Anarchy that Works

After three lovely days and nights in Naples it's back to normality. It was a delightful and thoughtful birthday present from Jan.

We stayed at the Royal Continental on the seafront overlooking the bay of Naples and the Castel dell'Ovo. The picture above is the view from our bedroom. What had been overlooked was, like other European nations, it was the Mayday Weekend so the place was very, very lively. No problem. You don't go to Naples and expect it to be quiet or particularly relaxing.

I like driving but the drive from the airport to the hotel was uncomfortable and very frightening. Large sections of roads were cobbled and travelling at 70 mph 6 inches from the car in front and weaving between lanes is not my idea of fun. But we arrived safely. As Jan said 'he obviously knows what he's doing so leave it up to him'. Easier said than done.

The hotel was very good with great staff and good food. I speak Italian using the type of slang that they are used to in that part of the world so that helped and made the staff just a tad more helpful. I said I wanted to eat pizza, no problem said a waiter, turn right out of the hotel and go to Antonio Antonio but go to the second such named restaurant not the first. He obviously knew what he was talking about. The food was excellent and we ate there three times.

The hotel breakfast layout was huge and offered fresh ricotta a favourite with Jan, so she was very happy.
We taxied up to the centro storico (the old part of town) to see the duomo. What a magnificent high altar. So much art at every turn. Fabulous.
Then we wandered down a street that sells christmas nativity stuff all year round. Weird. I remember going there with my uncle Nino about 50 years ago. It brought back nice memories.

The taxi ride back to the hotel was just as fraught, the mixture of cars and bikes is horrendous but it just seems to work. Lots of cars do however have dents and scratches. Ignoring red lights is obligatory!

The next day was interesting. I want to do two things said the boss. There's a Sephora in town (a shop that sells makeup) which Jan happens to like. So we set off to find it but not before we crossed the Piazza Plebescito and thousands of union demonstrators. Remember it's May Day. Jan particularly like being frisked by the police at the barricades before we could move forward.

Having spent 20 euros on makeup we then battled against thousands of people travelling in the opposite direction to find the funicular up to Vomero. A posher and slightly quieter part of town.

Now forgive me but my idea of a funicular is a steep railway that gives you spectacular views not something that travels underground. But so be it.

It was definitely quieter up there and we wandered slowly looking for somewhere to eat. By chance we found it, Acunzo, but the gaggle of folks outside did not bode well. Have you booked he said (we didn't know the place existed) OK come back at 2 so we did. Have you booked he said, no you said come back at 2. Oh yes I remember wait there. 30 minutes later we were seated to a wonderful round of applause by the still waiting throng outside. My pasta was excellent and Jan said that her pizza was even better than Antonio Antonio. Success.

The taxi back to the airport the next day was eventful. The driver's phone rang and needless to say he answered it. The caller asked if he was OK and he said everything was fine. He then started to explain that it was his daughter checking up on him and he showed us her picture. He told us that his wife had just died and that she was checking that he was OK. He was very old so it was definitely possible but if it was a scam to get a bigger tip it was a brilliant ruse. He got a big tip.

The airport is way too small for the number of travellers. However where else would you see leather arm chairs and sofas? A first for me. If you ever pass through this airport you must shop at Garafolo which sells the freshest buffalo mozzarella and other similar excellent products.

A great few days. Thank you Jan.