How can I pretend I'm still active after all this time?! Happy halloween.. and Christmas!! Lol. C...
How can I pretend I'm still active after all this time?! Happy halloween.. and Christmas!! Lol. Chrissie x X
Member since:23.11.2002
Reviews:188
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Hi Ciaoer's!
Some of you know that I met and married an Itallian from Naples,and we lived there,the first 5yrs of our married life.
That was back in 1985. In 1984 I was a nanny for a family that lived in Milan.(see my op on Milan) and I ended up in naples with the family of 4 children that I was looking after, whose mother in law was Countess Leonetti from Naples,whose villa we visited when her grandchildren were on their summer holidays to stay with her.(phew! that was rather long winded..!)
It is here,I fell in love -not only with my husband, Giuseppe,but naples itself. The place and the neopolitan people are unique, which I will briely describe in a minute.. Anyway,having been there as a tourist,and as a resident I suppose I have the advantage of knowing first hand experience,both sides of the coin.
We still go back,each year to visit.And it's a place I both love and detest,for Naples is like that in everything you can see,do or experience there... Giuseppe's family are extensive,(in laws etc) and it is a place I both love,and miss,but couldn't live there again for various reasons.
NAPLES.
The very name brings a magic,deep within my heart. A misty tear of reminiscence to my eyes,a mixture of joy,and hell,pleasure and pain...there is no getting over it,and if you are looking for cold hard facts,url addresses and links you're going to be bitterly disapointed- but I promise you,-you will be entertained.
This city,as a resident,is not for the faint hearted,- but as a visitor on holiday,it is as close to paradise as you could get- sea,sand,sun,cheap food,adventures,countryside on the outskirts,orange and lemon groves,best Pizza's the most wonderful food,yet also,filth,volcano,earthquakes,crime pollution,drugs and Maffia;you have the lot here.
weather wise,scenery,interests,sights,beaches,and warm skies are as intense and as intoxicating as you'll ever get-hence the old saying;
See Naples,and die!
Firstly,the sights and sounds,the smells and colours-a heady mixture of cosmopolitan cultures,and contrasting language and dialects sit side by side. There are lots and lots of "Festa's" and street parties,Demo's etc etc that always pound the eardrums so you might aswell join 'em; you'll be made most welcome!And it's no good complaining..as you hang insane from your hotel balcony.You'll never beat them,like Rio,it'll carry on for most of the night. I have never seen so many people throng the streets. The noise and chaos can wear you out,and our oldest son was born at the end of may there-it was very hot,very noisy.And Maradonna had just won Italy the world cup.!
SO WHERE CAN YO RELAX?
That's easy...in the bars and coffee houses up and down the city,the many parks,musuems,countryside fields...and of course,beauty,fair(tropical almost) islands of Capri,Ischia,and of course,famous POMPEII not to mention the semi active but lying usually quiet but active 'Vesuvius,' upon which the nearby villages and houses-dotted up it's hillside,at night.. are far quieter,even in the height of summer,as the locals are no where to be seen! and if you are looking for history,for culture it's all here.and oh! the lights across the bay are so very pretty at night. Mergellina is the city's central bay.It's sadly,very dirty.But you can lay out on the huge Rocks to sunbathe.But don't overdo that,will you?
THE CITY,HOUSING
Naples is built rather like an upside down icecream cornet,circling round and round like a helter skelter. Hundreds of Palazzos,(squares)millions of churches,thousands of motorinno's (vespabikes with kids not old enough to drive handling the road like pro's- or perhaps a man's business/entire family astride,dodging and weaving through the traffic!Without helmets,of course!)
Spacca-Napoli,which is that main large street that exactly split Naples in half,caused by a massive earthquake has more crime and prostitution than anywhere..it runs exactly down the center of Naples,and also boasts so many pizzeria's, cafe's and gangs throbbing out the city. not the place to go at night alone really.Too dangerous.
