They're lucky they got us to leave.
The apartment we stayed in while visiting Naples last week looks out not only on the sea, and on the island of Capri, but also on Vesuvius and most of downtown Naples. We had never shared space with a volcano before. Had never thought so much about the way a city, like Pompeii, could grow and thrive and then simply, one day, disappear under hot clouds of ash.
It's not hard to imagine why the south of Italy, and Naples in particular, seems to be so connected to the ebb and flow of life, the highs and lows. They sit between the sea and the storm, the cool waves and the lava.
Each morning we awoke to the sun rising over Vesuvius, and birds starting to circle over the water. The shadows of palm trees with their jagged fronds slowly took on the light and became crowns of glorious green vegetation. At night the sun dropped behind the city, laying a blanket of pink and purple across the sky. It's a charmed place.
Fraught with problems, sure. Known for having issues, yes. But you cannot get me to say anything less than positive about this city. About Napoli.
It's a city with a heart. A vivid wild heart that thumps out of the enoteca and lines the streets with laughing, emotive Italians. A heart that lives in food so good and so real that you can't believe you could be so lucky. A beat that strums in espresso so strong that each tiny cup of coffee is served with a companion glass of water.
This is a place with a personality. It screams love me or leave me.
And we fell in love.
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