Naples

This was it. This was the last day at port, and the port was Naples. My family originally comes from Naples, so in a way, it should have felt like a homecoming. Instead it was a bit nerve racking. Everybody warned us, don't go to Naples. It's dangerous.

I told them that we spoke Italian and Margherita was so Italian that they'd salute her.

They explained that whatever I thought was dangerous before would be redefined at Naples.

I told them I was from Brooklyn and had experienced all there was to fear.

Naples has some beautiful sites. It also has the National Archaeological Museum (Museo Archeologico Nazionale), the best darn museum we've seen in Italy, excluding the Vatican museum. The Archeological Museum contains most of the artifacts that you'd see in Pompeii, if they weren't moved to the museum. It has the paintings, the statues, the frescoes, the mosaics; everything. The museum is a living textbook. Well, the statues aren't alive, but compared to a textbook, it's much better.

But, you can see, I'm holding back. Momma always said if you don't have anything nice to say.

Naples is a perfectly safe city to visit, even with kids... if you're kids are really ugly. Yes, you don't want to travel to Naples unless you're in a group or you have rather ugly children to throw at those who accost you. I'm sure they would find that rather disgusting. We speak fluent Italian and still felt uncomfortable. We had to avoid pickpockets, wild dogs, garbage, graffiti, a street gang and getting ripped off by the taxi driver. That was just in walking a total of six blocks.

[Margherita's note: Can you say anything positive?]

[Dominick's response: No. My ancestors come from Naples and I still couldn't find anything positive to say.]

National Archaeological Museum

We visited Naples and went right back to the ship. I'm sure when my great-grandmother was there it was much, much nicer. It seems most of the people who go there run to Sorrento, Pompeii or the Amalfi coast, unless they have ugly children to throw at the bandits and distract them.

[Margherita's note: Ugly children are not politically correct. Please excuse my husband's bad taste in jokes. All children are beautiful.]

We went back to the ship, changed for dinner and had a lovely, romantic dinner by the moonlight along the window of the back of the ship. It was a welcome change, from Naples.

Day 1 - Athens, Greece
Day 2 - Santorini, Greece
Day 3 - Kusadasi, Turkey
Day 4 - Mykonos, Greece
Day 5 - At Sea
Day 6 - Taoromina, Italy
Day 7 - Naples
Day 8 - Departure