I am going to say that this is probably the best hostel I'm going to stay at. Not in terms of hotel-like accommodation, but rather, friendliness and atmosphere. The hostel is relatively small and homey. The moment I step through the door, Giovanni gets me to put my stuff down and gets me a cup of water. After paying, he mentions that I booked in March, which is really early, and managed to get the arrival time of 1pm right on the dot, leading him to question whether or not I'm really Canadian, or actually Swiss.
Jokes he proceeds to give me a map and information about the city for the next half hour. I honestly was impressed by his preparation, because it felt like a history lesson combined with a tourist information guide. He even showed me photos of beautiful places that I may want to hit, leading to me having to rearrange some of my plans. He also highlighted the areas that are less safe and I should stay away from.
His explanation of the history also covered why there are no elevators, despite the hostel being on the 4th floor. The entire area is protected by UNESCO, as the buildings are over 300 years old, and no elevators are permitted to be installed. The house rules are 1. No noise, as it disturbs the neighbours, and 2. No drunkenness, as it creates disturbances and mess. Heh - perfect for me. I'm also supposed to be back by 10pm, as it gets a little less safe at that time.
I rushed out the door to do the excursion that he recommended to the Naples underground, and it was pretty fantastic. I wasn't able to get many great photos because of how dark it was, but the tour visited an underground Greek-Roman theatre, aqueducts, air raid shelters from WWII, as well as an old Greek stone mining shaft. The first part was very interesting, as we entered through an old house and the bed just slid to the side to reveal a trapdoor down to the wine cellar, which is an entrance to the theatre. By the time this and the theatre were actually found, there was no way to bring it above ground, as over 80 families have moved in above.
You might wonder how the population density was so high, and the answer is that a law in ancient times stated that no homes may be built beyond the city walls, leading to building upwards.
After the tour, I went to the Museo Cappella Sansevero, a small museum/church containing the statue, The Veiled Christ. It was absolutely beautiful display of skill in sculpting cloths. If the David was the best pieces of human body sculpting I've seen, the Veiled Christ is absolutely the best piece of fabric sculpting I've seen. The Veiled Christ wasn't the only thing to see either. Other sculptures such as Modesty and Disillusion also showed the characteristics of fabrics. The thin cloth on Modesty and the ropes on Disillusion were so real that, at first, I thought that there was real cloth/rope on the statue. While I don't have photos of any of these, I bought postcards because no photos were allowed. If you can't wait for me to get home to scan them, Google Images is your friend.
I dropped by two churches and a monastery in the area, all of which were unique and astonishing. The two Catholic churches were elaborate and grand, but the monastery was beautiful in its simplicity. You'll see what I mean in the pictures.
I had dinner at a place called Gino Sorbillo tonight, and it has to be the best pizza I've ever had. The pizza itself was bigger than the plate. The guy had 21 children, all of which became pizza makers. The family boasts of being "pizza professionals" and I certainly agree with their self-assessment. Just take a look at the photo!
On a closing note, while it is a bit sketchy here, I think I'm pretty safe as long as I stay on the main paths and away from the bad areas. I'm not carrying my bag or passport around because it's safer at Giovanni's than with me on the street. I have many deviations from my plan because of Catholic Sundays in Naples, as all the museums are closed. I will be attempting to complete Pompeii, Herculaneum and Mt. Vesuvius tomorrow, so it'll be an early start and an exciting day!
Also, Wi-Fi is quite good here, and I'm able to get the rest of the NHL draft news for the next few days, but I still need help on July 1!
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