As I walk through the streets of Napoli, it’s six o’clock in the morning. I’m on my way to try and find the airport shuttle bus that I frantically Googled the timetable of with panicked urgency as soon as I woke up. The city has a hue, as the pink and blues of the early stages of the sunrise kiss the horizon and start to wake up the dishevelled, well-worn buildings of the city. It’s October, and Naples is undergoing the special southern treatment: hot weather and blue skies. Even at this time in the morning, it’s warm. I’m wearing long trousers, a shirt and a blazer in preparation for my return to the cold and rain of drab Manchester. A rookie mistake, I’m sure.
I reflect on my trip, the first one I’ve had to Naples - a city I loved before I’d even set foot on Neapolitan soil. Walking, it’s even more noticeable than ever before that Naples does not stop. It’s constantly whirring, with something always going on. We’re up very early for a flight and yet, we could be walking around mid-morning. The chaos of the city was as expected.
Going to Naples, I was filled with internal angst, frantically worrying about whether I’d like the city or my obsession with it and its culture would crumble around me. Reassurance from friends who’d visited about me adoring it eased the anxiety but still, my worry was ‘What if I don’t like this city that I’ve spent years interested in and adopted their football team as my second team?’.
I couldn’t have been more wrong. Even the typical tourist taxi mishap at the airport didn’t put me off, especially as we swiftly moved away from the overpriced airport cabs and hopped on the very easy-to-manoeuvre shuttle bus. And once we hit the station, our walk from there to our AirBnB gave us a quick taste, some may say an ‘aperitif’, of what was to come.
The need to look over your shoulder regularly to avoid being hit by a moped strikes an uncanny resemblance to my time in the souks of Marrakech. The sights and sounds do too. Napoli is pictured on every corner. Diego Maradona watches down on the city from every street. Limoncello, pizza and un caffe within touching distance at all times. Day trips to the beautiful serenity of the Sorrento coast, albeit flooded with tourists even in the off-season, give a stunning contrast to the grit of the city.
But I’m not going to talk you through every ins and outs of our trip. What we did, what we ate, what we saw. Pizza, Peroni. It was all there. Naples is a feeling, one that captures you before you’ve even visited and refuses to let go long after you’ve left. It’s constantly calling to you to return. I knew Naples had a special place in my heart when I witnessed two gentlemen bid each other farewell using the phrase ‘Forza Napoli’. I now fully understand the saying, “Vedi Napoli e poi muor”. Grazie Napoli, to you and your people.
