Bumbling Abroad #1
I was a little on edge upon meeting up with Fabio because, well, I had just gotten out of the car with the stranger I hitchhiked into the city with and I was only anticipated meeting one strange man per day.
I was instantly relieved when I met Fabio and could tell he was a good soul and a warm spirit. We jumped straight into the craziness of the city, navigating the metro systems and asking each other questions about our vastly different existences.
Fabio is French and Italian, currently living in Paris and traveling while he transfers jobs working as a data manager. I am a homeless, broke writer traveling abroad.
We started off in the Spanish district and made it our goal to climb up to the Castle for a view of the city. I liked his sense of adventure, never relying on his phone to figure out the way. Of course, he has had some experience with Napoli as his family lived about an hour away. He knew enough for me to feel safe and not enough to feel like it was rehearsed.
Each time we climbed a flight of cobble stone stairs and turned around, the view of the city presented itself in new and unique ways.
I was sweating my ass off in the lingering hot summer air. A little higher, literally drenched in sweat. I’d turn the corner and ask, “is this it?” only to be met with another 100 or so steps. We decided that for every flight we climbed we owed ourselves another beer.
We took a couple of wrong turns (still beautiful) but finally arrived to the top of the hill where a scant pizzeria on the edge of the cliff seemed to be waiting for us. We grabbed a table and caught a breath as we drank our beers and savored the view. We enjoyed a flatbread that the restaurant provided as a complimentary snack.
When we got to the castle it really did feel like the climax of views. There was a museum and we soaked in some unexpectedly moving art. There was a painting of naked women and men with indescribable expressions of their faces, and it was called something like, “Faces.”
After the castle we stopped for a margarita pizza and I was told I had to pick it up and eat it like a real Italian. I obliged and was even relieved that I didn’t have to use a fork and knife. And, because I am who I am, he kindly informed me after some moments of a black smudge all the way on my forehead that was impossible to get off that came from the slightly burnt crust. (Hence my using a fork and knife for future experiences. Plus the cheese falls off otherwise!!! Everyone lay off, I’ve been getting so much heat for that LMAO.)
After that, we descended and found ourselves in the Galleria Umberto Primo, where an old Italian man instructed me to find my zodiac sign (all twelve were mosaicked with tile in the center on the building) spin around and make a wish. When I completed my task, he had Fabio do the same. It turns out that poor Fabio’s spin meant he was sacrificing himself so that my wish could come true. Thanks Fabio! Sorry about that! (Don’t worry, it was a good wish.)
The evening ended early after trying authentic Italian Baba. I skipped a beverage as I was still nervous about transporting myself back to Lago Patria, and would wind up relying on my new friend Rino to pick me up from Pozzuoli.
In the end, it was a love connection only between me and Napoli, but I will always be grateful to Fabio for making it possible.
