Today Sarah was talking about a new Neapolitan Pizza place opening up in Dallas. Apparently restaurants have to meet certain requirements to get an official designation of genuine Neapolitan and there aren't many in the US. Of course, I had to boast about having eaten the genuine article in Naples while on our cruise. So, what better inspiration do I need to finally get some Mediterranean Cruise blogging done.
After a 1/2 day Pompeii tour in the heat Olivia, Frank and I were the only ones who spent the second 1/2 of the day in Naples. The others missed out on some great pizza. Following a guidebook we wandered past and then back to the little alleyway to find the restaurant "Brandi".
This is where Margherita pizza was born. The restaurant was asked to make 3 kinds of pizza for the visiting King Umberto and Queen Margherita. She liked the cheese one best and it was named in her honor - right there in that restaurant in 1889 and we ate it!!
The REAL stuff
(made with buffalo mozzarella)
Sadly, the rest of Naples did not have much to offer. It is a very neglected city which seems to have the same rich history as the rest of the country but it has been severely mismanaged. We visited a lovely square with a church designed in the style of the Pantheon in Rome. It was deserted and covered in grafitti.
Inside San Francesco di Paola in Naples
Inside the Pantheon in Rome
The walls outside the doors of the church
I hope someday the officials in Naples will find a way to clean things up and make the city more marketable to tourists. The pizza alone should be able to draw a big crowd!
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