See Naples… again

It was twenty years or more since I’d last been to Naples, the city I spent a year in learning Italian. I remembered it for its ‘see Naples and die views’, it’s gleeful chaos and apparent anarchy and its enormous sense of fun – oh and it’s great food.

It was still the same in early April 2017, mostly. As we waited for a taxi in the queue- a fight broke out between a taxi driver and it wasn’t clear who else. There was lots of gesticulating and loud cursing but it wasn’t clear what for.  We got a taxi and the taxi driver ignored the fixed fee of €19 into town and told me it was €25. I was feeling indulgent and so let it go, I didn’t mind being taken advantage of once on this trip.  He hilariously cut through a petrol station to miss out 5 cars worth of a traffic jam- something I have always wanted to do, but not dared to.  We passed a traffic warden being yelled at by a car owner who thought he could shout his way out of a parking ticket, it looked like it was going to work. It seemed Naples hadn’t changed much.

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But it had. We stayed in the historic quarter- which was not somewhere foreigners or tourists hung out 20 years ago.  We were a few steps from Spaccanapoli, the old roman road that literally cuts through the old town like a knife. It was  real old Naples 20 years ago- where only Neapolitans went, to buy their ‘presepe’ nativity scenes and figurines from the many workshops that lined the streets- a real Neapolitan tradition. There were still a few shops selling them but the street was full of tourists sauntering between the bars and restaurants which lined the street.  We took full advantage of them too.  The street food was amazing – we had delicate croche di patate (potato croquettes) and arancini (fried rice balls) and fried polenta and delicious pizzette (deep fried mini calzone stuffed with ricotta). The tastiest came from the old pizzeria ‘da Michele’ which sells them from their shop window – we had them as a mid morning snack and then again later as we waited outside for a table upstairs. They cost 20 cents each and we washed them down with aperol spritz which we bought from a stall set up next to the restaurant- we found we were never far away from an aperol spritz in Naples.  We had the most phenomenal pizzas from da Michele and as many Italian pizzerias, it had bright lighting, was very noisy and was not atmospherically furnished, but buzzing and entertaining and incredibly good value (€5 for a pizza). The list of famous visitors starts with Bill Clinton on the menu cover!

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As we left we snatched a limoncello in a plastic cup from the aperol seller which we sipped as we meandered back along Spaccanapoli, stopping at the cafe for our teenagers to choose several dolci and gelati.  Neopolitan restaurants aren’t big on pudding so this is by far the best way to do it.

I can’t list all the restaurants we ate at in our 2 days there, but they were all fantastic. My favourite was lunch at Trattoria Castle d’Ovo down in the marina under Castel del Ovo. It was heaving with locals and we had to wait a while for a table outside in the gentle April sun. My, it was worth it. We had delicate deep fried baby octopus- which were the most tender and flavoursome I have ever eaten, we had the classic Neapolitan seafood salad and a pile of steamed clams and mussels to start.  The seafood paccheri (big flat pasta rings) was a mound of seafood in the freshest of tomato sauces and again the best I’ve ever had. We finished off with the freshest squid and octopus in a rich tomato sauce. As the sun went behind the restaurant the waiters skilfully moved our table to keep up with it so we were never in the shade.

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On top of the eating, drinking, wandering and shopping – we visited Naples museum only 3 minutes walk from our hotel.  We only wanted to see the Pompeii and Herculaneum exhibits and thought we would be there for an hour. Over two hours later we had to tear ourselves away, still not having finished.  The mosaics were unbelievably beautiful and well preserved, like paintings. The sculptures such as Pan so lifelike and the erotic collection very revealing and entertaining- I had no idea that penises were considered auspicious in Roman times, but it did explain why there were so many of them on show. Having visited the ruins of Pompeii it was enlightening to see how sophisticated and advanced the details of their dwellings really were. I wish I had seen the collection sooner it must be one of the most remarkable exhibitions in the world.

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As well as a trip to the Duomo – home to the bi annual miracle of the melting blood of San Gennaro we also visited the stunning statue of the veiled Christ in the chapel of Sansevero not far from Spaccanopli – it was as breathtakingly lifelike as I remembered it from my last visit two decades ago.  And we fitted in a Naples Underground tour of the ancient aqueducts, reservoirs and theatre, and not so old bomb-shelters, which was fascinating and fun.
We were only in Naples for 48 hours, but every minute of them was packed with good fun and great food, oh and the views are still to die for- with Vesuvius as the constant backdrop against the perfect bay of Naples. We left by aliscafo (hydrofoil) to go on to Sorrento – it was the best departure- cutting out across the bay under Vesuvius and past the many villages that hug its slopes in the glorious midday sun.

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Naples is an excellent city break in its own right or combines well with Sorrento, the Amalfi Coast, the islands of Ischia or Capri or even further afield destinations such as Rome or Sicily. probably at its best in Spring and Autumn the choice of hotels, including many in the old city, keeps improving. Contact us to talk about Naples, the Bay of Naples and Campania.

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