Naples , in Italy that is...

I KNOW. It's been 3 months since i came back from Italy and i am still doing a post on this? Well truth be the fact that i have not been eating out a lot lately. What with a Flu Version 2.0 running *sniff*  - taste buds are so off.  However, digging in my old stack of photos i came across the Naples photos which i have not done up yet.

I must say of all the towns i went to in Italy, this place is not one of my favorite. Naples is an industrial city facing the port. Naturally, it will have all the features of being an industrial city. No disrespect to the people who stay there but this is just in my opinion. After all, one does have one's favorite cities and all.  The town itself is bustling, busy hectic. Try crossing the area near the city bus stop ... i was a bit perplexed that there were so many people just cluttered in that area - how are you all going to move?? Cars coming in all directions and people all mulling around.  Oh yeah, this is the place famous for the laundry hanging between the buildings ... but sadly i didn't get to see this

As with all old cities,  there is an invisible split between the working class and the elite. Okay, i like Elite area better!! :).  Actually it is not called Elite, they call it "Old Quarters" here...  and this is more on the hills of Naples up a very winding and tight road to the Old quarters - unfortunately the ROAD was so winding and tight - bus driver could not stop to take photos for us. But ... so you can imagine, take a look @ the picture below:



I shot this while waiting for the whole bus to go for a pit stop in the red awning building. The buildings behinds are the start of the old quarters. Pretty ain't it? One thing i like about Italy is most of the houses on the coast have FANTASTIC view.  All are perched on a high position allowing great views, cooling breeze + great exercise walking up and down ( sorry, there ain't no lifts in most of this building )

Which brings to the fact, now i am in the middle of the old and newer quarters. And close the port, I remember reading about this some where, that there are plenny of cats in the port. Boy there was plenty. About 30-40 cats were sitting on the pier. Waiting for scraps from the fishermanships. I don't find that odd but what i find odd is... everyone looks like the same color.


Is it me or what but everyone is creepily alike in color and pattern? And they are huge - about the size of a small dog. Let it be known that if you don't like the smell of cat Poo, please don't wander around here. :)

After wandering around the pier, i decided to check out the toilets, but decided against it as it was small and dark in the red awning shop, so i started hanging around their dessert counter... Hmm, everywhere in Italy, their dessert counters are fully stocked.

Pity i had breakfast already, otherwise I will be saying, " I'll have a bit of this, this, this and that".  KTXBai.

That day's tour included a round city trip of Napoli - which we went to Bourbon Place in the city, but in front of the Bourbon palace ( no relation to the drink ) is this big empty place with a building known as the Piazza Del Plebistico.  I kinda stitched this together... some how or rather, in Italy, my eyes were a bit off balance so everything is like " Senget " - and i have not even been to the Leaning tower Yet! I waited like 5 MINUTES before i could get a shot below without tourists, and also people walking by. But... we are not going in the building below. We are going to the  building on the opposite. The Bourbon Place.


This dog was funny, decided to park itself in front of our tour group to listen to the "story-telling". Behind me my dad was going "dun touch the dog! Later you will itch!" Sorry, have this bad habit of  touching dogs everywhere!

So, we ventured into the palace for a tour of the place ( and of course go toilet ) - i can only say one thing about the place. Opulent. And people a long time ago, really know how to live it up.

This the main staircase after arriving in the front door. Mind you, there are 2 staircases, one on the left and right. All made from Italian marble... from top to bottom. And the amount of details actually are stunning. It's amazing with little tools of that period, they are able to come up with such master pieces. Here are some collages from the internal of the place. Now i understand why some people like the Renaisance style of furniture. Though personally i thought it was a bit over the top if my house looked like the above. ...

One thing good about the place, they will allow you to take pictures inside the palace. So snap away and flash is required in certain areas.

After all that walking - about 2 hours here, it's time for lunch! And to my horror - it was Pizza. I know, in Italy we should eat pizza but not 2 days in row and the whole pizza. *horror* However, you cannot say no to pizza when in Naples as it is the original place where pizza neopolitana comes from! We went to the "old quarters" ( yeah the classy area ! ) to have our lunch in this restaurant that does not seem to have waitress. Rather surly looking men served me lunch... maybe it is just this area but I thought at least smile at us while serving us? :P

Thankfully lunch was only pizza and salad and soup, anything more, i would have popped.  I skipped to soup picture as it was starting to look like an Exxon mobile oil spill- it was tasty though but really a lot of oil floating up on the top that, it wouldn't look that appetizing. So i am heading STRAIGHT to the pizza pictures... They served us simple Napolitana pizza with artichokes! It's my favorite veggie for some reason.

And plenny of it as well as well as some olives, sausages ( yummy ) and a nice crusty .. mozerella. Frankly i cannot get enough of this cheese, there is something so appealing about fresh, round mozzeralla cooked on the pizza. Which explains why i put on a kg or 2 after my italy trip. I found this pizza not bad. I like the fresh tomato sauce as it goes very well with the creamy cheese. However, again, this pizza was not finished by most people in my tour group. The rim was a bit tough on the older folks who enjoyed the center but not the outside - and here's the creative ways some of them ate their pizza!

... Actually, this is my dad's plate of pizza - his false teeth can't handle the rims of the pizza so he eats the inside of the pizza only.

I give the pizza a 4 out of 5 as it taste better than the ones in malaysia. Though it took me 3 months to over come my jelakness of eating pizza. 

Those who happen to travel to Napoli, can check out the restaurant below

TOTOSAPORE,
Napoli- Via Vetriera,
13/14 (Via de mille )
Tel: 081.2525040
www.totosapore.eu. ( they even have a weblink )

Next stop - my mostest, favourite place in Italy: Siena.