I woke up to Chonny calling my name again. She wanted to have breakfast together one last time. I asked her about her next travels. She was heading to Budapest this afternoon and then back to Scotland. She asked where I was heading and I decided that I would follow the Australians to Naples. I said my goodbyes to Kate, Shee and Chonny. It was tough saying goodbye to Chonny because we really came to know each other in this short trip. We linked on Facebook and promised to visit each other in a year.
The Australians told me to meet them right outside the hostel at 10:30am, I was hoping they hadn't forgot about me before they headed to the train. I've hung out with them the last two nights in the terrace. Darragh and Mitch.
I handed my key back in and took one last look at the terrace. Great times in this place. It was my first hostel experience and a great one. Becca did a fabulous job selecting this for me, everyone who stayed here said this was by far one of the best they've seen.
I walked out to the alley and the Aussies were waiting for me. We headed to the train station and bought our tickets to Naples.
Naples was never a part of the plan but I'm learning in this trip how addicting it is to tour new cities. You get on a train and it's like you're sitting waiting to open your next present. Darragh warned me that Naples is a dumpy city. I didn't mind what Naples would be like, I was just excited to see a new place.
I didn't get to sit by my new friends but I was kind of glad. The train is another great way to catch on all your lost sleep. Every night, I'm up to nearly 3am and wake at 8am. I was looking forward to a little rest and now I had the alarm on the iPod down to a science.
With an hour left on the train, Darragh came back to my cart and talked with me for the remainder of the trip. We talked about the differences between the U.S and Australia and how they think it's absolutely ridiculous our metrics system is.
Darragh asked why I decided to go with them and I said it was an easy explanation. I was having a blast getting lost, figuring out how to book the train, finding my way to the hostel but for one day I just wanted to have someone be the decision maker. Mitch was the leader of the group, booked every hostel and train while Darragh relaxed and followed. I wanted to be a follower today. Plus they both are extremely funny so I have been laughing uncontrollably in their company.
We arrived in Naples and it was pure chaos. I was so thankful at this point that I just had to follow the two of them. I would have got eaten alive. The cars were racing through the streets, it reminded me of India how there was not a lot of organization in the streets. It was very dumpy looking. All the buildings were extremely falling a part and decrepit. There was laundry hanging from all the windows. The city was very poor, I started to hope that when we turned the corner we would all of a sudden be in the more refined district. That never happened, this was Napoli.
Now we were weaving through the alleys searching for the hostel they booked. I did not have a room so was hoping they had an opening. If they didn't I would have to sleep at another hostel and in a city like this- I would honestly be afraid to be separated.
So we find our way to this old raggedy building and you have to go under the building to an old castle door and call up to the host. We took a dark staircase up to the top floor and for the first time on the trip I became scared. I made a comment to Darragh and Mitch. They made a great point. Sometimes the best times are spent in the least likely places. The better cities are actually the older, run down cities. Naples is famous for where true Italian Pizza was created so this, I was looking forward to.
When we entered the hostel it was quite small compared to the hostel in Florence. It was basically an old apartment turned into a hostel. Roberto checked us in and thankfully had an extra bed. This hostel was only seventeen Euros. The hostel in Florence was thirty-eight Euros. Roberto escorted us back to the "Yellow Room" and I was pleasantly surprised. The room had to huge balconies with doors opening up to the crazy busy streets of Naples. There were beautiful yellow curtains draping over the double glass doors. It was an old room but with so much character. I fell in love with Naples once I stood on the balcony and appreciated the old dirty city for what it was- truly unique.
Tonight we are going out for pizza- at midnight I'll turn twenty-eight years old and tomorrow we are going to the main attraction of Naples, their volcano.
So here I am again, in a completely random setting. Yesterday I was roaming around with Choony in Firenze. Now, today I'm living the lifestyle of a true backpacker and living more on the edge in Napoli. If you can open your mind to great things, then great things will flood into your world. I walked into this trip with zero expectations, minimal plans and have already seen more then eyes can believe.