I want to start this article with a statement. Everyone's personal experiences are different, and this article is only going to be talking about mine. You cannot expect that every destination is going to be liked by the same people. I might be in love with one area, and my best friend might be disgusted. These personal experiences are what make or break a trip for you.
My family and I had decided to use Naples, Italy, as a regrouping area. We had a few days left in Italy and wanted to see the Amalfi Coast, Pompeii, and Mount Vesuvius. The tour groups we had booked started in Naples, so we decided to stay there overnight for the remainder of our trip.
My experience in Naples was not a positive one. We had trouble from the start. We got off the train at Naples Central Station, and my mother had accidentally left her medical CPAP machine on the train. My mom, who was distraught and panicking, was upset, and my father was trying to comfort her. My sister and I were standing in the train station, knowing that the possibility of getting it back was slim to none, but we were trying to be supportive and help coordinate how we could get it back with the employees of the station. A few hours later, we were still standing in the station, and the train had returned with my mother's medical machine in tow. We got it back, and the employees were more than helpful in the situation. I thought this event was a good omen for our time in Naples, but I was sadly mistaken.
We arrived at our hotel, which was known as a five-star hotel. We were able to check-in with no problem, and we brought all of our luggage to our room. The room was smaller but overall seemed fine. After about ten minutes, we realized that there were ants everywhere throughout this room. It was evident that there was an infestation within this room. We quickly gathered our luggage and moved it all back to the lobby to ask for another room. We explained the situation, and they moved our room with no issue and apologized for the inconvenience. Satisfied, we walked all of our luggage to the new space that had just been assigned to us. We enter through the door, and we realize this room was even smaller and only had two twin beds. That was another problem because there were four of us total. Irritated but still being pleasant mannered, my parents make their way back down to the lobby and explain the situation. The manager insisted there were enough beds in the room and gave us a little more pushback than from the first time. Eventually, we convinced the manager we needed another room, and he begrudgingly gave us a much larger one with four beds. Finally, we were able to relax after the train station situation and the rooming situation.
After relaxing for a little while, we decided to go out into the city and explore some. We grabbed our things and left the hotel, and started walking down the street. Immediately, after turning the corner from the hotel, we realized this area we were walking in seemed not to be the safest area to walk. We quickly found the subway and jumped on the metro to go downtown. As we sat in the seat waiting for our stop, this man stared at me and kept getting closer to me. I had noticed this as soon as we got onto the train, but I have learned to ignore uncomfortable people because it is better than to engage. I pretended not to see him. My mom and sister also noticed what was going on, and my mom wanted me to switch seats as he got closer and closer to me. I refused to change seats because I was used to being catcalled, witnessing inappropriate behavior from men in public, and being uncomfortable but not allowing it to show. I was used to this because I lived in a city where all of this happened regularly. As the man got closer and closer, it became evident he was trying to rub himself inappropriately near my arm. Luckily, I didn't have to endure the uncomfortable situation long because our stop arrived. I quickly stood and pushed past him as I exited the train. My sister and mom were horrified by what had happened. Overall, I wasn't going to let it affect my exploring for the day. We talked about it with my father, who had been not paying attention to the situation, and he listened to my mom, sister, and I talk about the encounter.
I can't even make this up... After the creepy train encounter, I thought that was the only uncomfortable situation I would have to deal with that day, but less than an hour later, my sister and I had another one.
My family and I were walking down a busy street in Naples when the second uncomfortable situation happened. My father was walking about 100 yards in front of my sister and me, while my mom was trailing behind us about 20-30 yards. If you looked at us on the street, we looked like we were in three different parties. I had noticed that this man had been approaching my sister and me on multiple occasions. Both of us had the crossbody safe from theft bags, but my thinking was, this man was about to try to pickpocket us. Pickpocketing is widely known as a crime throughout Italy, and tourists are always the number one target, so this incident was not unusual. My mom was watching him closely from behind us, and to this day, she thinks he was trying to snatch us, not pickpocket us. Since I was walking with my sister, I didn't have that initial thought, but I guess it was possible. This man who kept surrounding us seemed predatory and was waiting for his opportunity. I realized, after about a couple of minutes, that he did have a group of friends watching him from afar. It was not clear exactly what his intentions were. Either way, they weren't good intentioned or friendly. He must have gotten a little too close for my mom's liking because the next thing I know, she yells, "Leave them the f*** alone!" Anyone who knows my mom knows she does not swear in public, so this took my sister and me by surprise. The man quickly created space between us and himself and then trailed off over to his friends. My mom caught up to us, and we decided for the rest of our time in Naples, we would travel as a pack. Eventually, we caught up to our father, and he once again didn't know that anything had happened. We explained to him the situation, and we all decided that the exploring for the day was over, and we headed back to the hotel.
After this first day in Naples, I was uncomfortable with the city. I had traveled through most of Italy alone, but I would not recommend being a solo female traveler in Naples. Even in a group with my family, the events that had happened made me feel uneasy, and I was just grateful they were with me. If I were alone, I do not want to think about what might have happened or what situation I might have been in. All these events happened in broad daylight. As a collective, my family had no further interest in what Naples had to offer and used the city as a base camp for visiting other areas. I do not see myself going back to Naples again in the future. Those three experiences that happened within my first 24 hours in Naples were enough for me to solidify that this particular city was not for me.
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