in 1996 with my son on a bus tour on our way to Pompeii from Rome. It was a great if somewhat bizarre day and my big regrets are that we were in Pompeii for only a few hours and, worse, we barely saw Napoli at all.

From what little I saw, it is a gorgeous city, in one of the most beautiful settings imaginable. Guidebooks tend to be a bit discouraging about it, warning about crime and general grubbiness, but I can’t get the place out of my head.

Also I hear that the archaeological museum there is superb.

Anyway, someday I’m going to Napoli for real!