Naples is the capital of the Italian region of Campania and the 3rd largest city in Italy in terms of population, behind only Roma and Milan. Naples proper has a population of ~909,000 people, and a metro area population of ~3.1 million people, although that figure has been on the decline in recent years. However, the UN projects that starting this year the population is expected to enter a new period of growth. So, the punchline is, Naples is a big city. Especially in the context of Italy. Honestly, I would have guessed that the population would be more than this. It feels quite overwhelming when you’re in the middle of it.
If you've been a reader for any amount of time, you probably know that I started this website when I moved to Hanoi, Vietnam to work as an English teacher. However, you might NOT know that Hanoi was actually the 2nd time I had lived internationally. The first time was my study abroad, during which I spent a semester living in Madrid, Spain.
This is the first installment of what is going to be a #ThrowBackThursday series. I'll be digging up some choice photos from my time in Europe, re-editing them, and sharing some thoughts and/or stories about each of the places I visited. So let's get to the good stuff!
I think that most people who visit Malta arrive suffering from an information deficit, because one of the first tourist attractions any local will tell you to see is a 45 minute movie explaining things. Indeed, at first glance, the Maltese capital city, Valletta, will leave you incredulous. I think that everybody who lives there knows that it requires some explanation. All that I kept thinking when I first arrived was "How did this place come to be and how do I know so little about it?" Well the movie answers those questions, and more. But for now, you'll just have to hear it from me!
