The drivers here – of both cars and mopeds – are particularly aggressive. They drive wherever and whenever they feel like it, from going the wrong way down a one-way street, to driving 3 inches away from dogs and young children, to turning into a parking garage at full speed without checking for pedestrians on the very busy walking thoroughfare. (True story, and yes, we’re fine.) Some of it is that many of the drivers (especially of mopeds) seem incredibly young. The rest seems to be the culture here. B was observing that many of the people – whether walking or driving – just shrug off being cut off: the south of Italy really is more relaxed, he observed. I don’t mind being cut off, but I’m not a big fan of being unable to look around at all, for fear that a moped will mow me down as I walk in a pedestrian walking area. So, beware Naples traffic.
I imagine that many people speak English, but many shopkeepers and restaurant workers speak to us in Italian anyway. I actually appreciate this, since we are in their country, but it’s different from many of the other places we’ve been. We don’t precisely look like locals, so we’ve often been addressed in English right away in those cities. Here, they would rather hear our terrible Italian. (Though I wouldn’t mind if they slowed down a little bit when they ask us things. I read an essay by Jhumpa Lahiri in an Italian magazine this morning, and I understood 65% of it, but that’s because I could take my time. Listening comprehension at Southern Italian speaking speed would be a marvel indeed.)
Your dining options are pretty much pizza or dessert (or the aforementioned french fries). I can count on one hand the number of places we saw serving anything else: a kebab/burger/hot dog stand, a pizza place that also had a few sandwiches, one sit-down spot with some meats and pastas… I think that’s actually it. On the dessert front, there are their specialty sfogliatelle (pastries), or the Sicilian cassata (fruit cake) or cannoli – as well as the usual gelati and gelato popsicles. I don’t think I’ve seen a vegetable here, except the mushrooms on my pizza.
They have munchkin doors. No, seriously. There will be two giant wooden doors painted green or red or brown: these are sized for giants on the order of magnitude of football linebackers and NBA players. However, they don’t open. Instead, cut into the right side door is a little door, anywhere from 6 inches to 3 feet off the ground and approximately 5-1/2 feet in height. And it’s not so wide either: a standard-sized pizza box barely fits through it. (Maybe the lesson is to order less pizza.) B keeps looking for oompa loompas.
There are a lot of clothing sales. This is true in all of Italy, but I saw a proportionally higher number of nice women’s blouses for only €5!
There used to be quite the veneration of old skulls. People would ‘adopt’ a skull and then bring it gifts when asking for things or thanking it for boons. The church discouraged such behavior, since that was supposed to be reserved for saints’ skulls, but the practice is said to continue in some church catacombs here.
Okay, I’ll say it: people are not wrong about Naples being a dirty city. There is a lot of garbage everywhere, and there is not a culture of picking it up. I saw a mom wiping her little girl’s nose, and when she dropped the napkin she was using, she just kicked it away from her feet. They also don’t seem to pick up garbage often enough for the amount that is placed in regular street receptacles, which may be the reason why no one cares. If the bins are going to overflow anyway, why bother about your piece of trash? I hear that the city has actually improved significantly on this front, though I can’t comment either way. I’d put it this way: it’s not the dirtiest city I’ve been to, but there is a lot of trash on the ground. It’s not hypodermic needles or anything, so you’ll be fine.
As in Salerno, there are a decent number of pajama stores.
Late at night, there are a lot of young people out, kind of loitering. I don’t recall seeing as many teens hanging out since Milan.
There are a few artistic metro stops, like we saw in Stockholm. The Toledo one was intended to look like the sea. It had a portal/hole that I imagine was supposed to be a view of the water’s surface from under water, but that made me feel like I was being born.
Their pizzas actually list ‘oil’ as a topping.
Naples citizens don’t seem to find nose-picking in public to be rude.
a pizza place that also had a few sandwiches, one sit-down spot with some meats and pastas… I think that’s actually it. On the dessert front, there are their specialty sfogliatelle (pastries), or the Sicilian cassata (fruit cake) or cannoli – as well as the usual gelati and gelato popsicles. I don’t think I’ve seen a vegetable here, except the mushrooms on my pizza.
The church discouraged such behavior, since that was supposed to be reserved for saints’ skulls, but the practice is said to continue in some church catacombs here.
Late at night, there are a lot of young people out, kind of loitering. I don’t recall seeing as many teens hanging out since Milan.
Pingback: Surprising Things About Salerno | Novelty Buffs