When one of our friends who works for a travel agency heard
we were going to Naples (Napoli to the Italians), he suggested we consider
staying in one of the small towns outside Naples and only venture into the city
proper if there was something we wanted to see. As another guidebook put it,
visitors to Naples need to keep a firm grasp on their wallets and cameras. But we
decided to stay in Naples, at a hotel next to Napoli Centrale train station,
purely for the convenience it offered. We figured we had enough common sense
(and fast enough legs) to keep us out of trouble.
When we stepped out of Napoli Centrale and onto the streets
of Naples proper, it didn’t look that different from some of the grittier parts
of New York City. It reminded Holly of where I used to live in downtown Los
Angeles, on Main Street just south of Gallery Row (I would have called that “up
and coming”, as opposed to “gritty”). One thing that you can’t help noticing,
is that Naples has a serious problem with trash, one that rivals some of the
cities I’ve seen in India and Southeast Asia. Early last year, the trash
problem got so bad that the Italian government had to send the army in to
clean it up (I suppose at some point, accumulated trash becomes a national
security issue?). Apparently that wasn’t the first time, and in 1994 the EU
even declared an environmental emergency in Naples (presumably
trash-related). In fact, several days later as we rode the train from Naples to
Florence, you could see mounds of trash sitting out in the open, just beyond
the city limits – something I’m used to seeing in the less developed parts of
Asia, but was quite surprised to see in western Europe.
But back to our first night in Naples. After checking in to
our hotel, we weren’t that hungry and the thought of exploring Naples right
away was a little daunting, so we settled on McDonald’s at Napoli Centrale for
a quick and easy dinner. Yes, that’s right. The Golden Arches in Naples, Italy.
This was perhaps the most memorable McDonald’s experience we’ve had in a while
(though Holly might claim that sitting down at an actual McCafe in Singapore
was more memorable). It’s clear that they played up the American connection:
“Miami Fries”, “Arizona Dream”, “Chicago Supreme”, etc. They even had a map of
the United States on their placemats (although according to the map, Miami
Fries come from Omaha—who knew!).
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| The United States according to McDonald's Italia. |
We had an order of Miami Fries (which are just seasoned, thick
steak fries), a Chicken Legend (fried chicken on a roll with lettuce and mayo),
an order of McNuggets, and a Mozzarillo (a burger with mozzarella cheese).
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| Miami Fries, meet the Chicken Legend. |
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| The Mozzarillo. You can make out part of the slice of mozzarella under the lettuce, I think. |
The food was marginally better than what you’d find at a
McDonald’s in the US, but compared to the rest of what we’d eaten in Greece and
Italy, definitely fast food. Although one thing definitely worth noting: THE
MCNUGGETS ARE MADE WITH REAL CHICKEN. Yes, you read that right. In fact, see
for yourself!
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| Ok, the detail isn't great, but hopefully you can actually see the texture of the meat itself. Trust me - real meat, not heavily processed (and texture-less) processed chicken. |
This kind of makes you wonder why the Italians (and presumably
the other Europeans) get to eat McNuggets made with real chicken meat, while
Americans get McNuggets made with, well, you know.
The food aside, dinner at McDonald’s that night also gifted
us with an interesting episode of people-watching; we sat at a counter against
the windows that looked out on the area just in front of the train station’s
main doors. During the course of our dinner, we observed a slightly skeevy
middle-aged man try to solicit a young, leggy blonde who was walking past him (she
ignored him and kept walking), and a fight almost break out between a drunk and
a young street tough (complete side note, if they ever look to cast a Jersey
Shore spin-off with an Italian cast, they should really consider casting in
Naples). They were separated by sober and more cool-headed mutual friends
(apparently a cultural universal – thankfully).
Naples was definitely proving itself to be a city with character! We finished
our dinner without further interruption, put on our “tough NYC don’t-mess-with-us”
faces, and briskly walked back to our hotel. We arrived safely, and before long
were tucked into bed for a good night’s sleep. What would daylight in Naples
reveal to us tomorrow?
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