We first heard a variation of this phrase when we were booking a rafting trip in New Zealand and it seems appropriate to reuse it for our few days in Naples, Italy.
To quote from “Rick Steves Italy 2017” “Naples is Italy in the extreme” it’s Italy’s third largest city and the densest city in Europe with over a million people in a tight area.
Our arrival in Naples was greeted by a pickpocket who had his fingers in Cindy’s backpack within a few blocks of the train station. I’d turned to see if she was behind me and saw him tight to her back. He saw me see him and quickly heeled around and scurried away. I yelled to Cindy “Check your stuff right now.” She turned to look and the pack was open, her small purse dangling open. The only thing that had been in there was a single credit card. We called and cancelled it immediately and made our way to the Airbnb.
The not-much-wider-than-a-tiny-car cobblestone streets are hemmed in on each side by five-story apartment buildings, we walked with gobs of people who seem to live a good part of their life in on those streets.
Tiny cafes, al fresco dining, and mid block bar/cafes are everywhere and all day until past midnight everyone is out walking, drinking, eating and talking. This city is alive! Out host is a longtime Naples resident and she said sometimes it takes an hour to walk a block after greeting, chatting, and coffee-ing with the neighbors.
Naples was our base for Pompeii which is easily reached for a bargain 1.20 euros ($1.35) via the “Circumvesuviana” train line.
After Pompeii we visited the Museo Archeologico archaeological museum where the frescos from Pompeii reside.
Later back at our room we heard a commotion outside, peeked out and saw the street was barricaded for several buildings next to us. Apparently a small pink suitcase in the street was reported as a possible bomb threat. I heard a loud bang. The plastic pink pack was shot by a bomb robot, our host shared her pic of the action with us…
Our two intense days in Naples at an end, we walked in a downpour to the train station. Greeting us there was another of the pickpocket gang, as I turned to check on Cindy a block from the station I saw him shadowing her, his hands at her pack. I yelled at “YO” at him, he removed his hands from her empty purse, raised them to show they’re empty and scurried off.
After all this, Cindy’s the “keen” on Naples, loving the vitality and game of the streets, Art’s the “not so much”.