Napoli…again…only better…much better

September 24, 2023

We were scheduled to be in Sorrento today sailing around Capri, unsettled weather led our Captain to scrap our overnight in Sorrento …disappointed, but, oh well! We slept in, enjoyed breakfast on the balcony and set off to find a taxi to take us to a pizza restaurant that someone on the ship recommended. Napoli is the birthplace of pizza after all.

This pic was taken as we walked off the ship…looking over the waiting taxis. Cool castles in the background.

Just cannot have enough photos of this beautiful ship or this handsome man♥️

On occasion – not often (because I always like to have a plan) – we will walk off a ship and seek out a taxi to drive us about. Sometimes we’ll interview several drivers before we find a fit. Well, on this day …second driver was the charm. Pietro…Pietro…Pietro♥️♥️♥️ We told him the pizza restaurant that we wanted…he said “mamma mia” …(literally …mamma mia) “that’s ok…it’s not the best” …skeptical New Yorker that I am, I look up his recommendation… turns out it’s number two on a Condé Nast list, so we agree to place ourselves in Pietro’s hands. Pietro took us on a tour of his beloved city. First up a stop at a typical espresso bar.

Maradona is a god in Napoli…he played for Napoli from 1984-1991. He led the club to “Serie A” wins twice. When I say god…I’m not kidding…everywhere we ventured, there was an homage to Maradona.

Glass roof in a really old train station.

Because I’m old and did not take notes; I have no clue what this building is 😢. I just love the way it curves.

As he drove us through cool neighborhoods, Pietro narrated non stop. His passion for Napoli evident. He told us we needed to return for at least 4 days if we wanted to experience his city the right way.

This is the castle we saw from our ship. Yes, I know I could look up the name…but you’d only forget it too.

I could ask Timmy, but he’s in our stateroom napping, I’m out here on the veranda enjoying the glinting sun and sea breeze and trying to stay current with this blog.

We drove and stopped…drove and stopped …taking dozens of photos.

This was a cool square…the church is on the left.

Because we told Pietro that we were raised as Catholics, he stopped here and he told us to dip in the holy water for “you and your family”. This is the entrance to Gesu Nuovo Church (the New Jesus), some say it’s the most beautiful church in Naples.

It is a lovely church and we didn’t have the heart to tell Pietro that we are “recovering “ Catholics.

I took several photos of this fountain…you decide which one is more suitable.

Tried to capture the fountain without so many folks…hard to do on a Sunday.

Seems like every street was showing the colors

And yes! Another church… also important.

San Gennaro is very important to the people of Napoli. He’s credited with stopping the 1631 eruption of Mt. Vesuvius. Folks in Little Italy in New York City celebrate him in September with a week long festival.

It was a bit disconcerting seeing these folks

One of the oldest pizza restaurants in Napoli.

As we approached the restaurant we noted a very long line of folks waiting to purchase slices of pizza. Pietro stopped us and said “Follow me, just keep walking, don’t look at anyone…stay close”. Well, okay then. We walked into “foodie heaven”…you know I hate the word “foodie”…but there really is no other way to describe our experience at Dal Presidente. In 1994, Bill Clinton visited Famicilia di Caprio while attending an economic conference… the owner Massamiliano, was so honored that he renamed his restaurant.