Today was another move day. Usual European breakfast in the garden patio and then back on the Vaporetto for 2 stops to the train station. The TrenItalia FrecciaRosso is a bullet train from Venice to Naples with quite a few stops but mostly in Venice, Florence, and Rome. Very smooth but 5 hours total travel time.
We did hit 298KM/hr but I didn't get the shot. Just at 291.
Once we got into the station we had to find our hotel. Google maps makes that ridiculously simple provided you can actually find the road. You'd think that would be simple but today was a little tougher due to construction and some sort of random taxi parking lot/stand.
Based on TripAdvisor reviews we knew our hotel's entrance was going to be a little sketchy. Just think walking down the downtown east side of Vancouver into some random small street. And that is where we are. So far our impression of Naples is that it's a bit of a shit hole. Again we knew this coming in but it still is a bit of an eye opener.
Here is the front gate to the building:
The inner courtyard we went into before we realized there were stairs up.
This is the courtyard after the gate entrance. 3 flights up some dark stairs was an oasis. You'd never believe it on the outside but the place (a B&B) is really nice. Friendly owner and the room is clean and beautiful. Tripadvisor reviews were correct. But I'd never recommend this place to a casual traveller.
The stairs and gate up:
The stairs and door to the actual B&B
We came to Napoli for three things, Mount Vesuvius, Pompeii and pizza. We are all fans of Neopolitan pizza. We frequent a couple places in Vancouver that are certified La Verra Pizza of Napoli. So we thought we should come here and see if it's true.
But first here are the official rules:
Rules of La Vera Pizza of Napoli
- Can only be cooked in wood burning pizza ovens.
- Crust has to be soft and light – the dough is made the day before it is used, allowing the yeast to rise for 10-15 hours.
- The pizzaiolo needs 2-3 years of apprenticeship learning the technique of dough stretching.
- Pizzerias that make traditional ‘verace’ (true) pizza are members of the Pizza Napoletana Association.
And yes the pizza was good. Very very good.
Margarita
Peperonata
And the Prosciutto Parma
We brought some gluten free pasta from home in case some restaurants didn't have any for Eric. Tonight was the first time in two weeks we've needed it. As well this is the first time our Duolingo app training in Italian was really necessary. Everyone is friendly but English is much more limited here than other places so far.