Naples, Italy

Never, ever, in my life, have I seen such completely insane traffic as I have in Naples. Beijing, Hong Kong, New York, San Francisco, even Athens and Istanbul.... those cities all have scary, crazy fast-paced traffic. But it pales in comparison to Naples... and we haven't even hit Rome yet.

The first indicator was probably when I stepped out of the Stazio Centrale bus station, and was nearly flattened by a Vespa type scooter. I looked around for a crosswalk, or sidewalk, but there didn't seem to be one. Hordes of pedestrians were plowing into the oncoming traffic, which they were assuming would stop. It was totally confusing- our guidebook said that if you make eye contact with a driver in Italy, it means you will stop. So we should cross the street without looking? We quickly learned to try and cross the street alongside a local, they seem rather fearless.
If you can find a safe place to stand at rush hour, the traffic scene is really quite amazing. Everyone is blaring the horn on their car, usually because some "Smart Car" - a tiny golf cart looking death trap- has shoved itself into three lanes of oncoming, bumper to bumper traffic, in order to turn the opposite way. Meanwhile, noisy scooters, like a cloud of bees, swarm around the mess, trying to move forward, and dodge the other cars, who have decided to get up onto the sidewalk and go around. Wow. I don't think there is anything in the world truly like Naples rush hour.

Unfortunately, the traffic spectacle has created quite a pollution problem here, despite Naples proximity to the coast. Our guidebook also says Naples is renowned for it's architecture; it seems though, that the tall buildings and narrow alleyways create a trap for the smog.

Luckily many of the historic sights are just outside of Naples, and we have been able to take in some daily fresh air. Yesterday we visited Herculaneaum and today we walked through Pompeii- both towns that were decimated by the 79 A.D. eruption of Mount Vesuvius. After digging through nearly 30 feet of ash and debris, archaeologists found some amazing ruins. In some places, detailed frescos, tile mosaics, and statues are still intact. Deep grooves from carriage wheels are worn into the stone roads, and in some places there is still ancient graffiti painted onto the walls.



Tomorrow we move on to Florence for a few days, then to Rome.