Soon all the furniture, including a piano, will be driven 2000 miles across Europe. Very soon I will be on a flight out of here, to start a new life in a city who’s unofficial motto is;

 

“See Naples and die”

 

And as the school year finally finishes, I am off to the airport. 

 

The weather leaving London is your typical grey, cold and wet July summer day, and I am wearing not only a jumper but also tights. As soon as we land in Naples, they open the plane doors and the intense heat immediately hits me. It is furiously hot. As I exit the plane I can see the heat waves coming off the runway, and instantly I realise that I am wearing totally the wrong things. 

 

When I get into the airport terminal my Dad is nowhere to be seen, (no change there then). No one is particularly bothered about him being late. Tannoy announcements are made and eventually he turns up. 

 

“It is so hot…” I say getting into the furnace that is his car. I am definitely not prepared for it being this hot, as I begin to sweat. I look in the mirror and my face is turning bright red, I am actually starting to melt. 

 

“It is so hot” I repeat. “Yep you are going to have to get used to it, it’s like this all summer.” My dad replies.

 

“Everyone clapped when we landed”, I tell my dad.

 

“Um, yes, you are going to have a bit of a culture shock too” he says as he throws my bags into the boot of the car.

 

“Right, here we go”.

 

As we drive away from Capodichino and on to the Tangenziale, I catch my first view of the city spreading out in front of us. I can see the bright blue sky, the sun glinting off the sea, the high-rise apartment blocks, the hills and, of course in the distance Mount Vesuvius. 

 

This is the complete opposite of where I have just come from, and what I have known up to this point. I feel a rush of excitement about what is going to happen next.  Straightway, I feel ready for the adventure. There is no way is this going to be a culture shock, this; this is going to be the making of me.