I’m in Europe! It’s my first time “abroad” (I think that term only applies to Europe, right? Not the Caribbean, Mexico or Canada?) Anyway, here I am. In Italy, to be precise. In Naples, to be even more so. And to be specific, I am in a little hotel room in the historic district.
There is evidence of habitation here since 700 BC. Yesterday we walked by the Greek ruins dating back to 700 BC right in the center of the historic district, without realizing what it was.
The sense of history that so many others talk about when they first visit Europe hasn’t really hit me yet. Well, maybe when I walked the narrow, twisty, cobblestone streets last night, under stone archways, with buildings crowded on each side. Maybe then I started feeling it a bit.
Actually, thinking about last night (we ended up in one of the many many outdoor cafes crowding the narrow streets, sharing a bottle of wine and playing cribbage) I think it was the quality of light that really brought home that I was not home: all of the lamps cast a warm yellow light. The old buildings practically glowed. I loved it. It made me feel cozy and safe.
We’d had an adventure getting here. Our flight from Atlanta to Amsterdam was delayed by more than 2 hours, so they rebooked us – but instead of the direct flight to Napoli we went first to Venice, changed planes to go to Rome, and then changed planes again to go to Napoli. Instead of arriving sometime in the morning and anticipating a full day and night to explore on our own, we got to our hotel after 11pm that night.
And our luggage had neglected to follow us.
Thankfully we’d both packed carry-ons with necessities. And our hikers – that was most important. We had our boots: nothing else mattered.
Except I did need, like, underwear. And shirts to hike in and socks that weren’t compression socks. So. Shopping in Napoli happened. Not really what I wanted to do on our first day, but needs must. We did get to do our one planned event: we attended a pasta making class! It was sooo much fun. And good to eat!
The city was chaotic and noisy and crowded and absolutely wonderful.
Here’s some pics from that day/night.
