Napoli, where there are no rules

I have not been to any place quite like Napoli.

We just got back from watching the soccer final at a pizzeria in town (poor Holland!) and had to dodge mopeds, motorbikes and cars all driven by crazy locals through the narrow streets. Besides the traffic, which is chaotic (crossing the road is a life threatening activity here), this has to be one of the dirtiest cities I have ever been to, rivaling any in Asia. There is rubbish and litter everywhere and so much graffiti there is almost no place for new stuff. Today we went to see the ruins of the ancient Roman city of Pompeii and I said to Larna, on the way over in the train, that I would not be surprised to find the ruins covered in red and black spraypaint.

Saying that there is something appealing about the place among all the grubbiness. You have the washing hanging out all over the balconies and people chatting everywhere around makeshift outdoor patios. And then there is the great food. Larna and I ate at this pizzeria called "Da Michelle" which both of us read about in the book 'Eat, pray, love'. According to the author, it's meant to have the best pizza in Italy. They were indeed delicious, though calling them the best in the world is a bit over the top. They make only two kinds - marinara and margherita. We had one each and shared them. They have this amazing dough, just slightly undercooked in the middle and very simple toppings. And they're only 4 euros each for enormous pizzas!

As for Pompeii, its quite fascinating and enormous. You walk and walk and there are so many ruins to see because its an entire city. The most amazing thing is how advanced it was with bedrooms, dining rooms, atriums and vegetables gardens. And everything is about 2,000 years old. The thing is after a while, it all becomes a bit meaningless, the age of the place...we found ourselves saying..."Yes, this is very old and this is very, very old and this too is very, very, very old..."

Tomorrow we head up to Rome for three nights. Only a couple more weeks in Europe and then hopefully off to Morocco if I can sort out my visa. Damn South African passport!