Va Fa Napoli

Uno

"Eight

Nine

Ten!" The virtual instructor yelled encouraging shouts at us, while still executing every single exercise perfectly.

I heard a loud thud next to me and some panting, but kept focussing on the small screen in front of me. "Oh my fucking God. You are out of your mind!" That last comment was directed towards me. Rachel had let herself fall to the floor of the small gym in the hotel, attracting the attention of a few other people around us.

My laugh because of her dramatic utterances turned into a groan when I too hit the floor after my last ten push-ups. 

"Excellent work out guys!" The instructor said as soon as the music ended. This hell was finally over and slowly but surely my breathing started to get back to normal. That woman looked like she still had to begin at her workout. There was not even a drop of sweat on her forehead, while I lay on the floor panting for air. The hair I once neatly tucked into a ponytail now sticked up in all directions and my face was probably as red as a tomato.

Normally I wouldn't say something like this about my friends, but Rachel looked even worse than I did to be honest.

I burst out laughing when I saw the murderous look in Rachel's eyes. If looks could kill I'd be six feet underground now.

"I'm never doing this shit again. In one fell swoop all my interest in getting a slim and toned body is completely gone." She picked up her bottle of water and drank the whole thing in one gulp. "What's your secret? How do you not quit?" Rachel said, disbelief dripping from her tone.

"I'm not sure actually." I shrugged. "It takes some time to get used to, but it just became a habit I guess. Don't think it was easy for me when I began and it still isn't. I mean, look at my face." I pointed at myself, making Rachel chuckle.

We grabbed our stuff and took the elevator to our hotel room. I tried persuading Rachel to take the stairs, but she murmured something about being crippled and pulled me towards the elevators with all the strength she'd left.

Unfortunately it was our last night in Rome. The hotel was beautiful and the view even more so. I dreaded leaving this place, but the most important part of this journey had yet come to pass. Naples was our last stop and I'd looked forward to going there for a long time.

Before going out for dinner one last time in Rome, we took a refreshing swim to reduce the sourness in our muscles. Despite Rachel's protests at first, we decided not to go out tonight, so we could leave first thing in the morning.

~*~

"Quick, quick! Out!" The old man ushered all the passengers out of the bus, barely intelligible because of his strong Italian accent.

New tourists, on their way from Naples to Rome, forced their way into the bus, accidentally shoving each other and us. Rachel and I quickly made our way out and walked past our bus driver, who was now in a heated discussion with another bus driver.

I silently chuckled at their exaggerated gestures. I loved Italy. The sentiment in this country was amazing, the temperature perfect and the food delicious. Sadly culture wasn't Rachel's area of interest. She liked tanning, shopping, partying and most importantly men.

I stretched my sore muscles and picked up my suitcase. The nauseating air inside the buss had taken its toll on me and Rachel. After the first hour in that hell hole we agreed to never ever take the bus again. I yawned and dragged my suitcase through the crowd of people in a half-sleeping state.

As I breathed in the fresh air, I felt so much better than before. The bus dropped us off at the port of Naples, so there was a light ocean breeze that ran through my hair. The city was located halfway between two volcanic areas, which where clearly visible now. On the outskirts of Naples green hills began. A lot of locals went there if they wanted to escape from the busy city life.