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A Comforting Experience in the South
A trip to Naples, more than the best pizza for your Euro.
Midterms are over and a week off from classes was a welcome relief, even if I do enjoy the program studies very much. Tony (my roommate), RJ, Lea and myself hopped trains south and made our first stop in Naples. Talk about stark contrast to Macerata, comparatively, we are studying in a time capsule that someone washed all the dirt off of. Naples, like any big city with some industrial muscle to it, sports skyscrapers, street vendors peddling almost-versions of expensive brands, a subway, thieves, garbage piles that you could fit Piazza Libertà inside and some of the richest Italian culture I’ve found yet. Our Hostel was a healthy walk from the train station, which afforded us a chance to take in a good portion of the inner city and a waterfront to rival San Francisco. Lea and RJ had a different place reserved so we decided to meet up again at our next stop. The following morning it was a complementary Italian breakfast, a series of ticket validations and we were on our way to Sorrento.Following our arrival in the portion of the city which our hostel was located near, Tony and I parted ways so he could continue on, while I tried to clear up a discrepancy wherein I thought I should still be holding my camera and reality seemed to show the contrary. After an Italian conversation I’m still proud of with some more-than-helpful station staff I realized that I had just made a permanent contribution to international material culture and it was time to move on. Move on I did and soon I as winding up a narrow street through lemon orchards and stone walls with the occasional honking of scooters warning me to pick a side a get friendly with it. Lea and RJ were not at the Hostel yet but thankfully Tony had made it to the front desk and gotten our key before it closed. We dropped off our travel packs, rung out our shirts (Southern Italy is a warm place, especially on the steep hills) and did a bit of exploring in a labyrinth of lemon-orchard roads. Our to fellow Americans met up with us shortly after we got back to the Hostel and we all descended upon the coastal vista that is Sorrento.
