I have been missing the intensity and energy of New York City. The constant buzz in the air and movement on the ground. A dose of Napoli is exactly what I needed, and away we flew to this city in the South of Italy, unlike any I had ever experienced. Quite a contrast to the calm and order of Paris. Might I add that what I love about living in Paris is the proximity to so many diverse and fascinating worlds, merely hours away via train or plane. Needless to say, within NYC exists a composition of cultures, but there is nothing like complete immersion in the place of origin.
Five days and nights were spent safely tucked away in the Spanish Quarter, next door to a convent. This hidden neighborhood is discovered by few but curious to many. On all sides we were surrounded by reckless kids on motorbikes, often 3 to a bike, peddlers selling designer goods and electronics purchased from ‘borrowed’ credit cards. Fresh produce is plentiful and sold in wooden crates for mere centimes. Napoli is a city in which people live by their wits and where rules don’t apply. I felt high on this air of chaos, or was it the endless nocciolatos that caused my heart to beat at such a pace? And let me not begin to speak about the pasta…I have discovered the soul of Naples.
The calm after the storm was Capri, an island of intense beauty and serenity. An ideal place in which to digest the many sensations of the South as we head back to a dream of another sort.
