The Backstreets of Naples

 

Was it Peter Sarstedt, who wrote the Backstreets of Naples, with the line, "Where did you go to my lovely?"? (Should that sentence have a double question mark? My father would have known.) I've been singing the song and asking that question of myself and about Celia as I've been wandering those backstreets, in what is one of the most fascinating cities in Europe.

The streets may be dirty, graffiti-strewn, covered in rubbish and blighted by parked cars, but they are alive. And at the moment that is important to me.

Call me boring, but I've just seen two working Heidelbergs. So now we know what happens to them! One I suspect was older than me!

But the shops are more interesting in a way than Florence or Venice as they sell different things, that may or may not be aimed at tourists like me. I have bought a few little presents of paper and clips, that I thought simple and sweet. They also fit into my limited luggage space!

In the middle of it all is the Duomo, which is magnificent in a light marble, with all of the usual art. But why oh why, do they have electric candles where you put money in a slot and a light goes on. Now that is really tacky and not worthy of the rest of the cathedral.

But I also bought a cappucino for a euro in a little cafe in those back streets. It was delicious.