Napoli

You cannot help but feel alive in Napoli – the traffic, the noise, the garbage, the energy. You either love it or hate it, and we absolutely loved it! One of the world’s most misunderstood places, we had been warned to brace ourselves before our visit and I must say that I was completely charmed by it all. From the derelict churches and monuments, all spray painted and burnt out with vegetation growing from its roofs, to the dirty and winding alleys with colourful washing lines strung up above, Naples is infectious.

Of course, we loved the day we took a leisurely drive along the Amalfi coast, unable to take our eyes off the gorgeous towns and villages along its cliffs such as Sorrento, Positano and Amalfi. We sampled the roadside ‘granita’ stands with their limone wares of the most delicious fresh lemon ices. We went into the mountains and found the art and music oasis of Ravella, and spent a very hot but very very interesting day wandering the ruins of Pompeii with our trusty audio guides. But it is Napoli that for me deserved its own post.

Of all the quirky and amazing things that happened there, one story stands out for us. On a mission to track down what we had been told was the best pizza place in the whole city, an obvious must do in the birthplace of pizza, we found ourselves standing outside a very closed pizzeria shut down for the August holidays. As we were contemplating our next move, determined to watch someone stick a pizza margarita in an oven, a very elegantly dressed woman marched up to us and said with great authority, ‘Come with me, I’ll show you were the locals go’. With no arguments, especially after we found out she was Sicilian, she grabbed Gary by the arm and next thing we knew we were following her and her friend and their oversized designer shopping bags down alley after alley in search of the perfect pizza.

Just at the point where I started imagining that we were going to be the next storyline on an episode of ‘Banged Up Abroad’, we were led around the corner and confronted with a massive crowd of people pouring out onto the street in front of a traditional pizzeria and fritteria. This was a people watching opportunity with no equivalent, and we spent ages there gawking at the crowds queuing for croquettes, pizza and all sorts of other fired goodies, the dynamics at the pizzeria itself and the speed, agility and skill with which the margaritas were made. The smell alone was heaven itself!

And what to say of the Neapolitan? The people here have a unique attitude and stride which can only be called 'swagger'. The tight white t-shirts and very short skirts, the tanned and toned bodies with record amounts of gelled hair and thick eyeliner. Distinctive, passionate, absolutely crazy drivers ... Gary and I fit right in!