9: Wedding Guest

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The train ride was a very memorable part of the day, being seated and making friends (mostly Moussa) with two little Italian girls. We played rock, paper, scissors for a while, then they started asking us questions, then teaching us, and then went on to disciplining us when we did something wrong. It’s clear that Italian education is strict and does not condone silliness. We got a locker and started wandering in Naples.

We went to the Duomo, which was amazing, and somehow got there while a wedding was happening, and it is now the first wedding I have attended! At the pizza place!! I got the decumani pizza, which was an insane everything pizza with like three kinds of cheese. My favorite was all the fried zucchini and eggplant. I am so grateful that pizza was invented, thank you, Naples.

We then went to the archaeological museum. In this museum, we saw another sculpture of Artemis, and it was interesting to see how she is a recurring sculpture, emphasizing the importance of animals and life. This contrasts with the many statues and images of Romans killing and sacrificing animals. I am not sure if it’s because the role of women was to nurture instead of fight, or because they did see the importance of animals, hence the reason for their sacrifice to the Gods. In any case, the contrast is definitely there.

Jessica and I wandered around Naples, visiting some book markets, and then sat with Mazzy and Elena for a fun drink. I got a banana milk one. I have a love for trying new and weird things, but also my favorite artificial flavor is banana, so it was great. Saw a cute cat on the way back to the station, took the train, and arrived at the hotel, where we had a delicious dinner and went to sleep, excited for the following day.

5 responses to “9: Wedding Guest ”

moussatonicisse

June 19, 2025

Great post!

I had a great time interacting with others on this trip. The two little babies were so sweet, and we had fun playing rock, paper, and scissors. I think the coolest part was when they came and acted like schoolteachers with rulers. I never experienced this, and Prof. Yarrow pointed to how maybe the school systems here are vastly different–discipline wise–then the ones in America.

I also went into that church and saw that there was a wedding. It was pretty cool!

–Moussa Toni Cisse

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jahmad

June 22, 2025

Hey Rachel, I too was in the church during this wedding and how fortunate I was to have experienced that. The train ride there made me realize that children around the world aren’t so different after all. What did you think about Naples cultural tempo in relation to Rome?

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Julia F 🌸

July 5, 2025

I also love artificial banana so now I’ll have to try that drink should I find myself in Naples again! I heard that some of you guys got to see a wedding happening, and isn’t that such a cool thing? Like, we’re in this country going in and out of churches to admire their beauty and history – but for the locals, these places are just an everyday part of their lives.

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isabelherrera79

July 6, 2025

I love the sculptures of Artemis and when I was there I was also really drawn to Athena sculptures as well. The wedding looked so beautiful, definitely want to get married in such a beautiful place. The food in Naples was amazing especially the pizza.

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nico :P

July 6, 2025

Artificial banana is also one of my favorite flavors! It’s also so funny that our class kept walking in on important events in churches. That pizza looks so good, I wish I’d gotten that instead lol.

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