Napoli (Naples) is hectically busy, dirty, chaotic, and currently in day three of a garbage strike, I love it! The dark and narrow streets are filled with tiny shops, restaurants, people, cars, and scooters, scooters, scooters. The challenge for motorized vehicles is to go as fast as possible in too little space without either hitting someone or something. How it works is that you drive very fast, honking every time you are coming to a corner or people are in the street, only slowing down if you get really close to someone. The Neapolitan definition of really close is about 6 inches or less. There were many times I was worried about my foot getting run over. Once you get used to the local comfort level for close passes it is kind of fun.
The reason I love the city is that it feels alive and real. The combination of great architecture, great food, bustling streets, dirt, crime (mafia central), and large amounts of charm and style makes it feel balanced, unlike too perfect places such as Monte Carlo and Andorra.
My hostel, called Giovanni’s Home, lives up to its name. Giovanni greeted me in the hall as I came up the stairs and would not let me check in until after we ate lunch. We went out on the rooftop patio with a few other travelers, and I ate a fantastic seafood risotto, washing it down with a nice white wine while we chatted away the early afternoon. Then, relaxed and very comfortable, I was amazed when the corner pastry shop delivered a huge selection of fine pastries for dessert. After about an hour and a half, he brought the check-in process to us, giving us maps and personalizing them for us, showing the best routes and explaining the sites, how to get to other cities, where to avoid, and so on. He took the time to make sure that everyone got what they wanted. This is typical for Giovanni. The mornings start with very good coffee and often freshly delivered pastries, if you are around for lunch and dinner, Giovanni makes sure you are fed. His charm, warmth, and humor creates a communal atmosphere where people want to sit around and talk and trade stories. It is the best hostel that I have ever been in. I was not the only one that felt that way—his place was ranked as number one in the world out of over 10,000 hostels by Hostelworld.com. His rating was 99% and the next closest was 89%. If you go anywhere near southern Italy, you have to stay with Giovanni; it was one of those great travel experiences I will never forget.
