, Naples has an energy to it that's reminiscent of when you first step off the train at Penn Station in Manhattan. It's (loud) buzz is made up of the whirring engines of scooters, little cars honking and Neapolitans yelling in (what I've learned to actually be is) the most affectionate way possible.
Watching Italians interact with each other on the street (eyes wide, voices raised, hands flying) I keep expecting fist fights to break out but every time it ends with double cheek kisses and it's clear that they were just discussing their favorite type of bufala mozzarella or something.
The other day I was sitting outside a cafe giggling at this book (Amazon Prime is just as awesome while abroad) when the whole city actually ROARED when a goal was scored in a Naples vs. Rome. I wasn't sitting within a block of a television but I swear the ground vibrated with cheers from miles around. These people truly express themselves.
This kind of energy also makes for lively nights out, specifically in Piazza Bellini where everyone congregates just about every night of the week. There's a few cute bars surrounding it but everyone mostly buys 2 Euro beers and takes over the square with live music and loud conversation. With crowds blocking the street I'm floored that it's never broken up by the police because it's absolutely packed. It looks a protest or a riot or like Southie on St. Patrick's Day but it's just another night Napoli.
One of the best things about Naples (besides the pizza) is the easy access to the Mediterranean islands and the Amalfi Coast. A couple of recent day trips to Sorrento consisted of fettuccine and sunbathing with a few rowdy Australians followed by prosciutto sandwiches and rock jumping with some cute Americans.
I'm not pushing Kris off the rock here, even though it very much appears that way.
Sorrento was really lovely. I should note that I kept a lookout for shredded cheese everywhere I went before realizing that's actually SARGENTO and I'm a dumb American. Still a lovely place.
Baristas at Cafe Mexico. Which is understood to be (oddly enough) the best coffee in Italy.
Kris and I at the highest peak in Naples, dubbed "the secret garden" which you have to hop a 15 foot fence to reach. This was minutes before we got kicked out and yelled at. Kris is a fellow workawayer at the hostel. He appears to be your typical American broseph at first but he's super smart, inquisitive and full of surprises... like when you learn he plays the mandolin, is planning on studying neuroscience and says things like "you know, sometimes Macy Gray just really hits the spot". He's only 18 and I blew his mind when I told him John Mayer had an album before Room For Squares because he was only 3 YEARS OLD when it come out. I didn't think kids born in 1996 were eating solid foods at this point, but apparently they're traveling around Europe.
Clotheslines are EVERYWHERE in Naples.
Apparently it's a bit of faux pas to order a cappuccino past 10 AM in Italy. This hasn't deterred me in any way, especially because I try not to be awake before 10 AM.
Vesuvius (!) over the Mediterranean. Last erupted in 1944. Still a bit too recent.
One funny thing about Naples is that while the streets are rather dirty, the subways are SPOTLESS. Many of the stations have been designed by artists and are absolutely immaculate. This is at Toledo station, which is filled with blue tile sculptures, ocean scenes and a tunnel that lets the sun shine through.
Matias and Marcos, Argentinian workawayers at the hostel who are also DJ's under the name Rebel Pandaff. One night they played at a local club so we all went and danced til 5 AM. I won't lie, I don't fully understand what "Deep House" music is quite yet but this song starting at the 24:10 mark is my jaaaaaam.
Naples is (gratifying) chaos.
Naples has all the elements of a city I would normally hate: crowded, dirty, filled with bad graffiti and loud people... but for some reason, it's completely thrilling and charming. And thank god, because I'm here for a whole month (2.5 weeks-in at the moment... a bit behind on blog posts!).
I haven't properly captured the insanity of Naples through photos yet but trust me when I say it's there. The thousands of scooters carrying whole families (babies and dogs included) and loud Italians yelling and gesticulating from cars, windows and shops are a couple of cinematic stereotypes proved to be very true.
I'm reading An Italian in Italy right now which explains that "...in Italy rules are not obeyed as they are elsewhere. We think it's an insult to our intelligence to comply with a regulation. Obedience is boring. We want to think about it. We want to decide whether a particular law applies to our specific case. In that place, at that time". I admire the sentiment but this Italian attitude towards traffic laws ensures that I feel like I've cheated death every time I've successfully crossed the street.
Vesuvius, looming in the background.
Despite being the perfect package for a tourist spot (warm weather, rich history, on the coast, amazing food-- the pizza is here is OUT OF CONTROL), Naples has failed to take advantage of the tourist industry. This means (outside of the hostel) I rarely see another non-Italian and it's made the last few weeks here feel really authentic.
My 2 years of Italian at BC has proved completely useless (not that I retained much at the time) as Neapolitan Italian is a whole other vernacular away from standard Italian. The few phrases that I do know must be said with an accent that feels like I'm mocking Mario and/or Luigi in order for anyone to understand what I'm saying, so usually I get by with a lot of smiling and nodding. Although doing that, I did agree to a dinner date with a butcher when I thought he was just talking about the pancetta I ordered. So now I have to find a new neighborhood butcher.
It's been a genuine Italian adventure so far.
More soon. Expect a lot of photos of pizza.
Flying in from Marseille, I had 24 hours in Rome before heading to Naples by train. I ate delicious pizza, drank an overpriced cappuccino and toured the Colosseum and the Roman Forum.
At the Colosseum tour I learned that the politicians and rich people always got the good seats (the stadium held up to 80,000) and the gladiators would risk their lives and well-being for money, fame and women. So really, not much has changed in the sports and entertainment industry.
+ Keep clicking the last photo above for a few more shots.
The touristy sites were educational but the real cultural experience was meeting Angelo (doppleganger of the drummer from The Strokes), an Italian kid flying back to his hometown after a year in Marseille. We spent a few hours together at the airport and he taught me useful Italian phrases while I taught him American curse words which he promptly texted to all of his friends. American diplomacy at it's best.
