Finding a place to stay in the centre of
Naples is definitely a must if you want to be close to everything and enjoy
walking through beautiful narrow streets. In fact Naples doesn’t cost a lot so
we stayed at the Bed & Breakfast Medea (Via San Biagio dei Librai 46),
where we could stroll around the center and still be close to where we spent
the night. We dropped our bags there and walked directly to Piazza del Gesù
Nuovo to admire one of my favourite Neapolitan spots. We were super hungry so
we headed nearby to the Pizzeria Giuliano - of course you can eat pizza there
but it is more known for the quality of its fried specialities. This place is
exactly what I was looking for: something that doesn’t look much but is a real
gem, where both regular Neapolitans and men wearing tailored suits walk in.
After we had a pizzella, a panino
napolitano and a calzone with ricotta for lunch, we somehow managed to
roll out of the place onto the Santa Chiara centre. The church was closed, but what mattered was the breath-taking view of the gardens and their
typical tiled columns, which gives the place an oriental/Barcelona feel to it.
It is a very peaceful place you can take some rest at.
Although Via Toledo is the typical
commercial corridor where you can find Zara and H&M and therefore of no
interest to us, we dived into the very modern metro station called Toledo. It
is no ordinary stop: there is the most beautiful blue mosaic I’ve ever seen,
stuck everywhere on the walls. I’ll let you gape in awe when you see the photo.
We then stopped at Municipio and strolled our way to the Umberto I gallery. I
have a thing for galleries, I can’t help visiting one when I arrive in a new
city (maybe because I feel overwhelmed by the structured architecture of the
façades each time everywhere I go). This one, even if there was some work in
progress inside, was very pleasant to walk in. We also wanted to taste the
famous pastry called sfogliatella and had been recommended a kind of little
truck called Mary Sfogliatella, where apparently you can have the best patries
in town. We eventually found it and ate the most delicious ones. You can try
the ‘riccia' one (crunchy) or the 'frolla' one (softer). Ps: I still can’t decide
which one I prefer. We had some coffee in the gallery, which was a big mistake
because we paid 3€ for an espresso! Next time: caffè al bar.
From there, we headed south to admire a
view on the Castel dell’Ovo. We crossed the Piazza del Plebiscito - if we
hadn’t grabbed a coffee an hour before, we would definitely have stopped at the
Gran Caffé Gambrinus! Opened in 1890, it has been receiving many members of European
royal families and great artists. We started to be pretty tired at that point
so we decided to get back to the Bed & Breakfast to chill for an hour
before going out for dinner. At around 9pm - not that we were particularly
hungry - we paid a visit to one of the best pizzerias in town: Sorbillo… Trick
if you’re travelling in pair: order one pizza margherita and one marinara, the
two basic pizzas (and the best in Naples) and share them in two pieces so that
each one can try both pizzas! They were basically the best of my life (until
the day after, but still).
Back in Naples we directly headed towards Da Michele, which is the
number 1 pizzeria in town. Its green and white tiles on the walls as well as
the tastiest pizza in the world make it unique - and the thing is, everyone
knows. It was 4pm when we arrived in front of the restaurant and we were
craving for pizza after so much time in the ruins, however the queue was
already very long. We took a ticket and waited around forty-five minutes before
they called our number and make us sit inside. You can choose the take-away
service which is a bit faster but in my opinion it is worth waiting to sit
inside and live the real experience next to other people. Have your own
Julia-Roberts-in-Eat-Pray-Love moment. We talked to an old couple from Brazil
and drooled altogether on our pizzas. The moment the tomato sauce and mozzarella
di buffala spread in my mouth was a great culinary moment. We actually wondered
how they make a simple margherita tastes so great (base, tomato sauce,
mozzarella). Conclusion: you simply cannot miss this spot when coming to
Naples. Accept to suffer in silence for the waiting: you won’t be disappointed.
The end of our Neapolitan trip was coming close, so after a visit
at the Duomo nearby we got back to the Bed & Breakfast where we had left
our bags and ordered some pastries (sfogliatelle) at Scaturchio, one of the
oldest bakeries of Naples. We had had breakfast there so we knew the quality of
its delicious pastries! We actually spent too long choosing pastries and were a
bit late to catch the train (we arrived two minutes before departure but we
caught it). An hour later, we were back in the Eternal city with many new
memories to remember. Obviously there are so many other things to visit in
Naples, for example the Palazzo Reale or the museum of archeology. From there
if you have some time, you could also decide to visit Capri, Ischia and
Procida. Although two days were enough to introduce us to Napoli.
All in all Naples is an incredible city; the atmosphere is unique,
just like the people, their warmth, and how can I not mention the food? The
culture, traditions and beauty of monuments make the capital of Campania
unforgettable in my opinion - if you like cities with strong personalities
you’ll love spending some time there!
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