Naples. Okay, where to start?

Naples is dirty, crowded and noisy – and I really like it. In places it is very beautiful, the people are incredible friendly, and although I only speak a few words in Italian everyone seems to think it is a chance to practice their English versus scowling at me for not being about to speak their language.

Antonio picked me up at the airport with his two small children, his daughter Valeria who is about 4 and his son Gabriele who is 2 and a half. We piled into his Renault and headed for his house.

Thus we arrive at my first experience with traffic in Napoli. The first thing you learn is that things like street signs, lane markers, speed limits, etc. are more like suggestions than laws, which also goes for things like airbags, child seats, seat belts, turn signals and other safety equipment. The horn, however, is essential, as you need to use this in lieu of the other devices we might take for granted in America.

The second thing is you notice is the large number of motorized bicycles, scooters and small motorcycles, that make their way in between the cars.

Napoli is very hilly, and as we made our way to the harbor it seemed like we kept winding down and down these incredible narrow streets, dodging people, scooters and other cars at the same time. Despite the chaos, it seemed to move rather well once we got away from the aéroporte.

Antonio’s house is in a building one block from the sea. His wife’s family has lived in it for three generations. It is on the first floor, and three very large rooms border the street while three smaller rooms face a courtyard. The three small rooms comprise the kitchen, bath and study while the three large rooms are the master bedroom, living room and den/dining room. The ceiling in each room is at least 14 feet high.

My room for my stay was the living room. They had brought in a portable armoire for my clothes, and an antique day bed that served as a sofa was converted into a bed for me to sleep on.

Here’s where it gets cool: Roberta (Antonio’s wife) is related to Sergio Leone, the king of the spaghetti western. His most famous work, The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, made Clint Eastwood famous. He slept in this bed.

Yes, if you ask nicely, you can touch me.

Once settled I took about an hour to nap (this trip is going to kill me, I think) and then we took a walking tour of the area around Naples. This is where I learned something else about traffic. The Italian word for street is “via” but is basically means any horizontal or nearly horizontal surface that will accommodate your vehicle of choice. You have to be extremely careful of where you walk or you will get run over.

We saw a number of palaces and churches, and Naples is dominated by four castles. Also in places the original city wall remains. Naples, unfortunately, was also a huge allied target during WWII, so many of the buildings experienced damage or were destroyed.

Valeria had come with us, and she was tired, so we stopped at a cafe and had a drink and watched the people go by. When we returned to the house, Roberta had made a wonderful meal of breaded pork cutlets. In the future when I cook Italian food I will need to remember what “pounded thin” means. The pork was extremely thin and quickly fried. Good Italian food relies on fresh ingredients simply prepared, so the pork was seasoned only with salt and lemon. We also had a green salad and an appetizer of meats and cheeses.

After dinner, I went to add my name to the list of famous people who have stayed at Casa Russo. I slept well.