Tuesday, April 23, 2013

Giovanni


Giovanni was the hostel owner of Giovanni's Home where we stayed for four nights in Naples at the end of our Spring Break trip through Italy. He was the highlight of my time in Naples. Upon our arrival he gave us this huge spiel about Naples and what to do and the history of the city. He was born there and loves every square inch of it. 

The map he gave us was color coded with highlighted paths through the city. He showed us where not to go, where we have to go, and went above and beyond the normal duties of Hostel managers. He was so sweet and concerned for our well being. A very modest man, he has won loads of awards from Hostel World and Trip Adviser for his outstanding hostel and hospitality. For two years in a row he won "Best Hostel in the World" out of some 35,000 hostels listed on the site. The hostel is just some little converted apartment home in the center of the city, but that's not why he won, he won because he himself is awesome. 

One night he cooked the whole hostel a delicious pasta eggplant cheese meal, served wine, and entertained the crowd by playing guitar and harmonica. 

His smile is killer. He calls us his family and made it feel true. 

No comments:

Post a Comment