Day 9: Rome and Naples

Before we left Rome, John took a picture of me in the hotel shower. It's hard to see, but there is a drain and curtain, but no ledge. Water was relatively contained, but the splatters would get the floor drenched. Our housekeepers must have thought we were idiots because we had no idea how to use their shower.

We left Rome early in the morning to make sure the strike wouldn't prevent getting to Naples. Everything was fine, and once there we discovered a little lunch shop. I didn't know what was in this fry bread calzony looking thing, but it ended up being ricotta and heaven mixed together. We found the Naples duomo, because no city is complete until we tour their duomo. (Although I think in England cities are determined when they have a cathedral. Or so the bishop's wife in Oxford told me) We used our Naples pass (same plan as Roma) to go to the Naples Archaeological Museum, where Napoleon stored all the artifacts he stole from Pompeii. Michelangelo helped restore this Farnese Bull. Kind of cool myth behind this one, too. The husband leaves his wife (pregnant with twin boys) for another woman. Fast forward and the sons tie the mistress onto a bull while the mom looks on pleased. Morbid story, but amazing detail, and all carved from one block of stone back in the 2nd century. In the great room, where students used to assemble when the building was a university. Since the museum was large and nearly empty, we practiced our mimicking. It helped us notice the details and appreciate the models that had to pose for the artists. It also helped stave off exhaustion, because we'd been awake and moving for a long time by this point in our day. John loved this little pig. We also went through rooms of artifacts, mosaics, and erotic art from Pompeii. When I started to boogie John thought it best to get me out of the museum before someone else beat him to it. We next went to Via something Gregorio something or other, where the shop owners all make nativities. They make them into villages, which I think is so cool. We saw people making the bases and carving the figures out of terra cotta. You can get them assembled, or pick your own. The possibilities are limitless. Really, because they're continually making more. John was overwhelmed by the choices after only a few stores, but he couldn't stay in the street because of all the smokers. Catch 22. Naples, it turns out, is a filthy city. Crime is rampant, beggars and street salespeople every where, 1/3 unemployment rate, massive BO issues, 99% of people are chain smokers (observed statistic, not proven) and frequent trash strikes provide a general feeling of dirtiness. Exhibit A: Overflowing dumpsters on every block, which cars drive through and drag bags of garbage through the street. Smells amazing. The best (only good) part of Naples? The pizza. A note of explanation. Pizza in Naples was cheaper than anywhere else we ate, like lia euro twenty or thirty for a slice. We wanted to eat someplace sit down, and the menu had pizza for 4 euros. We figured because it was a restaurant, not a take-out place. Well, the pizza "slices" come, and they're not really slices. The embarrassing part is I almost finished mine. We had a small lunch, the crusts are thin, and it's not loaded with cheese or other toppings like american pizzas. That's my story and I'm sticking to it. John didn't eat much pizza because he hadn't been feeling well. The germs of this new city were probably not helping, so I put him to bed early. And yes, Naples gave us single beds even though we reserved a "double". Not twin beds, because singles are much tinier than that. John kept getting sweats and chills all night, though, so I can't say I minded having my own set of sheets.