Naples and Bologna

(Please ignore the bizarreness of tenses, I wrote this in several parts)
We haven't actually finished our day in Naples, but we're taking a break in the hotel, so I thought I'd get started. 
Yesterday, we arrived at the station, then walked to our hotel, nearby. We had an hour before dinner, so some of the group went out for a walk, coming back and saying that they felt uncomfortable here - like everyone was watching. I pretty much ignored these comments - they sounded like Sicily. We stand out - we're too blond/tall/accented/etc - and so we get a few stares. In Sicily, I've mostly gotten used to the stares, they don't bother me the same way they used to. I'm not sure the students from Sardinia had felt the same. 
We ate at the hotel, including champagne and a cake for the Japanese student's 18 birthday. We also had to say goodbye to our previous chaperone, he was returning to the north, and we'd be meeting our new chaperone in the afternoon. I'll admit, our chaperone was good. As long as we were on the train or with the guide at the right time, he let us do whatever we wanted. 
In the morning, we were on our own with the guide. So we saw the cathedral, the streets, underground Naples, and much more. We were also informed of how to drink coffee in the Napolitanan way - first cool water, the boiling hot coffee all in one shot. The guide told us that you can essentially play soccer in the underground city, but I felt a bit of claustrophobia inside the narrower tunnels - particularly when one of the pranksters blew out my candle (oh yes, we were using candles). We also saw photos and items from the war when people hid during the bombing. After the underground part, we saw a part of an old roman theatre. When the Spanish were in Naples, they told the citizens they couldn't build outside of the walls, so the people built up, covering up the old buildings. Some of the places we saw were being lived in as short ago as six years, others had been discovered just six months ago. 
Then time for some pizza (we're in Naples after all, the birthplace of pizza). Probably the best pizza margherita I've ever had, the crust chewy and flavourful, tomatoes so sweet, basil fresh and slightly peppery, lovely mozzarella. After our lunch, we saw the gallery, and several monuments. We said goodbye to our guide, who had been awesome, staying longer than he was originally booked for. We had time for a walk to the sea, before we met up with our new chaperone, a young woman from Trieste. 
Now we're back at the hotel, hanging out and avoiding the strong heat, so we'll be ready to go out again a little later on. 
I'll admit, I've been telling all my friends that Naples is just like Palermo, but that's not really true. It's dirtier - the garbage problem is evident. The driving is a combination of the north and the south - crazy like Palermo, but impatient like Milan. The people selling things on the street are more aggressive. It's a different feeling, perhaps because I don't know the city as well, but I don't feel as comfortable. The garbage problem is a real pity, because it should be an absolutely gorgeous city.  
Tonight we'll be finding souvenirs before dinner, then afterward finding a way to celebrate our friend's birthday. 
Well, I couldn't connect to the wifi in Naples so I'm tacking Bologna on the end of this:
Our last night in Naples, we stayed in, borrowing a guitar from the hotel, and hanging out in the lobby. The next day we left early for Bologna. The train stopped in Rome, so we spent the ride to Rome signing flags for each other. We said goodbye to Azmon in Rome, I cried. I was sad that we hadn't met each other sooner, that we (probably) won't meet each other again. 
The rest of us continued to Bologna. Bologna was hot. So hot.  We ate piadini, then met our guide. We saw the university, including a room where they performed autopsies to learn more about the human body, many other notable buildings, enjoying the architecture and style of the city. We then went to the two towers - one unfinished due to a lean - where we climbed the tower. Five hundred steps, worn and wooden, leading to a small space at the top where we enjoyed the panorama of the city. 
Then back down, when we had free time.  We got ice-cream from McDonalds (McFlurries here are so strange. I got "brownie" which meant dry brownie mix dumped on top of soft serve). We got souvenirs, then met up for coffee with the exchange student in Bologna. Then dinner, our last dinner all together. And then out. 
In the morning, I mixed up the time we had to get up so was ready early, so I simply harassed everyone into signing my book. Unfortunately, we had bus problems, so we ended up running to the station, so our goodbyes were brief (but tearful, in my case, I solidly established myself as the cryer). Six students went back to Venice, my train to Trento leaving a few minutes later, while another student went to Rome and the remaining three leaving from Bologna later in the day. Trains are inherently more romantic to me. You wait until they blow the whistle, walking through the carriage as it starts moving, watching out the window until the final wave. 
They were an amazing eleven days, with eleven amazing people. I will never forget how great it was. In the beginning, we didn't know each other well, our train rides were quiet, conversations more about simple topics. By the third day, we slept heads on each others shoulders, holding hands in long lines through the streets. I feel closer to these people than I do to many of my classmates. It was hard to leave, knowing we will likely never see each other again. 
But it's time to move on. My train is about to arrive in Trento where I'll be spending tonight. It already looks so much different, even with respect to Bologna. We've been riding through forest covered mountains, orchards - I've missed that.