Vedi Napoli e poi muori

See Naples and you can die (happy?)... well, that's how the saying goes. I have seen Naples, but last time I was here, we started off on the wrong foot and I escaped rather quickly. Not this time... this time, I devoured Naples and all its glory. Naples reminds me of Mumbai, choatic and smelling of diesel, sweat and garbage, but with all the architectural grandeur of the Grand boulevards of Paris as captured in a Pissarro painting, an unlikely but spectacular mix. It is chaotic driving and walking around here, but the city has a real energy about it. Its quaint narrow streets of food vendors, the diverse ethnicity of its inhabitants are juxtaposed by the amazing architecture and the many sites of Italian and Napolitan history.
The Napolitans are a rare breed, they speak a dialect which makes it difficult to communicate (even my aunt and uncle had trouble at times), they walk with purpose, they are a very very proud breed and they are most certainly Napolitan and not just Italian. It is unfortunate to see, however, the poor hygiene and the lax public services, but I suppose without these discrepancies, Naples just wouldn't be the same.