It doesn't sound good for Naples - the descriptions are 'dirty' and 'crime ridden'. Well dirty it definitely is, full of scooters pumping out fumes, rubbish on the streets and grubby grey scenery. But it has such a vibe, it's bursting with life and energy. I'm not going to write about that however - its been pointed out that i don't write enough about the people i meet (thanks Dave - he's the one who likes to tell me what an idiot i look in my photo's). So i will describe last night - not a typical night, but not atypical either.
I check into a hostel I've picked from online reviews - I've not reserved it, I'm just counting on them having spaces. I follow the directions given on the net and find myself outside an apartment block, I've got to go up to the 7th floor - it didn't say this on the net. A girl is being checked in just before me by Luca the young Italian guy on the desk. The best word to describe him - mad. He's very personable however and has soon learnt both our names and is making us laugh. 10 minutes after me 3 more turn up. It's not long before we are having a 6 way conversation, with the bonkers Luca in the middle of it. Within a short period of time I've gone from knowing no one in this city to 5 others. It's quite typical that i know where all the others are from but i don't know all their names - i will probably see them all later, but for now i go to look around town.
I arrive later in time for the free pasta that the hostel is cooking for us all - us all turns out to be about 20 of us. Most of us have brought bottles of wine, including me. i spend the next few hours chatting to who ever is near me. There's two Americans who have only been over 2 days and are only in Europe for 11days - graduation presents for themselves. The girls (who's name of course i don't know) has already badly twisted her ankle and tried to be robbed! So i guess it is true about this town. There's an Aussie girl - who's name i actually learnt (Lisa) who's been travelling for 12 months. She keeps getting nearly thrown out of England as she's been using it as a base. "So you want to come here, you don't have a job and you have no onward flight". Hmmm, i can see how it sounds - i didn't realise there are so many illegal Aussies in the UK. There's Ross a fellow English guy from Essex (he can't help that) who just continually makes us all laugh. There's an Aussie brother and sister (Tony and Mary) who are just over for a month touring France, Portugal and Italy. i end up chatting most of the night with them and Lisa - from modern art to Zen Buddhism. How they built the channel tunnel to why we English hate the French. Chat is easy and helped my wine and lemoncello (the lemon liquid you can buy everywhere). Tony has spent the last 76 years training to be a doctor and Lisa has a bad series of what looks like bites. His professional opinion - "well it´s not chicken pox" and "f*cked if i know". Luckily for us maybe he's not going to be yet another Aussie working in the UK. Before we 'part' Tony gives me his email so i can look him up when i eventually get to Australia which is really nice of him. I've only met him for a few hours and yet he's telling me to look him up when i get to Aus.
Its after midnight by now and so i decide to go to bed but in my room i get involved in a conversation between a guy from San Diego, a Japanese girl and a Chinese girl from Vancouver named Victoria (who i met at check in). This delays going to bed for another hour...
...Are you getting the gist here?
Hostel life can be a fast paced, fleeting life, where you meet more people in one day that you would normally back home in a month. If you are lucky you meet somebody every now and again who you really click with, and have chance to spend time with. Sometimes it's hard because you know you are only there for a day, and you will not meet them again - how much do you want to know about them, or share with them? How much effort do you want to make? Sometimes for me it becomes too much and i need a break from it all, so i go and check into a hotel (I'm just not that sociable!). For most of the people I've met it's been a 'fleeting' experience - that's probably why i don't write about them. You remember the ones who were mad or the ones you spent significant time with, or the ones you fancied ;)
So why aren't there more photos of the people i meet? Well i don't usually remember to take pictures, and like last night i was caught up in the moment and i didn't think about it. It's usually afterwards you remember that you don't have a photo - I've just got the memories.
Today i went to Vesuvius, you can actually climb the thing to the top. It's an easy walk, but it is still an active volcano with steam coming out of it. There are fantastic views from the top over Naples and the surrounding towns. Alas i couldn't see them clearly due to mist. The train journey there was interesting yet again - last time i shared a carriage with an enormous fat woman who actually smelt worse than me. It was funny to watch people (from a distance) sit on the train near her, discover the smell and have to move. On the seat behind me was a guy who was talking to himself - nothing wrong with that, i certainly do it all the time. He was actually having a conversation with his image in the window - a very animated and loud conversation. He's stop when he had turned away or the lights outside were to bright for him to see himself, and then start all over again when he'd catch himself in the corner of his eye - I know it's wrong but it was hilarious and i couldn't help but laugh.
I'm flying to Barcelona tomorrow, I'm ready to get out of Europe - it's travelling to close/similar to England, which i don't want. Spain and Xmas will be a nice break ready for a slightly more difficult adventure - India.
