14 July
Today I leave
Naples. According to the proverb I can now die. Although I can not
help but think the proverb has been slightly misinterpreted: see Naples and die
to me is more likely to refer to the fact that you might get mugged and killed
in the back streets rather than a view that life is not complete until you have
seen the city...
I had decided that
today was the day I would do the tourist bus trip and learn a little more of
the city. But first I would see the cathedral. Yesterday evening,
while walking back to the hotel from the train station, I was accosted by two
old ladies who asked me in good but accented Italian, where the cathedral was.
I took them to be German and in my not so good and accented Italian said
I did not know but I had a 'thing' that would help. I pulled out my ipad
and while loading the map of Naples explained I had studied Italian in Sicily
for two weeks. After a few more words it dawned on the three of us that
we were in fact all English...
The cathedral was
as most cathedrals: large and lavish. Afterwards
I cut through the back streets towards the streets where I thought I might
catch the tourist bus. I have to say that despite the dark and dingy,
narrow streets, the graffiti and all the political posters these streets do
have a buzz to them from the market stalls and the people and, of course, the
Vespas coming the wrong way up the one way streets.... As I walked through these streets I saw a
sign for ‘Underground Naples’ which was something my host family had mentioned
to me as a site worth seeing. So I went
up the narrow alley that led to the door and checked put the opening
times. Although it was shut, according
to the sign I had about half an hour to wait until an English guided tour so I
thought I would just sit in the sun and relax.
The English tour
was to start at 10.00 so I had assumed that the place would open in good time
before that but at five past the hour somebody wandered up nonchalantly with a
small dog and unlocked the place. There
then followed another twenty minutes or so of sorting out tickets and cash
registers and whatever else had to be done before any tours could be started so
it was nearly 10.30 by the time the assembled masses had been let in, bought
their tickets and the tour started. But,
I am of course in
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