Napoli . . .

May 6, 2012

I made a choice not to go ashore today per the advice of my friends. I hope this doesn’t offend any Neapolitans but I really didn’t get a lot of positive feedback on this port. First, I heard that this is the Italian port where less English is spoken than any other and the locals took umbrage if you didn’t try to speak Italian. Since my Italian is still very limited that just didn’t sound like fun. Second, I was told that there wasn’t much to see right near the port and it had the typical problems of any large, traffic congested city. So, continuing to perform my port triage I had loaded up today with a number of classes and other projects and commissioned this as another ‘heads down’ day.

As I spoke to others in the offices around me they seemed to share the approach. Several did say that they were going out for an hour, but just for lunch . . . only for lunch. They reminded me that Naples was the birthplace of Italian pizza and at some point I needed to eat here to let one of my staple foods return to its native roots. But after a busy morning, and with a 2:00pm class still on the agenda I had little time to eat so I went upstairs to the Ocean View Café so I could at least see Naples from the ship. It must have been a subliminally implanted behavior for when I went through the buffet I made the choice to grab a slice of the pizza of the day from our food selection. So, officially, I guess I can now say that I did eat pizza in Naples. So I could at least get a view of Naples I ate out on the open deck behind the restaurant, what Tim describes as ‘the garden.’

My first view was dramatic. The volcano, Mt. Etna, stands as a breathtaking backdrop for the city. I positioned myself at a table where I could consider its grandeur while I ate. When my eyes dropped down to the city, though, it was less impressive. While some of the architecture and the number of churches both intrigued me, everything seemed to be crowded far too close together and all share the same dusty patina. It really did not paint an appealing sight.

The next problem that I encountered was the wind. It is important to take into consideration that when I sit outside on Deck 14, it is the equivalent of sitting outside on the roof of a fourteen story building. There were rain showers in the area and the edge of the cells kicked up quite a gust. I watched first in alarm and then in amusement as first pieces of lettuce and then entire croutons began to lift off my plate and take flight. (Not to worry, I did remember our Save the Waves policy and tracked down every escaping bit of food.) Unfortunately, when my plate was finished and my gaze returned to the cityscape the view was no more inspiring than it was before my epicurean distraction. From that vantage point it was easy to return to work and lose myself in the fluorescent corridors of the ship until long after we sailed.

In fairness, I will need to give Napoli a real go some day.

And the adventure continues . . .