Took a train up through the mountains to visit Entrevaux, France... a medieval village that still has a drawbridge and mote around it. It was kind of like Game of Thrones meets Beauty and The Beast, but with crepes.
The little village consists of dark and narrow streets and it's been around since the 5th century when it was called La Sedz-Glandèves. The current village was built in the 11th century and it was fortified around 1542 when King François first declared it a Royal Town in the Kingdom of France. I was there in the off-season so it was really quiet and one of the few beings I met was a dog who lured me into a creperie (brilliant outbound marketing).
Dressed completely inappropriately for a hike, I hiked up the 5,000 foot hill (mountain? Let's call it a mountain) to reach the top of the Citadel that stands above the village and was last used in World War I as a prison for German soldiers. I took in gorgeous views of the valley of the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence and the multi-colored Entrevaux rooftops from up there.
It was a nice little day in the French countryside.
Took a day trip from Nice to visit Monaco, the second smallest country in the world (the Vatican is the first).
A 2 Euro bus ride along the gorgeous coast and through little French villages got me there in less than an hour. Monaco was great for rich-people watching with the Monte Carlo casino and it's fancy cars, expensive stores and giant port full of massive yachts.
The one rainy day in Nice called for a visit to the Musée d'art Moderne et d'art Contemporain.
I wandered around listening to this which really elevated the whole gallery experience (particularly this song with the work by Juliao Sarmento). On the way back, to get out of a torrential downpour I ducked into an open pub and found an American ex-pat behind the bar who gave me all sorts of recommendations and info for day trips outside of Nice. He told me stories of how he met his Belgian wife and why he still hates the French even after living there for 10 years. It was an extremely informative unplanned happy hour.
My week in Nice proved to be lovely for lazying around on the rocky beach, strolling through the flower market, big nights out with fellow travelers, running along the coast, easy day trips and many cappuccinos on sunny terraces.
I stayed at Hostel Meyerbeer Beach which was one block from the beach and perfect for socializing. One of the dudes in my room turned out to be an intern at Cramer 15 years ago (!!) and I got an English kid to make me a traditional English dinner called "Toad in the Hole" which was deliciously hearty. It felt like Thanksgiving compared to my recent apple + brie combo meals.
Geoff, Cramer Alumnus
Traditional English dinner, by Rupert.
Most nights consisted of games in the hostel, followed by wine on the beach and then we would meander over to Wayne's, a dirty dive bar in the center of town that felt very out of place in Nice but made me feel right at home. I was very happy to discover that House of Pain is universally loved as our diverse group (American, French, Australian, French Canadian, Finnish, German, Columbian + British) went wild and all jumped on tables to dance to this song.
Local liquor/cookie store owner who every time I came in told me I was "looking more African" (tanned) so obviously he was my favorite person in all of France.
When planning my time in the South of France I originally had a different destination in mind but after less than 24 hours in filthy, crowded Marseille I said "screw this, I'm going to Nice". After reflecting on how insanely absurd it is that I can say something like "screw this, I'm going to Nice" and then hop on a train, I hopped on a train and had a fantastic week in Nice. I constantly feel very lucky and also like a complete jerk for getting to have experiences like this... but I'm certainly enjoying it.
Nice, France deserves it's name.
Within an hour of arriving I was on the beach, swimming in the French Riviera and very, very pleased. Nice is super clean, warm and colorful. It has tight, winding alley-ways around the Vielle Ville (Old Town) and a vast turquoise ocean that seems to curve over the horizon. It's really quite nice.
Took a day trip and visited the Palace of Versailles, the official residence for the Kings of France from 1682 to 1790. It's extravagant and massive to say the least, with a style that reminded me of Rebecca King's decor (lots of florals). The entire property is larger than the island of Manhattan AND modern day Paris.
Walking around the palace gets a bit boring after awhile (all gold everything, chandelier after chandelier, French royalty had some money to throw around, WE GET IT) but the gardens outside are really where it's at. You can rent boats, ride bikes, eat ice cream or just lay next to the Grand Canal and work on your tan (like I did).
Went for a run my first morning in Paris and ran into paparazzi swarming outside an Issey Miyake fashion show.
Why they didn't want to capture me in my Nike Frees and sports bra I'll never know, but I got a few phone camera shots of beautiful attendees in some killer outfits.
Paris is magic.
Paris consisted of tartines at Amelie's cafe in Montmartre, a night bike tour and cruise along the Seine, a long run through the Jardin Du Luxemborg, macaroons at the Sacre Le Coeur and living off brie and chocolate. If you eat a block of brie in the USA you feel sick, but if you do it in Paris you feel fantastic and Parisienne. It might have something to do with pasteurization but let's go with magic.
Also, if you every find yourself in Paris and don't know anyone or the language... I recommend that you go to the nearest bar that is vaguely related to the language you speak (Cafe Oz), buy a beer and pretend to watch whatever sport is on the television (soccer). Within 15 minutes you'll get asked what team you're rooting for and from there, you'll have 7 new French friends to get beers, kebabs and mojitos with. Everyone will get a good laugh when you explain that you don't give a shit about soccer. Works like a charm. See above.
After a sleepy bus ride from Oxford (I'm that jerk that takes up the whole backseat row to fully recline) I had a quick and fun 24 hours in London before taking a train to Paris.
Got more banh mi at Keu, was lured into The Bridge Lounge by the sound of blues guitar and reunited with the other kids from the hostel for our favorite past time of buying £1.50 beers and creating an outdoor patio in front of The Dictionary.
It was a nice experience to return to a city (that two weeks ago was completely foreign) and be able to easily navigate my way back to somewhere that almost felt like home and see familiar friendly faces.
