Porta Capuana, an ancient city gate

When we first arrived in Naples, I was blown away by all the hustle and bustle. Old town is truly the heart of the daily happenings of the Neapolitans. Walking through the narrow streets, one has to be cautious of all the crazy motorcycles going by. They will cut right in front of you, creep up from behind and not give you the right of way. As if this is not crazy enough, there are seas of people, both locals and tourists, meandering the streets, and not to mention the pickpockets ready to prey on their next victim. The locals stop in the middle of the street to chat with others, while the tourists huddle outside pizzerias waiting for a table to eat. The loudness of the city is a combination of car and motorcycle horns, ambulance sirens, groups of teens walking and talking loud as if they chanted in unison and the lady in the alley who frequently yelled “Charlie, Charlie, Charlie” over the top of her lungs. And to top it all off no matter what part of the city you are in, you’re bound to encounter streets with trash.

Despite all the madness, Naples is a city with a great deal of things to discover and learn. It also serves as a base to explore nearby places. We reached Rome in little over one hour via the high-speed train; went to Pompeii, Sorrento and took a ferry to the island of Capri. Naples offers plenty of great museums and churches to check out as well as interesting underground tours, our favorite being the Napoli Sotterranea—a tour of the ancient Greek-Roman cisterns in the heart of Naples. Heading towards the port one can enjoy striking views of the bay and Vesuvius.

We learned that Naples has over 50 official patron saints, the most important one is San Gennaro, hence, one can find statues, keychains, and other knickknacks of San Gennaro and see his name incorporated into various businesses—Pizzeria San Gennaro, Trattoria San Gennaro and the like. Naples is definitely a must visit when in Italy.