Livorno/Naples

August 28th-29th
Livorno/Naples

My day in Livorno was pretty relaxed, and being another IPM (in port manning) day it’s not like I had much of a choice. I can’t say all that much got accomplished that day, certainly nothing blog worthy, except for one thing: Laundry!!! Yeah, I did a lot of laundry on the 28th, probably the single most productive thing I could have done at that point in time, making the day a success. The show that evening was pretty easy and that just about sums up the day.
Naples was a little more active however. I actually have a friend (Gianni) from my first ship who grew up in Napoli who I was hoping to catch up with on the 29th, but after a few emails back and forth I found out he’s moved to New York and is playing music there. Great for him...drag for me. Anyway, he recommended that I go up to the Castle Sant’ Elmo, a large fortress on top of a hill overlooking the city. I figured I’d know what it was when I stepped off the ship, and the moment I looked toward the city it was there, right in front of me on a hill way above sea level. I was with Ben and Jim, and after a little encouraging, was able to lead my group toward the castle.
It was an interesting walk through the city as we progressed higher. Down near the port the alleys were very dirty and crowded, not to mention the people driving down these small streets were as much a danger to themselves as they were to my group. Ben described traversing the city as a large game of Frogger…he’s kind of correct. But then, as soon as we ascended past a certain level, the streets cleaned up, the traffic became less deadly, and the city was suddenly very pleasant.
We reached our destination about 90 minutes after we’d set out, and after a brief congratulatory break, be purchased tickets and took the elevator up to the top of the castle. Thankfully the view was impressive (had it not been I’d have likely be thrown from the castle by my now fatigued friends) and we spent about an hour walking the perimeter taking pictures and admiring the city.
I had volunteered to take Ben’s tour that afternoon at 2:00, meaning we had to get back down the hill, get some pizza, and get back to the port in the same amount of time it took to fight our way up. We found a better route down though, and a few alleys, stairwells, and dead birds later, we’d made it back to sea level with plenty of time to spare. Ben knew of a great pizza place near the ship from past visits and recommended stopping for a quality lunch. We stopped, ordered, and I received a pizza the size of a large plate, loaded up with bright red tomato sauce and real Italian cheese – it makes all the difference. We all split a plate of gnocchi as well, which was equally satisfying. I then gave my friends some money and made my way to the port for my tour.
The tour I was supposed to be on, the one Ben had been signed up for, somehow got given to one of my other friends on the ship. I have no idea how or why, but he keeps laughing and saying he owes me a drink…whatever. So instead the tour office decided to put me on a Naples Panoramic tour, not exactly my idea of a good trade, but I took it having nothing better to do. This meant instead of going to the Herculaneum to see ancient ruins from Vesuvius I got stuck sitting on a bus driving around the city for 2.5 hours, I’m sure you can imagine my lack of enthusiasm for the new scenario. Well, I went on the tour, saw some things I wouldn’t have otherwise seen, and during our only stop, got some free gelato that was provided on the tour. Free ice cream will always win me over.
When we got back to the ship I hustled down to my room to get out my flute for a lesson with the previous night’s guest artist, a professional flautist. The guest, Bettine, simply asked after our shows if we wanted a lesson and volunteered to meet us around 6, I was excited. Bettine is an interesting woman: She’s extremely cheerful and supportive, happy to the extent of seeming to be in her own world, and has a thing for playing her flute to animals. She certainly has her own thing going on, but has an incredible flute sound and lovely personality. She gave Ben and I an hour long flute lesson, sharing exercises and experiences, gave us one of her CD’s, and then spent some time showing us pictures of all her animals, including a pig she named Harry Trotter. Anyway, it was a really nice gesture and very much appreciated by Ben and me.
That night was a big band set, nothing too exciting to write about there.
Oh, I should mention though that I got my roommate today. Yeah, the single room didn’t last as long as I’d have hoped but this new guy is 41, from Atlanta (though lived in Chicago for years), is a great player and seems to be really interesting. I know he’s really into Tai Bo and studying Ancient Egyptian writing. I’m sure there’s way more to him and am somewhat disappointed I only have a week to pull it out of him. But there shouldn’t be any problems regarding the living situation between now and the 6th, thankfully. Have a great one!