Back to the Land of Pizza and Pasta

And of all places to find pizza, Naples is definitely the best spot. Naples was, unexpectedly, one of my favorite big cities. It seems that everyone is just too concerned about their own lives to care about the tourists. The pulse of the city was rapid, especially when we first tired crossing the busy and crowded roads with all our luggage. But I enjoyed it all. Unlike Rome, no one pestered me to buy things and most people I talked to in Italian were willing to hear me out (and help me!) instead of reverting to English and unpleasantness. And we took a packed full day trip to Pompeii and the Amalfi Coast town of Sorrento, home to limoncello! It's a locally produced lemon liqueur that we were able to try (along with licorice --yuck-- and orange) in the midst of their lemon and orange grove in the middle of town. Marshall also made a new friend with their dog, who refused to accept any lemon but the one he was holding, even when his owner, who served us our samples, tried to give him a fresh lemon. It was another free and entertaining experience with locals.

The first night in Naples I was in search of the folded pizza Rick Steves shows in his TV show of Naples. And I never saw a single one!! It was very disappointing, but I did get my brick-oven baked pizza, not in Naples, but in Sorrento at a recommended pizzeria. Since we would be arriving late in Naples, we didn't want to stick around after dark to eat (for all that I liked Naples I definitely wouldn't want to be out after dark), so we had to decide on one elsewhere. I ordered margherita, just fresh tomato and mozzarella with some fresh basil leaves, and Marshall found his dream pizza, marinara, with only tomato and oregano, no cheese at all. At least they were really delicious pizzas because the service was a bit lacking, apparently because we were Americans. I watched the Germans and English customers around us receiving considerably friendlier service, which really put a damper on our meal even with our (my) craving satisfied.

But some good gelato was a good mood booster, at Da Vide Gelateria, which had over twenty flavors! It was really an incredible lineup. We ordered the citrus bursting orange and lemon mix, 'frutti di bosco' or mixed fruit (literally fruit of the forest), and raspberry. Which were all great, refreshing flavors after our humid and boiling sun four hours at Pompeii. While Pompeii was obviously touristy, we arrived early enough that we could wander to the less touristed areas of the huge site and have it all to ourselves. Then, at the end, we stopped by the frequented tour spots like the House of the Faun, the baths, the Temple of Isis, and the brothel. But my favorite things to see there were the plaster molds made of the deceased victims of Pompeii. Archaeologists discovered hollows while digging and eventually realized those hollows were actually the outline of Pompeii's citizens who were covered in ash and were instantly burned away, leaving just the hollows that could be filled with plaster and could be removed to reveal a chilling replica of how the person looked just before he or she died. It was the most real part of the entire place to me.

And now off to bed before a busy museum hopping day in Florence tomorrow! Tuscany will have to wait. . .