San Carlo All'Arena

"Vedi Napoli e poi muori"

Rough translation "See Naples and die". There is nothing else worth seeing after a visit to Naples according to this old Italian proverb..

It is dirty, smelly and noisy. Not necessarily a criticism from me as I love cities and this is definitely a buzzing city. I really enjoyed the maze of narrow alleys and then when you reach the bay with its beautiful waters and the view of Vesuvius, it really is quite something.

We got the train from Pompeii to Naples as Maria's son had advised us that all the cars in Naples were round ;)

We massively underestimated the size of Naples and ended up walking 12 miles throughout the day. A lot of it in search of Piazza Plebiscito and the Pizza Fritta (fried pizza) that had been recommended to us. It didn't disappoint. They made it fresh in front of us. It had tomato, salami, buffalo ricotta and something else I can't remember, then fried in about 2 minutes. Piping hot and delicious, my mouth is watering at the thought!

After we found this treasure, we wandered to the bay and sat by the water, taking in the view and the Italian street style which appears to be popular in Naples.. very gansgta.

Luckily for my back which is suffering at the moment, Stuarts new found love of espressos means that we can stop often for a seat in one of the many cafes down the side streets. However, having seen on the news that 2 days previously 6 people were shot in a 24 hour period, it was a bit disconcerting hearing a loud bang to which a lady next to said "I don't like this at all" and quickly moved on. Convincing myself it was a balloon we stayed to finish our drinks and evidently lived to tell the tale.. Maybe we should take the proverb a little more literally!Meer informatie