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SEE NAPLES AND DIE



We’ve never actually been in Naples.  We’ve been to the port of Naples many times to get the boat to Palermo, and once to Salina in the Aeolians, but we’ve never been in the city center.  So we don’t know Naples at all.  However, from what we’ve seen from portside, the venerable city, once the throne of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, is crumbling in pastel like so many stale macarons.   
Naples sits under the gimlet eye of Vesuvius, tempting fate and preferring a sudden igneous death to a slow ignominious decay.  At least, that’s my fantasy of Naples and its Neapolitans.
The Sun Sets on Vesuvius.
But let’s allow the once-grand city in decline to speak for herself.  
Crumbling Customs House
Where Admiral Nelson once sailed off to defeat Napoleon, today the Port of Naples' business centers on tourist and cargo traffic to Sicily, Sardinia, Tunisia, Morocco, Spain, and France.  
Cargo Bound for Sicily
We travel from Berlin to Sicily by car, so we can take our cats.  They're seasoned travelers, having made this crossing many times.  We always try to get a room with a view (despite the dirty, salty window), so the cats can amuse themselves watching the crew ready the boat for embarkation.

Calyx Surveys the Crew
Tea Settles In
China Observes


As soon as everybody gets stowed and comfy, we head to the bar to get stewed and comfy.  They make a helluva Negroni!
Helluva Negroni!       


The bar TV is always on and is either tuned to the news or to some crazy game show, like this one.  The host has been around for as long as we’ve been coming to Italy, so 20 years.  Maybe this dude is channeling Admiral Nelson?
Weird Italian Nobilta'
When we docked in Palermo the next morning, we headed to the bar for a cappucino.  The news was on and featured Matteo Salvini vowing never to allow another migrant boat to land on Italian shores. 

Matteo Salvini
But Salvini doesn’t have a clue how to stop the northward migration of Africans escaping climate change and seeking a better future.  He might as well just give it up, stick his head in a purple octopus, and live the adventure!


 

Keep it real!
Marilyn

Comments

  1. steveApril 10, 2019 at 12:22 PM

    The one good thing about taking the ferry to Palermo is you can have an excellent pizza Napoletana for dinner .

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. MarilynApril 11, 2019 at 9:24 AM

      Si'! C'e`in buon rapporto fra qualita' e prezzo anche.

      Delete
  2. Jim HApril 10, 2019 at 7:31 PM

    Thanks for the Naples interlude.
    We spent a morning in Naples years ago hanging around the train station waiting to catch the "Rapido" to Brindisi. "Rapido", it turns out, must be named ironically, because it stopped at almost every station along the way. This (plus an unscheduled stop in the middle of nowhere to put out a fire somewhere on the train) caused us to miss our ferry to Greece and gave us an extra day in Brindisi.
    But I do remember feeling a subtle thrill being so close to Mt Vesuvius. There had been some recent earth tremors (terremoti).

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. MarilynApril 11, 2019 at 9:26 AM

      I would love to see Etna exploding some day--from a safe distance, of course. It does spout off frequently, but we've never managed to be in the right place at the right time. An extra day in Brindisi--is that a plus or a minus?

      Delete
  3. UnknownApril 11, 2019 at 5:49 AM

    Looks like a great way to get to Sicily!

    ReplyDelete

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