Adventures in the South of Italy Part I

Last weekend, Endira and I had a whirlwind trip down South.  We stopped in Naples, Sorrento, Positano and Amalfi during the course of Saturday and Sunday. It was crazy and lots of fun too.
On Saturday we took the slow train (3 hours) at 8:14am. If you ever take one of these cheap but long trains in Rome (or from any of the capo linea, the journey starting point) get on the train EARLY or else you run the risk of standing the majority of the journey.  We planted ourselves in the corridor by the steps and had to keep getting up and down whenever the exit was on our side for the various local stops. It was a long trip but we read our books and had a lot of laughs.
However, when we got to Naples, at around 11am I was just a little out of it (that's what happens
when you stay out late the night before an early morning trip) and I thought it was already noon and therefore time for pizza.  This also just proves that I can't do math.  3 hours on a strain starting at 8, what time do you arrive? Alissa's stomach says noon.

I was insistent on getting this pizza.
Best pizza, but remember it's closed on
Sundays!

And I was quite gung ho about getting my Neapolitan pizza fix so we took a walk and figured out that Da Michele, the best pizza EVER was closed until noon.  So one random conversation with a Neapolitan later (note: they'll try speaking to you even if you don't know Neapolitan. A lot of Neapolitans are wonderful, hilarious people, some are crooks trying to con you into something... soo proceed with caution) we decided to go for a walk and see the churches in the area and get a coffee.  I needed an energy upper and Naples is known for its coffee.

beautiful shakerato

It's known for 2 things Pizza and Espresso.  Their espresso is strong and sweet and pretty amazing (other Italians will say their coffee is better but I'm partial to Neapolitan espresso).  We stopped at a cute coffee shop on the corner and sat outside in the warm sun.  We each decided to get a Shakerato which is a type of ice coffee. In Florence it was quite thin and smooth, basically regular espresso, milk and liquid sugar, shaken with ice (hence the name) and served cold.  In Naples at this caffe it was like melted ice cream made tiwh the best espresso in the world. It was delicious and creamy, but incredibly strong.  Stir it periodically!  Otherwise at the end you're going to get a mouthful of super strong espresso that you weren't expecting.  It was refreshing and quite energizing but a little messy.  I would definitely get it again.
Then we stopped into the Duomo for a beautiful peek and after we kept walking for a while.  We found a photo exhibit and a man raising money for a library so that the kids in the neighborhood would ahve a place to study.  He was lovely and the project was a beautiful idea, especially since he's doing it in honor of his 14 year old daughter who was killed by the Gamorah (Neapolitan mafia) a few years ago.  The school down the block is named after her. He's doing a wonderful job keeping her memory alive and positive.  He was a lovely man with a positive message and spirit.  He's also collecting books for the library in any language, so if you want, you can send books for the beautiful cause (I'll add in the address tomorrow).
He also gave us a nearby restaurant recommendation that I'll have to look into next time because I was utterly fixated on getting pizza from Da Michele again, so we went there next.
We got there at noon and there was already a line at the door so I cut to the front to see what was going on.  I wanted to get our pizzas to go so I figured that there was no hurt in trying and well, it cutting the line definitely paid off for us with quick pizzas but more on that in a minute.
Apparently, Da Michele's had been robbed the night before!!The crooks had broken in from below and ruined the bathroom in the process which is why the restaurant still wasn't seating anyone.  I really hope that the crooks get caught and that they didn't get any money.  The sweet, amazing people working that way didn't seem too concerned right then, which makes me think that it probably isn't the first break in that they've faced.

In any case, they couldn't seat anyone who wanted to sit and eat but since we wanted to take ours as takeaway we were in luck.  I asked the man at the counter and he was very sweet and told the guys by the kiln to make us some pizzas. And we got to watch them making our pizza which was excellent.  The older men were amazingly quick and then the pizza was ready very quickly as well.

We got traditional margarita pizzas. Da Michele's only serves 3 kinds Marinara (no cheese), Margarita (the traditional Neapolitan pie) and Doppio Margarita (with double the mozzarella).
Our pizzas were amazing, especially since they were the very first made that day!
They were delicious with the perfect crust and a wonderful balance of sauce and cheese, with just the right amount of basil.

If you ever have a chance to pass through Naples, I highly recomment Da Michele.  I also recommend you explore the rest of the city because although it's quite nitty gritty and the city is highly underrated, in reality it's a gorgeous city with lots to see (the coast, castel d'uovo, spaccanapoli, the archaeological museum just to name a few) but do be aware of your belongings because there are some shady characters roaming amongst the friendly.
After eating our pizza in the piazza by the train station, we got onto the circovesuviano for 1 hour and 15 minutes of hot stuffy train to Sorrento....
That being said it was TOTALLY worth it.

Want to read more about my adventures down south?
Part II here
Part III here