PTM // Naples to Bari, italy

Well, my stop over to Naples wasn’t too exciting to say the least. As soon as I walked off the ferry I wanted to turn around and walk back on. As I stepped on to the dock I could already smell the city. You know when you walk in to a real grimy city and you can almost smell the trash in the air? Well, in this case the trash was literally in the air, and all over the ground.

I had heard stories from fellow travelers that I’ve met along the way about Naples. Each and every one of them described it somewhat the same way. It was dirty, sketchy, and how else can you explain it, TRASHY! I had been warned, but I tend not to believe anything until I see it and that’s exactly what I did once I stepped off the boat at the port of Naples.

I ran across the street with my luggage trying to dodge the scooters and maniac drivers. I walked about 2 blocks took a left and as I turned the corner, there was my hostel! (Bella Capri Hotel/Hostel)! I had to pay 5 cents to use the elevator to get up to the sixth floor. Yes, you really do pay for everything in Europe. Toilets, and even elevators in some cities! Unbelievable right? I arrived at the sixth floor where the reception for Bella Capri Hostel/Hotel is located and checked in. I dropped my bags and headed upstairs to the lounge where they had free WIFI (another surprise) and I was really impressed with the conditions of this place. The lounge was really nice, it also served as the breakfast area. It had 3 PC’s, with internet, a flat panel tv on the wall with full cable TV, a common refridgerator, tables, chairs and more.

I jumped on the internet for a few to check some emails and then headed around the corner to grab some pizza. Naples is the birthplace of pizza and if you know me well you’d know that pizza is one of my favorite things to eat! They say some of the best pizza in the world is made in Naples. I wouldn’t totally agree with that, but it was pretty good!

After dinner I headed off for a walk down a few main streets near the port which had all sorts of shopping, and seedy watch shops, “looky, looky men” and trash EVERYWHERE. If you haven’t heard, Naples is undergoing a major and I mean MAJOR trash crisis. Check out an article about the crisis here. After walking around for a few and not being able to stomach the 5 to 6 foot piles of trash in the streets and the smell of wet garbage that is weeks old I decided to head back to my hostel and hibernate for the night.

I got back and hung out in my room with a few people and my three roommates. One guy was from Sweden, and the other 2 girls were originally from New Jersey but both went to school in Massachusetts. One of the girls actually lives in Medford currently so we ended up hanging out and chatting for a while before bed. She is traveling with her younger sister who is a student at UMass Amherst and is currently studying abroad in Spain. They were both really cool, and it was definitely refreshing to meet some people from back home.

This morning we headed to breakfast which included a croissant. Mmmm! I haven’t had a croissant since my Contiki Trip. That was a change! After breakfast we just hung out in our room until check out time. I headed on the tram down to the train/bus station and bought my bus ticket to Bari while my roommates headed off to the Ring Hostel in Ischia, where I had been 3 days previous to coming to Naples. After buying my bus ticket I grabbed a quick slice of pizza and walked around a bit. It was really sketchy around the train station. There was trash piled everywhere, and many people were approaching me from all sorts of directions trying to sell me laptops, iPhones, belts, hats, you name it! All fake of course… And what happens if you say no? They offer you all sorts of other junk products that you have no interest in. Sometimes they even offer you Hash, Cocaine, Ecstasy, and more. Well, that’s what happened to me at least. I was so over Naples, and couldn’t wait to get out of there.

The bus finally arrived and it was a three hour journey to Bari. When I arrived in Bari, I met up with my host Marina who I have been speaking with through CouchSurfing and Hospitality Club for a while now. I’ve been excited to meet her and she’s everything I had originally expected. We took the bus back to her house which is located on the Adriatic Sea here in Bari. It’s simply amazing!

I was shown to my room, or shall I say my own FLOOR of the house (the downstairs) which is finished and includes, a couch, a kitchen table, oven, microwave, refridgerator, bathroom with a shower, and more. Marina was also nice enough to feed me her mothers own home cooked Lasagna, but the difference was that this was not your typical Lasagna! It was mozzarella, broccoli, bacon, and some special sauce that was mixed together and made into Lasagna. At first I cringed at the idea of the four ingredients above, but after I tasted it I ended up chowing down two huge slices of it! It was the best! Now if I can only get the recipe!

After eating we headed up to the roof deck on top of her house. It was unreal! You could see for miles over the coast line of the Adriatic Sea as the sun was setting over Bari. I was in heaven! The roof deck of Marina’s house is now my favorite thing! We don’t have anything like this back at home. It seems to be quite the norm here in most houses in Italy. I like the idea of coming up to the roof deck on a sunny day to lay out, or even when the sun is setting and the cool breeze is blowing off of the sea. It’s so relaxing here. I’m really looking forward to chilling out here for the next few days.

Tomorrow I’ll be heading into the city of Bari to have a look around. I’ll hopefully get to explore the old city, and maybe even do a little shopping. We’ll see!

Ciao!