Thursday October 29, 2015 – Naples, Italy

We wake at around 8 am and we are already docked.  We shower and head ashore right away.  There are two others ships in port with us.  A Crystal and Costa Ship.  The weather is overcast and it rained overnight and there are light showers right now but it looks promising and in fact it did get quite nice later.  We brought a light wind breaker that needed to be removed after a half hour cause it just was way too warm.

Today we are following Rick Steve’s two walking guides.  We start at Caffe Gambrinus where we order two cappuchinos and two sfogliatella (crispy scallop shell-shaped pastry filled with sweet ricotta cheese) and drink it at the bar.  This place is beautiful!

Now loaded with some sugar and caffeine we are ready to go.  Walking up Via Toledo we can’t stop looking everywhere, left, right, forward, up, left, right, forward, up repeat.  There are so many things to look at.  So Italian, just what you think of when you think of southern Italy.  We LOVE it. 

We walk all the way up to the Archaeological Museum – entrance was 13E each and you have to check any big bags (free locker) and we skip the audio guide and use Rick’s book as a guide of the sites.

This place is huge, it is quite muggy out and it isn’t very busy, a few school groups and tourist groups but that is not bad.  I sure would hate to see this on a busy summer day when it is really hot.

Now if you want to see ruins from Pompeii this is the place to go. 

Highlights are the Secret Room which contains erotic art from Pompeii.

yup these are in the Archeology Museum - the sex room - all from Pompeii

The Mosaics – especially the Battle of Alexander.

rather light crowds

We spent about an hour here in total and once outside we head back towards the old town going along back streets towards Piazza Gesu Nuovo and the stunning Church of Gesu Nuovo which is really nothing to look at from the outside, but boy it takes your breath away once inside.

 We enter the Sale Moscati who was a doctor (Giuseppe Moscati) who was famous for helping the poor.  In 1987 he was the first modern doctor to be canonized.  We touch his hand for good luck. 

Across the street is the Church of Santa Chiara but we don’t visit we are churched out and getting hungry.

 We wander down the many narrow streets again with our mouths handing open cause there is just so darn much to see.  After wandering for about a half hour we decide on a small pizzeria called Donna Sophia on Via Tribunali 89.  You can find them at www.pizzeriadonnasophia.it

Bernie order the Margharitta and I order the Toro pizza, we get two beers and can of coke and one water.  Everything was amazing, very very good and way too much food for us, we should of just split a pizza but I know Bernie loved it and finished every bite of his.  The total bill was 24 E – not bad.

We leave and find a little gelato place and we each get a cup – somehow we have room for that. 

Wandering some more we walk all the way back to Via Toledo and check out some of the shops but neither of us wants to buy anything so we just decide to head back to the ship.  We arrive back at 3:30 and we are tired. 

Overall we loved Naples, it has character, it is gritty and what I would call soul.  It isn’t all fancy and glamorous – but it’s people are what really make it.  Everyone seems to smoke, everyone seems to talk loudly and with their hands. 

But they are caring, proud, hard working people and I can relate to them.  We would definitely like to come back here someday.

Looks like we got back in just enough time cause as soon as we are in the cabin the clouds come in and the lightening and thunder hits and we are entertained with a light show in the sky.