The streets of the city is a rabbit warren of cobbled back streets,orange pullman buses that hold more people than a tin of pilchards,shops of all sorts,trades of all sorts,many markets,selling their wares on every street corners. the more selective fashion houses are at the top of the ice cream cornet,the lower down you go,the poorer the people..From the top of Naples,you can enjoy breathtaking views..watch the sea glittering far below,or look at the lights like a christmas treedown hill sides and neighbourhoods..
The Railway station is huge...packed and dirty. poverty,crime,prostitution-it has it all here. Certainly,the un-romantic tough side,like any major city... The huge echoing banks remind me of fading palaces,with their sleek columns,marbled floors,and mosaics... An important tip:don't drink the local tap water.It's foul,and bottled is the only type to drink.You can cook in it though!And you gotta wash...
The locals take the stunning coast line,Almafi,Capri,Vesuvius and the stunning sands rocks and sea the fresh abundant fish and fruit for granted. Almost romantic,Naples has drawn world artists and poets to it's shores.
I can understad why.
MODERN LIFE: The typical teenager will know the tunes to all the ancient folk songs and the current ones. (Pino Daniello is a respected artist)and the opera without listening to it,but of course, they have a heady mix of their own latin-influenced pop bands,aswell as the international stars everyone knows..natural dancers and singers,muscians and actors,they love fashion,clubs and bars,they like to live noisily and dangerously,yet they also respect the older generation,and have close family traditions. Everyone is home on a sunday for the 2-3 hour long sunday meal,sitting together 3 generational feasts!..and the streets are bare and quiet. An evening stroll to work off all that food is a must.Visiting the bars,night clubs,or sipping ices lemon drink by the mergellina cafe.
HISTORY:
People from other countries always wanted to attack the islands. There was a lot for the pillaging.. because of the great natural resources here.A wealth of beauty,abundant food,rich produce and manufacturing so the Neopolitan had to be tough aswell as creative to survive... many couldn't be bothered and they were not very organised and they seemed accepting of their lot being held in bondage several times over...
In times past,Naples divided up into seperate kingdoms and each kingdom had its' own king and queen. They fought a lot-and suffered trials and hardships,bondage,slavery- the abuse of greed; power,petty squabbles,Naples were the servants servants in bondage.Perhaps that is where they get their tenacity for life and their brute force now!!
The quaint shops,and gifts,the beautiful wood carvings,furniture makers,and spendid sea corals,are sold on streets,gold and silver jewellery,(my brother in law owns a shop and also does all the craft work,the fine fret and engravings/repairs aswell as selling) Lace,intricate folk lore,music,opera,and song is in their blood. And the deep rich concentrated sugo sauce,the variety of pasta's and dishes,a testament to their cooking skills-their art,their talents their hard working skills-survive even today.
FIRST OVERALL IMPRESSIONS THAT HIT YOU...
I close my eyes and imagine the huge heavy grey paving slabs...the filthy grey buildings,the cobbled stone pavements-the crowds,throbbing and pulsating like manic beacons of activity all yelling shouting haggling.. and yet-they take their time,they chat,banter,buy and sell as they saunter along slowly,they never hurry,they live for the day-never think about tomorrow-unorganized,unplanned,and always dangerously close to an explosion or two! of temperaments;and yet they are the most generous,kindhearted,hospitable race I have ever met- and they worship their families.Their children.
It is not uncommon,even today-for the typical Napolitan,to share their predominantly large flats with 2,even 3 generations of the same family all together under the same roof. I applaud their close knit ties with their roots,and families.Mingling the past aswell as the future.
POMPEII:
No visit of course,would be complete without a visit to POMPEII. the city of sensual disbandoment. - Not a place to take the young children-it's sheer size,long walking distance,huge graphic sexuality and the crude postcards "in the name of Art and history, bring a kind of in your face raunchy tourism-and tickets are very expensive. In return,be prepared for a long que,and it's totally impossible to explore in any depth this fascinating vast city,just stare,transfixed at the eerrie sights before you...a shrouded city that feels lonely,with it's couples still in mating position,covered in ash and decades of molten,lava-licked dust.
