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I’ve just read the Napoli section of Goethe’s ‘Italian Journey’

A look back (first published on 6 January 2016): Naples is not a ‘do-in-a-day-city’ – it’s a city with roots, a city that takes time, a city that feels like it might be time itself. Even Goethe lost his rhythm here.

thephraser's avatarThe Phraser

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (portrait by Stieler 1828)

There are names I heard at school that are still buried beneath teacher dust. Names I’ve never looked at again – unreachable, academic names.  Goethe was one of them.

Then, a few weeks ago, I bumped into him on the internet and I read his notes on Naples.  They were a happy find.

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I like the International Airport in Naples, Italy

A look back (first published 3.1.2016): I flew through this airport many times during our two years in Campania. On one of the last trips I managed to lose my passport somewhere in duty free, but found it later waiting for me at my departure gate.

thephraser's avatarThe Phraser

Aeroporto Internazionale di Napoli Early morning outside the Aeroporto Internazionale di Napoli.

Most airports I’ve met recently are soulless travel malls … apart from one – the Aeroporto Internazionale di Napoli.

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The haircut – Naples, Italy

The hair problem

The hair problem

The day arrives, a day that sends shivers through my toothbrush … it’s the day of the haircut.  This dreaded day I am in Naples, Italy and about to pay my first visit to one of the city’s hairdressers.

In a froth of toothpaste I imagine a salon crowded with suntanned, Latin loveliness … icy, manicured fingernails stab down my spine.

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