Today we ventured out of the marina which required traveling up this rollercoaster of a road:
I was very happy that Rafael would not be the one behind the wheel. Even though he's an excellent driver that has maneuvered dangerous roads like the Road to Hanna in Hawaii and "Los Picos de Europa" in Asturias, Spain, I felt that this particular little road was best left to the experienced Italians. The taxi driver went up without any trouble, even in spite of all the mopeds and motorcycles cutting in front of him both from the left and the right, or the pedestrians who had no fear of being squeezed on the rock when two cars attempted to cross each other on the very narrow road. Once we made it to the top, we were rewarded with this beautiful view of the marina below:
We drove to Naples and our first stop was the Duomo of San Gennaro, patron saint of Naples. Even though this is not an important Duomo when compared to the ones in Florence and Milan, it was simply "magnifico," like the Italians would say. The facade is breathtaking and the spacious interior is a mix of styles from Gothic to Baroque to Renaissance, and I felt in love with it in less than a second. The Duomo was built in the 14th century and it never ceases to amaze me how they were able to build such incredible structures with such limited resources. They have been able to withstand the test of time, including earthquakes and volcano eruptions.
I loved the story of San Gennaro. His dried blood is contained in two vials in the main altar:
Three times a year, on important anniversaries like his death, the Duomo gets filled to capacity to witness the Miracle of the Blood. On these three occasions, the blood liquefies, and legend has it that if it doesn't, a terrible event will occur soon after, such as the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius or their soccer team will lose the national championship. Beneath the altar, we visited the crypt, and prayed to the relics of San Gennaro, a few bones safely guarded in a crystal box for all to see.
Afterwards, we went to eat the very famous pizza napoletana, and of course, a gelato. We took this picture, right outside the pizzeria with a postcard view of Naples right behind us (plus the pedestrians that cut into our picture):
The views on the drive back to the boat were spectacular:
In the afternoon, Rafael and I decided to venture into Sorrento, not realizing that it was quite a walk to get to the center. We were mistakenly informed that it would take us 20 minutes by foot. It took 45, and the worst part was the heat. By the time we made it to Piazza Tasso, the main square, we were so sweaty and thirsty, we just collapsed into the nearest bar to drink a cold birre.
In Miami, you order a beer and they bring you a beer. In Italy, you order a birre and they bring you the birre and an assortment of snacks: peanuts, salty crackers, breadsticks, and the most delicious breads (sort of a mixture between pan de Bono and frituritas):
We must return to both Naples and Sorrento because we didn't get quite our fill of either place. This means that our itinerary is about to change, yet again.
At night we went back to Sorrento to eat at Ristorante il Buco, a Michelin star restaurant (our son Rafi will be proud since he is the biggest fan of Michelin star restaurants). It was simply amazing both in decor and food. It is built on the cellar of an old monastery:
I loved the contrast of the modern decor against the stone walls of the old cellar, especially those cute little pink lamps they had on all the tables, instead of the usual candles. But the best part was the food. Unfortunately, I made the mistake of filling up two hours earlier with the birre and all the snacks, so I was not as hungry as I usually am. All I had was a tiny polenta with ham (courtesy of the chef) and then I skipped the aperitivo, the primo piatto and the dolce. I just ordered the main course, secondo piatto. I opted for the warm terrine, slow-cooked pork with hazelnut and Annurca apple. Too bad I was not hungry because I had a bite of the aperitivo which consisted of steamed lobster with buffalo burrata cheese and it was to die for. Just writing about it makes my mouth water. I'm such a foodie.
I won't make the same mistake tomorrow when we go to Ristorante Don Alfonso 1890 which has two Michelin stars, so it's supposed to be even better. I can't imagine. I guess the 45 minute walk to Sorrento was a very good thing, otherwise I will return to Miami rolling.
Santa Maria, proteggi naviganti e conduttore. San Gennaro, pray for us.
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