-I have observed and heard the awe-struck oooh's and Ah's the sharp intake of breath at the sad errie silence of a city buried by volcanic fury-almost as if crying out against the immorality,the prostituion,the wild abandonment of any decent wholesome morality and sanity. Like them,I stood and gazed,mesmirised into stunned silence,to see for my self-the pitiful fury of nature, and death.
It is not a happy sight. It is not a place to forget.
The next place to describe are the markets-and Oh the delights of huge fresh melon,pomegranants,grapes and oranges triple the quality,and the flavour of those dried up things we call fruit here in England! And so much cheaper!! Large melons,the size of water barrels cost about £4 English money. Infact,most things in Naples are a lot cheaper. Housing is in short supply and being close to the amenities of a city like naples (as like London) prices soar-but it is still much cheaper to rent and buy than here in the u.k. We are far more obsessed than our European neighbours to take out mortagages..in Naples you rent as much as you buy,if not more.Many of the older dwellings are of palatial size with huge ceilings and vast thick walls.
Do not travel on the underground alone at night.too dangerous.And the maffia is very real. Some of Giuseppe's friends from youth were maffia servers,hired killers,drug runners,and these were the lawyers and doctors!! This is the side of naples no one dares tell you about.(If you don't believe me,just go there and see for yourself what it is like.)This was one of the main reasons why we didn't want to bring the children up there.
Insanity rules! There are no rules.
On a positive note,how can I summ up the complex beauty of Capri? one of naple's prime jewels?-the island is breathtaking-as is the splendid Almafi coast. ..glittering sky,sparkling waters,lush plants of tropical proportions-the roman influence in the Architecture predominant and majestic for all to see.
Every day is like an adventure-the city that never sleeps,live music,noisy cafe's bustling shopping centers contrast with the cool cathedrals,and huge colummed banks with their shiny marble floors,and splendid ceiling mosaics.
The American Nato,the fishing ports,the piazzas on every corner,All the pizzeria's,and inexpensive restaurants called trattoria's costing about £6 a head for a two-course freshly cooked meal. wonderful real icecream parlours-"La Scimmia" (translated the monkey) is one of Naples' best,with at least 25 different fresh and natural flavours to choose from!!You will find this near the bottom of naples city center road called Via Roma. You may have quite a que-but you will be rewarded with the best ice cream frehly made everyday with about 38 different real flavours,nuts,coffee,chocolate,etc. I highly recommend it. How I miss this most of all!! A children's delight.
CLIMATE:
Don't forget hats and suncream,etc. Temperatures here roar up into the 40's (about 135c mid Auguast) spring is about the equivalent of our july/Auguast,and it can thunder and rain in winter-but again,unusual to be any colder than 14-15. Snow is practically unheard of. There are pictures of me at my sister in laws wedding looking like an angry red lobster,Very silly thing to do!And painful too. Though my mother in law said they had one hour of snow this winter.This is rare.
This past summer- our kids enjoyed "magic world" 30 minutes from the city itself- a sort of Edenlandia an impressive huge complex of large different shaped swimming pools,with flumes, simulated waves, 30ft slides,floatable toys,etc.and very good live music. They were suitably impressed. Costs about 10-15 Euro.each.
Well,what else can I say-definately worth a visit.
"Alora! Ciao bellisimi.Grazie per aver letto la mia opinione!!"
If you have any questions/require further info just give me a call. Thanks for reading. I know this was long..
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
Great read - I know the Sorrento Peninsular and Amalfi Coast well but not so much Napoli. What I have seen of it is total wonderful Italian chaos!
ms19 18.05.2004 12:26
Great review, you have inspired me to visit more south of Italy next time I visit. The story of Pompeii has always saddened me. Do you speak Italian? -Ms19
minigrile 02.05.2004 00:51
I really enjoyed reading that, a fantastic evocation of the city. I long to go back for a visit again. B
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Advantages: very absorbing and extensive ruins at a very affordable price Disadvantages: how about distributing a more helpful and detailed map at the entrance?
Marechal_Grouchy 16.01.2001 ·
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Naples & Pompei (Italy)
Jan 2nd, 2003
(Feb 17th, 2003)
exceptional by (2%):
very helpful by (98%):
