4 min read

A Non-Trip to the Museum: Following Some Random People on the Train in Naples

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This could have been a story about a visit to the National Archaeological Museum in Naples (Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Napoli). However, there had been some oversight on my part. Having forgotten to google its opening hours in advance, we had not realised that TUESDAY was the day that museums and galleries would be closed in Naples. So we could not go to the Museum. And there was nothing that could be done about it since we also were due to leave Naples the next day.

So this is what we did next. We went to the Metro station below the Museum…

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Stazione Museo Corridoio

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There was an interesting comprehensive list of things NOT to do on the escalator. Oh, no pointy umbrellas? And no bare feet allowed? BUT WHAT ABOUT MY BAREFOOTED CHARLIE CHAPLIN ESCALATOR DANCE EXPERIENCE? Hmmmmmm.

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Unfortunately, there was no english description or text explaining what we were looking at along the walls of the Metro entrance, so for now, I will simply describe this as the expression that one has when one has just been unexpectedly shat on by a pigeon. I guess I had a similar expression when I was suddenly shat on by a pigeon upon entering the Colosseum. Looks like I’m in good company with the ancients…

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There was also quite a bit of art in the Metro.
Again, sorry for lack of label due to lack of english description.

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Metronapoli to Piscinola (Linea 1)
Since we did not have a guide book or any other backup plan, whilst standing at the platform, we decided to follow some people on the train. We saw these two youngsters and thought it would be funny to see where they were going to, in the hopes that they would bring us somewhere exciting or at least different from what we had been seeing in Naples.

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The “Marks”

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The Mark’s right hand
There had been a delay, so the crowds for this train had begun to build up. Due to how packed the train was, we ended up standing too close for comfort to our two “Marks” so we decided we had to play it cool by not trailing them too closely later. The shorter of the two left the train much earlier, but we decided to continue on until the taller Mark decided to leave, which was at a station called “Rione Alto”. He took the lift before us, so we missed him at the surface, although we did glimpse him a little bit later…

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“DEAR GOD WHAT IS RIONE ALTO?”
It didn’t really matter to us that we had kinda lost our mark at the station, for when we got to the surface it became very clear to us what his purpose of travel had been for. He had been going home! It looks like our marks were going home after an afternoon out near the Museum and this was a deeply residential area of Naples. But that’s pretty cool too, because that’s where most people might live. I mean, not everyone is going to live in the historical district of Naples, and I guess this is part of the fabric of a more mundane daily life in Naples…

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More of Rione Alto

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Kitchen Gadgets for sale

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Toys for sale

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Monumental pasta for sale

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And so folks, in case you’ve had too much of all these historical/heritage posts,
this is what a normal day in a residential suburban part of Naples looks like….