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I’m trying to like Naples, really, I am. But it’s dirty. And not in a surface level kind of way. There’s a deeper filth here. Like grimy in addition to grungy. Athens just felt brighter by a comparison - a glittering jewel of safety and cleanliness. Naples seems dim, no, diminished by Athens.

I got out of the down town area quickly. Supposedly the Central Station is the most likely placed to get pickpocketed in Italy. I headed south along the water on the “Circumvesuviana” - a strange name for a train until I realized that it probably literally means “around Vesuvia.”

Portici is the little town I’m staying in. It’s an old-fashioned fishing village by the looks of it. It’s the first place where I feel like not knowing the local language is a problem. I’m having to do a lot more pointing and talking with my hands. It’s not very walkable - it takes way longer to get places on the map than I feel like it should. There’s just a lot of nothing in between. There are stray dogs everywhere, and most of the people I see on the street look like they’re retired. This place smells. Like rotting fish and feces. The ocean water, so blue around Greece and Cyprus is a murky brown here. I won’t be touching it with a ten foot pole.

That said, the hostel itself, “Fabric” - an old textile factory that’s been converted - is amazing in how modern and clean it is. It’s definitely the coolest place I’ve stayed yet in terms of decor and style. Sadly, the crowd is taking a night off. Most of the people are just sitting around watching movies rather than socializing. After the Aphrodite, going from Matrix: Revolutions to Runaway Jury to The Shawshank Redemption (with hardly a break in between) seems like a bad use of time in Europe.

Luckily I found a group that wanted to go out for some late pizza and wine. Naples is the home of the margherita pizza, if you didn’t know. And that buffalo mozzarella, tomato, and basil is both tasty and cheap.

There were moments of beauty, of course. A sun shower while I enjoyed a local wine. Children playing soccer with a basketball in the street. The hostel had lots of potential, too. I’m just glad that I only spent one night here.