A Visit to Italy

Recently I went to Italy and wrote a travelogue while I was there. The articles were posted on substack but I thought I would post some (or all of them) here as well.

I love Italy. The sun. The ice cream, the red wine, the fountains found in tiny piazzas, the sun, the scenery, the artwork. Did I mention the sun?

So, of course I chose Italy for my yearly holiday. Last year I went to Matera. This year it is Naples. After reading the fabulous trilogy set in Pompeii by Elodie Harper, I had a yen to visit that long ago city. I’ve roped my husband (almost literally) into coming with me. I promised him he could trek up Vesuvius and swim in the Mediterranean. Hopefully, those two adventures will come to pass.

 

At this point in our adventures, we have left our beloved Cornwall and endured a very long train ride up country, complete with a chorus of screaming babies. Then we dragged our cases across Bloomsbury, London to our friends’ flat. Only to find ourselves locked out. We had the keys to the front door but not to the security gate. We are intrepid travellers, however. Nothing was going to stop us!

I climbed the gate and slithered through the gap at the top, my husband kindly slowing my descent into a handstand on the other side by holding onto one of my legs. I landed in a one-arm handstand (thank God for the years of gymnastics in my youth) and managed to enter the flat to locate the key to the security gate.

It was around this time that I felt I deserved a large glass of wine. I was going to meet a former colleague where we would be discussing dermatological conditions and our children (she being a veterinary dermatologist and me a derm vet nurse so that subject must take priority). I hoped to have a relaxing evening with her before I returned to the flat, by the front door and on my feet. My dear husband went off to find a London Park where he could do some yoga.

Tomorrow, the airport and Naples!

 

Surprisingly, the airport bit was easy. No queues. Whisked through security. I didn’t even have to take my shoes off.

It was the complications before the airport.

I woke up early, too early, as is my habit when I am travelling. Nerves get the best of me. I decided to clean my friend’s apartment as he was so kindly letting us stay there in transit. I went to open the front door to take the trash out and the doorknob came off in my hand. I couldn’t shift the door despite my earnest efforts. It seems there was a serious warping problem going on. It crossed through my mind that if there was a fire, we would be trapped. No, I corrected myself. I could climb up onto the kitchen counter and out the window into the geraniums below. After all, yesterday I had climbed up his locked security door and slithered over the top into the house. Why not out the kitchen window?

Pulling on vast reserves of control, I kept myself from bursting into tears. I ate breakfast, did some yoga and waited till my husband got up. Resourceful man that he is, he found a drill in one of the cabinets, affixed the doorknob back in place and assisted me out the door.

I was sent to the wrong platform for my train and then it was delayed but I made it to the airport. The next bit was uneventful, aside from the hideously heavy backpack I was lugging. (Weight caused by the chromebook I had to take on holiday so I could write!) I wrapped my rosary beads three times around my wrist and thus the flight went with minimal turbulence and landed early.

My introduction to Naples was a crowd of men touting taxis. In the shadows of my memory I salvaged the words, ‘Ho prenotato’ I have booked. Unfortunately, my accent is so atrocious they looked at me as if I were speaking esperanto. I cast about for my booked taxi until I received a video call from my chauffeur – a stunning Italian woman waited to deliver me to the rented apartment. She had long brown hair, billowing behind her, nails you could dig a ditch with (except they were pink) and unnaturally plump lips. She ran up and hugged me and took my bags. Whatever. I was happy to be taken via her chariot through the streets of Naples.

First impression. Crowds. Littered with castles and monuments. Littered with litter. Shedloads of pigeons and I didn’t bring my epipen (I’m allergic to bird feathers). Kind of overwhelming at this point.

I retreated to our rented apartment. Complimentary croissants, nutella and prosecco. Beautiful, clean and airy. Balconies over the teeming humanity below. Perhaps I’ll stay in the apartamento all week and write.

Great shower too!

Our first full day in the city we decided we needed to walk around to get our bearings. So, we walked and walked and then we walked some more.

The initial wander led us towards the sea. Diving between mopeds and delivery vans moving at the speed of light we managed to find our way to the Bay of Naples. It lay before us, serene and blue – an oasis after the racetrack nature of the traffic. The water was remarkably clear, allowing us to see to the bottom. We couldn’t spy any fish but at least the bay was not as polluted as it could be with a city perched on its border.

There were vast yachts (one I’m sure was bigger than our house) parked along the quays. Most were fitted with smaller boats on board to enable water skiing. How the other half live! We didn’t see anyone rich or famous. They were probably already relaxing on the island of Capri.

Walking along the waterfront we came across several sculptures and the odd castle. Passing the ferry terminal, we observed the crowds queueing for trips to the islands – Capri, Ischia, Procida. We do hope to visit one of them. The problem is in the choosing. Capri boasts the blue lagoon while Ischia has hot springs. Procida is supposed to be quieter and retains a fishing village atmosphere. If only there were time and funds enough to visit all three.

A castle at the top of the city beckoned so we turned our steps inwards (after paying one whole euro to use the toilet at the ferry station! At least they were clean). It looked like a straightforward hike upwards to Sant’Elmo. It was not. We wound through streets both big and small. The large streets involved taking your life in your hands to cross, eyeing the drivers and daring them not to run you down. The smaller streets were quieter (thank goodness) and picturesque. Laundry flapped from lines overhead. Geraniums decorated windowsills, cats skulked. There were tiny shrines inserted here and there. But the walking was still uphill.

If it was only directly uphill. But there were numerous dead ends, requiring us to trek to the right or left with more stairs. The day had progressed and the heat of the sun made itself felt. I had to take off my jacket. My breath began to come in short gasps. There was nothing for it. We had to stop and eat pasta.

Recovered, we returned to our mission and finally reached Sant’Elmo. It is a brooding fortress that sports a museum of modern art. We chose the chapel and cloisters next door, San Martino. There they had a display of ‘presepi’ nativity figures. This is a major art form in Naples and the figures enact Neapolitan society. There are tavern keepers, cheese makers, shop keepers, shepherds and of course the holy family. We were particularly attracted to the many animals depicted and I developed a soft spot for a drunken shepherd asleep in a field, not watching his flocks through the night. What a fun museum. I highly recommend it.

And then the walk down. Easier this time. We found a wine shop and a grocery store, gathering our supplies for our evening meal. And after some time of rest, we walked again, enjoying the soft night air and the lively streets around our apartment. A very full day indeed.