The first day in Napoli

It was time to see what this city was all about. I slipped on my flip-flops, since there was no way my pinkie was going in that shoe, hopped on the metro, which conveniently was near the hostel, and hopped off at Montesanto, the center of town. Looking both ways, I stepped out into the daily hustle of the Pignasecca market, colorful and vibrant and just what I would have expected. I even permitted myself to enjoy it, to see what was on sale, who was buying, who was selling, and in what way.

In order to get something productive out of this "rest day," I set my sights on the tourist office, and followed the signs. Reaching a large piazza, I saw a demonstration, and three hundred yards away, some sort of military ceremony featuring every branch of the military in full uniform. Looking for someone to ask about the whereabouts of the tourist office, my eyes alighted on some policemen, and believe it or not, I approached them and asked. I say believe it or not because I typically avoid the police for a variety of reasons which I will not go into here, but since I risked being robbed blind by everyone else, I was actually happy to see them.

The cop I spoke to was extremely friendly, and it was not difficult to get him to shirk his duties for a nice long chat. Soon he was listing the must-dos for me as I greedily wrote down names, locations, and details. The best coffee, the best Sfogliatella (a pastry filled with cream and bits of orange rind, devilishly tasty), the best pizza, and the places to see. At one point, his buddy joined in, eager to put in his two cents. Sensing that we were buddies (the use of informal tu and formal Lei/Voi in Italy makes it clearer than in English), I asked him about the real crime scene here, and he told me what I wanted to hear: it's not bad at all, just don't be an idiot and wander where you shouldn't at night. Thrilled that I was not going to be robbed of all my clothes in broad daylight, I felt much more comfortable. Better yet, I now had a full itinerary of places to see and try after my trip to the tourist office.

So that's how I filled my day. Sfogliatella here, pizza folded in half (called portafoglio, or wallet), arancini (a fried ball of rice, tastes way better than it sounds) there, hanging out with the University students at Piazza Dante, and soon it was time for a late afternoon coffee at the cafeteria my harvest buddy Giovanni had suggested. So, having managed to walk all the way from my stopping point the evening before to the train station, I essentially crossed the entire city in one day. Not bad.

The rest of the day you know: four hours in an underground internet call center, the metro back to the hostel, and my encounter with the pizza chef. Things were looking up.