Naples

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The city of Naples or Napoli has been described as scruffy, noisy, edgy, and chaotic, and today we experienced it all! One million people make the birthplace of pizza their home, while there are over 4 million in the area.

Lots of graffiti everywhere

Once we got our bearings, I guided us to Galleria Umberto for a cup of coffee! Yes, you heard me right! Gary encouraged me to navigate!

Bar Brasiliano
The coffee was so tiny

The dessert was pastry filled with ground nuts and citrus topped with crunchy meringue.

Galleria Umberto

The coffee shop was located inside this massive gorgeous shopping center.

Stunning walls and ceilings

I was happy to follow Gary as he led us to the main cathedral in the old town.

On our way, we noticed an increase in police presence!

Prepared!

We found out that a peaceful student demonstration was about to happen, and the police were onsite to make sure it stayed peaceful!

Although we didn’t understand what they were saying, they appeared to be marching in support of Palestine.

University area

We continued on to the Naples cathedral, being cautious every time we had to cross a street because scooters apparently don’t have to follow rules of the road, or so their drivers make it appear.

Here is a little glimpse of tame traffic
Prosciutto hanging in a butcher shop
Walk carefully on uneven street stones
“Helpful” local

I was watching for pickpockets as Gary and a local chatted. He directed us towards some delicious pizza for lunch and to the cathedral afterwards.

Antica Pizzeria De Figliole restaurant in the old town
Deep fried pizza with pork, friarelli, and provola filling

Friarelli is a bitter Italian leafy green, and provola is an aged mozzarella. It was quite tasty!

The restaurant’s WC had no toilet seat, so that was a bit of a challenge, but I was grateful to find one. 😊 Gary said he had no problem with it!😂

Naples Cathedral

We finally found the cathedral! The streets are so narrow and buildings are so tall that it was difficult to find! We actually found another huge church inside an apartment building.

The bones of St Gennaro, Patron saint of Naples
Cathedral
Floor
More cathedral flooring

Gary and I were saddened when we considered the amount of money it must have taken to create these cathedrals. Could the money have been used for better purposes? At what point did people stop worshiping Almighty God and start paying more attention to the church and its traditions? I leave you with that thought as we head toward Rome.

Street light base
Door handle

One response to “Naples”

  1. Doug Shaw Avatar
    Doug Shaw

    We loved Naples on this Statendam cruise. Vibrant and alive. The port is in a great spot. Traffic is another thing. The demonstrators sure backed it up.

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