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Saturday, August 27, 2022
We thought that we were flying out of Dulles but a couple days before our flight we realized that it was actually Reagan. Good catch! Going to the wrong airport would have been a disaster. We boarded our flight around 10:30 am and touched down about 90 minutes later in Charlotte, NC. Why Charlotte? Apparently you can’t get a direct flight to Rome on American Airlines from any of Washington, DC’s three major airports but you can get one from Charlotte, NC. Worse yet you can’t get a flight to Naples at all. Now you know why, in spite of their insipid nickel and diming, the airlines are always losing money.
After a four hour layover we were once again on our way. We left Charlotte around 4:30 pm and would arrive in Rome around 7:30 am the next day. Because we would be sleeping on the airplane we decided to treat ourselves and upgrade to first class. Our 777 had individual pods that were equipped with every gadget you could think of and a seat that could be set anywhere from fully upright to completely flat for sleeping. It turned out to be a very pleasant flight.
Once in Rome we breezed through immigration. We scanned our passports and, after a brief wait in line to get our passports stamped, we were off to collect our luggage. No paperwork. We liked that. With our luggage in hand and nothing to declare we just waltzed through customs and wended our way to another terminal where we bought tickets for the express train to Naples. We decided to wait about 90 minutes for the next express rather than be bothered making connections. Ironically the express to Naples takes a slow path North to Rome’s Termini Station before heading South on the high speed rails to Naples. The trip to Rome took about an hour and 15 minutes. The trip from Rome to Naples took about 45 minutes. Go figure.
We had a little confusion leaving Napoli Centrale Station. Our host told us he hired a cab to meet us and even told us at one point that it was just four minutes out. Somewhere along the way the plans changed but the gist of it must have gotten lost in translation because our host actually wound up meeting us in a private car. It took us a while to realize this and then to find his car. In the end it all turned out well.
When we arrived we dropped off our bags and went for some lunch. We had to kill a couple of hours because the cleaning lady was still at the apartment. It gave us an excuse to try one of Naples most famous dishes: pizza! Our pizza was made with fresh San Marzano tomatoes and lots of fruity olive oil. Even the smell was intoxicating. We intend to sample as many different implementations as our one month in Naples will allow.
Neapolitan pizza as we know it came into being in Naples sometime in June of 1898. A chef named Raffaele Esposito created the dish in honor of unification of Italy and its new Queen Margherita of Savoy. The pizza’s ingredients reflected the three colors of Italy’s flag: Red (tomatoes), White (mozzarella cheese), and Green (basil). It’s been a tradition ever since.
Back at our apartment we found a few problems. The WiFi wasn’t working, the air conditioner in the kitchen wasn’t working, the water pressure and temperature in the shower varied every 30 seconds, and, based on something our host had said, we weren’t sure that the washing machine worked. We communicated our concerns to our host and he came over within the hour. He immediately fixed the WiFi issue (the cleaning lady had accidentally turned off the router), and promised to take swift action on the other issues. We have high hopes that every will work out well.
Sunday, August 28, 2022
We were a little tired from our trip so we just walked around the neighborhood a little to get our bearings. We’re in a great location. We’re close to just about everything. Of course, like so many cities in Italy it is rather hilly here. Given the warm weather we’re going to have to take it a little on the slow side until we’re acclimated.
Monday, August 29, 2022
Naples is a labyrinth of very narrow, winding, hilly streets filled with cars, scooters, and pedestrians all vying for the right of way. It keeps you on your toes. We did some more exploring today. We found Via Toledo, the main shopping district, and walked along some narrow alleys where we found street food, restaurants, bakeries, and all sorts of interesting stuff. Because of the heat we stopped to get some granitas along the way. They are like the Icees you can get in 7-11. Of course these come in all sorts of interesting flavors. We tried the Amareno (cherry) and the Limoni (lemon). Naples is famous for its very large and fruity lemons. In fact, this is where Lemoncello originates from. We also stopped to get another treat that originated in Naples: sfogliatelle. In the US they’re often called Elephant Ears. You’ll have to look up how to pronounce the name properly. Ours was stuffed with Nutella, another Italian creation but one comes from the Northern Italian city of Piedmont.
Another street vendor had eggplant fritters sprinkled with good sea salt. They also sold fresh shrimp and calamari but it was just too hot to eat a lot.
It’s worth noting that many Italian specialities can be / have been imported into the US. In general imported Italian foods are not nearly as good as the versions you can get here in Italy (like Nutella). Why? Between the US regulations and the longer shelf life required by Americans many imported foods are corrupted with things like preservatives and palm oil. Many times wines and cheeses imported from Italy aren’t even worth consuming. It’s very disappointing.
Tuesday, August 30, 2022
Our host was coming early to fix something in the apartment so we went out to breakfast. Apparently the restaurant’s chef was still at home sleeping so they were only serving Italian breakfast (re: Continental style foods). We ordered two cappuccini and two croissants. One was filled with pistachio cream and the other with sweet cream. Italians like to take nuts, grind them really fine, add lots of sugar, and infuse them with cream, oil and flavorings until it becomes a spreadable paste (like Nutella). They’re absolutely delicious. We particularly like the pistacchio (pistachio) and the nocciola (hazelnut). The croissants themselves were ok but no one would confuse them with the variety you’d get in France. These seemed almost to be made out of pizza dough and were not buttery or flakey.
After breakfast we went grocery shopping. That might not sound exciting but it was a blast. It’s like a scavenger hunt and it’s fun trying to communicate in Italian. Remember to bring your reusable bags. At the deli counter we found fresh bread, fresh ricotta and scamorza affumicato. Scamorza is a soft cheese with a mild flavor that is perfect for melting in things like omelettes. This version, affumicato, means it was smoked. It gives the cheese a wonderful flavor. We’ve been eating it for years but it’s hard to find in the States. We also found pre-made breaded chicken cutlets. We ate a lot of those the last time we were in Rome. We just had to buy them for old times sake. They are particularly good when you smother them in really good pesto sauce.
We also stopped by a nearby salumeria and got some prosciutto, pistachio cream, and buffalo mozzarella. Unlike in the U.S. they really have buffalo here in Italy and mozzarella cheese made from their milk is a delicacy. We had a fabulous lunch and dinner in the apartment and started watching Locke and Key on Netflix. We tried watching Amazon Prime but the service is unavailable to US customers here in Europe.