So, we set off on foot across town to see the Villa Borghese Gardens, touted as Rome's version of Central Park NYC. We thoroughly enjoyed a walk through the streets of Rome, just enjoying everyday life there. Parking as always was a point of interest and the much increased use of electric vehicles here. This one is an example, parked in an area reserved for two wheeled transportation! Kathy, as always, was on the lookout for Fiat 500's, her dream car, and there were lots of those. This is a city where small cars rule.En route, we passed through another of Rome's amazing Piazza's, Piazza Popolo, by accident. It had yet another Egyptian obelisk (seemed to be very popular in ancient Rome) and was just huge. But we couldn't stay there long due to the extreme heat, so we headed for the adjacent Villa Borghese Gardens for some shade and hopefully some respite.
To be honest, these gardens did not live up to our expectations. They were nice, but not remarkable. They needed the care of a good gardener... I was expecting more.So, after a while, we headed to the Spanish Steps that were nearby. When we got there, seriously, you could have baked a potato on the granite. It was hard to imagine our son's visit there in January when the steps were covered in ice and very slippery.
We sought solace in a nearby cafe offering an airconditioned space and were a little refreshed after having a great buffet lunch for 9 Euro.
Then it was time to mooch on to the Trevi Fountain. What a circus!! There were absolutely wall to wall tourists and it felt quite claustrophobic! Nevertheless, you can't be just down the road from this amazing place and not visit it. And as I stood and looked at the monument this time I think I understood for the first time what this monument was all about. You see, there was this guy (the big guy in the picture - he is about 3m tall) was having a siesta in the nude, as you do (it must have been around this time of year). He was awoken by a commotion outside and grabbed a sheet and went to the door to see what it was all about.
There was someone grappling with a horse, right outside. The commotion had obviously awoken his two neighbours who also are having a peek at this guy grappling with an uncontrollable horse that had grown wings.I had always wondered what this story was all about.
It was a relief to wander away from the tourist rabble and then we chanced on an amazing excavation of Roman occupation right next door. It was so lovely and cool and EMPTY and quite amazing. They had excavated under the buildings above to reveal fantastically well preserved evidence of Roman villas and life there. It was sad in some ways to see a substantial pile of ancient coins there. The caption said that these were most likely a stash from a slave and were virtually worthless in the economy of the time.
The next morning, we set off for the Termini, the Central Railway station in Rome to catch the train to Naples....
I had a sense of foreboding. I had loved Rome on this visit, but would Naples just be too much for me? The books say if you love Rome, you should go further south, as Italy only intensifies as you go further south. But the crime, (30% unemployment), the mafia, the dirt, the rubbish; you know, what would it REALLY be like? Whilst Kathy had lived near to Naples, for some reason, they did not visit Naples as a family very regularly. She too wondered I think, but also had a sense of excitement at coming back to her childhood roots.
It had been arranged that a taciturn chap called Guido would pick us up to take us from the station to our apartment. He led us to his car and when we arrived he tried to open the boot for our luggage. The car behind had parked so close the boot would not open. Va be'...(Italian expression meaning "oh well"). He then proceeded to move his car forward diagonally so that it partly obstructed the stream of traffic pouring past and LEFT THE DRIVER'S DOOR OPEN (!!) further obstructing the traffic. The amazing thing was that no one seemed to care. The traffic simply merged two lanes to one and kept surging past!!
As we travelled into Naples and reached the Centro Storico (the historical centre), then the real Naples started to show. Firstly, the road was like a grade 3 river rapid, paved with ancient cobble stones. It appeared that no appreciable road maintenance had been done here since Roman times. All the cars and scooters just seemed to adjust to an absolute pounding from a surface like Lake Taupo in a storm! In addition, the standard behaviour was to simply drive or walk where you want to go regardless of whether anyone else is approaching at 90 degrees or even 180 degrees. I have experienced traffic in Jakarta, which was not as crazy as this. But there is a sense of good humour. Our driver just expected to stop and give way to others all the time. People just step into the stream of traffic to cross the street and everyone stops for a moment.
The other thing that strikes you is simply the roar of raw noise. The tyres on the cobbles, the sound of the vehicles all assault the ear drums.
The city itself is also visually amazing. Graffiti is everywhere, but the sense of entering a historic place that is still a live city today is there.
When we arrived at our apartment, we had 3 levels of security to get through. Firstly a huge box section steel gate, then a locked door to the lift and then our apartment itself with a series of 5 dead bolts and top and bottom bolts as well.
Our host was an open and friendly Italian primary school teacher and she was keen to give us all possible information on what there was to see in Naples. To make sure we were still listening she would ask us questions: what was the name of the famous chocolate shop?What was the colour of the tower at the castle? We were trying to focus but our eyes were starting to spin.
Finalmente she locks us in from the outside with the four turns of the 7 dead bolt system! Ok, we relax and decide to go to the supermarket across the road to get some supplies (we knw how to get out - we were listening).. Oh, no, there she was at the checkout. We skulk through and around behind a row to wait for her to leave. NO MORE INFORMATION PLEASE!! We are in word overload.
Our return to the apartment with cheese, salame and pasta was a success. We had not been robbed, kidnapped by the mafia or run over by a motor scooter.
But the transition from Rome was considerable. This was like a different country. At this point, I was undecided if I liked it or not.
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