Wednesday, November 22, 2023
Port of Naples, Italy
Aboard the Enchanted
Princess
Room
Aloha 212
Sunny,
74—another gorgeous day
Mount
Vesuvius greeted us this morning, our view from the ship, only 13 ½ miles
away. When the volcano erupted in 79
A.D., the volcano killed the people who lived on the other side in Pompeii
and surrounding area. Aldo, our tour
guide for today, said he lives in the “red zone” and they often feel tremors. The volcano is still an active stratovolcano,
with the city of Naples and its 3 million residents. It is said that the city could be destroyed
in 2.5 minutes—that is why Vesuvius is one of the most studied volcanoes in the
world. Now we know.
Our tour today was a walking
tour of vibrant Naples with 15 of our closest new friends. We dodged
motorcycles, buses, taxis, and other pedestrians as we made our way past an
archeological excavation of a recently discovered Roman port, next to the Naples
port.
The medieval “New Castle,”
so named because there is an older one, was erected in 1279, is one of the
major architectural landmarks.
Our first destination was Royal Theater of Saint Charles, an opera house that opened in 1737 and is the oldest continuously active venue for opera in the world. It was the model for theaters later built in Europe, known for its size, structure, and antiquity.
Inside was a café
(Caffe Borbone) where we were treated to coffee AND sfogliatella. The tiny bit
of coffee was thick in the small cup, and we thought we were directed to pour the
carbonated water we were given into the cup—Big WOW. That is not a taste to
mix. I can drink the very strongest of coffee but adding that kind of water was
disastrous. Thankfully, the sfogliatella saved the morning!
The Caffe
Borbone was near the huge Piazza del Plebiscito, which opened in
1846. The plaza was full of young students, college students, tourists, and
residents. Tour Guide Aldo told us that on New Year’s Eve it is a great place
to celebrate.
We continued
our walk through narrow streets, still dodging motorcycles an pedestrians on
our way to our next restaurant, Sette passi a Chiaia. Sette was a small
restaurant, spotless, with risqué posters on the wall—think Italian bingo with
each number representing something unmentionable in this blog. (I suppose I
could mention one was the “B” word, but that word is mild compared to others).
But I digress. Aldo explained each course.
Sette passi a Chiaia (On Chiaia Street)
Aldo
explained that Naples is the birthplace of pizza and that Margharita is a
specialty. Fresh ingredients are
imperative. Pizza dough is never tossed.
One must use buffalo mozzarella from Naples—the buffalo (brought to the area by
Vikings) are raised on grass grown in the lava rich soil, that makes all the
difference.
Sign says birthplace of La Pizza Margherita
1889
After eating
the caprese salad, I sure could verify everything Aldo said, including that the
buffalo mozzarella was fresh this morning!! It was like butter only better.
Incredible.
Next was the
pizza Margharita, and we were each given half a pizza—we were also instructed
to fold a slice like a sandwich-that is the way to eat pizza. Wood fired oven
pizza—950F, 50 seconds! If only TK would
buy a wood fired oven for me!
Pizza Margharita
Leaving the
Sette, we trailed Aldo to our next stop and I was hoping we would make it
alive—narrow streets and motorcycles and cars make danger an every minute
thing. Our final food treat was gelato
made by a chocolate factory at Gay-Odin —another Wow!! Many chocolate choices, milk, dark,
tiramisu, and others. I opted for pistachio and salted pistachio (small dish—2
choices), and TK chose dark chocolate and salted pistachio.
Sign outside
I would love to try all that great food, do not need desserts, I would fill up on the good stuff, oh fresh cheeses and sauces just yummy. Be careful in Rome with the pickpockets.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the tour of Naples!
ReplyDelete