The best pizza in the world

The first stop on our Western Mediterranean cruise (thanks Nomna & Papa) was none other than Napoli! We were all excited to not only get to eat the best pizza in the world in the place where pizza was invented, but we were also thrilled to tour the Amalfi Coast and visit the ancient ruins of Pompeii.

The day started early with our guide, Andrea, who had Julius Caesar curls of perfection, and Pietro, our driver, scooping us all up from the port. Our first stop after climbing 1.5 hours through windy, windy hills was at a small village called Agerola, a quaint cliffside perch just perfect for a few photos and to stretch our legs.

We then proceeded on to Amalfi where we got to do a little shopping and eat some amazing lemon sorbet that was absolutely to die for. The bright yellow hues of lemons filled the streets, in baskets on sidewalks, painted on silk scarves, and on linen dresses. We strolled through narrow medieval walkways and I even went into the Tyrrhenian Sea!

This was our first time to this region of Italy and it didn’t disappoint. I wish I could have rented a lounge chair and tucked into a good book, but when you’re in a cruise and you get a port day, you pack in as much as you possibly can, squeeze as much juice out of the lemon as possible.

We jumped back into our air conditioned sprinter van bound for a smaller town, Ravello. High atop another hill, this quaint town, once again took my breath away. The stone cobbled streets and the cute white church in the town’s one square felt like it was a painting come to life. Ravello is a musical town, hosting concerts high above the sea. We devoured our Luisa sandwiches (The Patriot & The Network) we grabbed in Amalfi with a few wild cats in the town square. Yes, that’s right, I said wild cats, and they are protected by the town, with signs making their protection official! The views and vibes reminded Joe and I of Santorini and now we want to go back to Greece, lol.

Did I fail to mention that the roads are all one lane? Did I also fail to mention that they hug the cliff the way Hwy 50 does when it drops you into the valley right after Sierra @ Tahoe? So, it’s pretty hilarious when traffic grinds to a stand still because a modern day Italian shepherd is moving his herd along the main road. It was quite the sight to see and definitely a first for all of us! (Video credit to Nonna)

After Ravello, we made our winding way back down the other side of the mountain bound for Pompeii. The kids were very excited to see the ruins as they had read about them beforehand. We met our expert historical guide, Titziana, at Pompeii and we were absolutely blown away by the ruins, how ahead of their time the early Romans were, and her knowledge as well.

We stepped first into the Gladiator School and saw on a much smaller scale, the games played in the Colosseum in Rome. It made me think of the movie, the Gladiator, and how Russell Crowe started out in smaller arenas far outside of the city, working his way up to the main event in the Colosseum. We saw a theater, Gus stood in what was a prepared food shop or also known as an ancient fast food restaurant, strolled along paved streets with raised stone crosswalks, walked around a sports club, stood in the center of justice, all of which were in the shadow of Mount Vesuvius. Absolutely incredible and such a huge city, way ahead of its time. Finally, we saw bodies which had been recreated from bones discovered by injecting them with liquid plaster to capture the size and position the body was in when the eruption occurred in 79 A.D. We watched modern day archaeologists dust and dig, as there is still 25% of the ruins that are yet to be discovered, absolutely amazing.

We wrapped up our very long day, full of new knowledge, a greater appreciation for history, enriched with exposure to new cities and sights, and beyond ready for the best pizza in the world! We sat down with large Aperol Spritz’s and eagerly awaited to have our minds blown by the pizza of all pizzas, Neapolitan Pizza – simple and delicious. We ate at La Antica Pizzeria da Michele. It absolutely did not disappoint with its ooey gooey mozzarella, charred crust, and perfect balance of red sauce and basil. It was to die for!