Greetings from Bella Napoli. Herbal wins the prize for correct guess. Rode the bus to near Bagnoli last night, but never came close to the location of its most infamous former denizen.
The remarkable thing about Naples is how little it really changes-even while it changes. The trams no long run down the Via Emmanuelle in front of the Maritime Terminal-but people still drive like crazy, scooters dart in and out of traffic and stoplights are only advisory in nature. Same old neighbors.
I’m told that some of the same low rent bars exist in the four block area near the castle-home of the famous “Naples One low level” from my days back on USS Coral Sea in the eighties. ( “Load up the lire machine gun and hit ripple fire as you stagger from buy me drink bar to buy me drink bar-when you run out of lire, its time to go back to the ship!”).
And the Piazza Garibaldi in front of the train station is still a combat zone at night. Same old Naples.
Yet they are making signs of progress. They are in work on a subway-given the rate of Italian construction I expect it to be complete sometime in 2050 or so.
And garbage service still seems to be optional down town.
But the food is good, the sun is out, and my meetings are done for the day. An expedition to Sorrento seems most appropriate.
Ciao!