Napoli!

When you're walking up after a night of having only 3 hours of sleep because you had a P. Diddy "White" Rooftop Party with Sangria the night before, don't hesitate or think twice about it...get on the early train to Naples for a day trip. It will be worth it. I promise.

"Don't go to Naples." People say that everything you hate about Rome is heightened in Naples, about a 3 hour train ride from Rome. It's dirtier, busier, more dangerous. It is the most densely populated city in Italy. Well, after living in Rome for two months, I can handle anything! Bring it on! Being prepared with the lowest expectations certainly helps but how can you hate the birthplace of pizza? Come on!

Four Reasons Why You Should Go To Naples
1. To Eat Sfogliatelle.If you've never had sfogliatelle before, you don't know what you're missing. Naples is known for it. It's a shell shaped pastry whose name means "many leaves" because the thin, flakey layers resemble leaves stuck together. It's filled with a sweet ricotta filling and, in Naples, it has a hint of an orange flavor with tiny candied bits of orange inside. Listen to Rick Steves for once and go to Scaturchio.
2. To see the Gesù Nuovo Church.
At the Church of the "New Jesus" you'll see this on the outside......and then this on the inside...You would never guess that something so beautiful would be found inside such a harsh exterior.Famous in Napoli is St. Giuseppe Moscati. He was a doctor in Naples who died in 1927 and is known for performing miracles. There is a statue of him within the church where a line forms behind, as people wait to touch his hand while saying prayers regarding illness of a loved one. In one of the chapels, there are thousands of plaques dedicated to the miracles of St. Giuseppe Moscati. Each is framed with a red background and containing a photograph of the person and a metal carving of the physical body part to which the miracle pertained to.
3. To Walk Along The Coast.See all of the boats that will make you think of your dad's sailboat back home or take note of the teenagers tanning on the rocks of the jetty. Seeing this was like an oasis coming from the crowded streets.And finally...
4. To Eat Pizza!Go to the hole in the wall "restaurant" called Da Michele. If you can't find it, ask the woman on the street who knows exactly where you're talking about because she's going there for dinner in an hour. She will even walk to you the precise location (several blocks past where you had already walked)! At Da Michele's there's only two kinds of pizza on the menu: Marinara and Margherita. You watch them make the pizza in the tiny room that you waited almost an hour for the little old lady to mop and you'll also watch the entire staff (all 4 of them) drink their "pre-dinner shift" expresso's BUT before you know it, you're eating the most delicious giant pizza. Thicker crust than Rome and tastes more like New York. Make friends with the single female traveler at the table next to you who will tell you that this is the pizza place that Elizabeth Gilbert talks about in Eat, Pray, Love.You can be back to Rome by 9 with a full stomach after a surprisingly relaxing day in the craziest city in Italy!

Signs

On the door outside a bar in Trastevere...
No Fighting. Peace Yes.