N A P L E S

"Rome is stately and impressive; Florence is all beauty and enchantment; Genoa is picturesque; Venice is a dream city; but Naples is simply — fascinating."
– Lilian Whiting

This city, you guys. HOLY COW. Naples wasn't initially on our travel itinerary, but I am so glad we made time for it and spent a day here! It was unlike anywhere we'd ever been.
If I could describe it in five words, I'd say Naples is
-Chaotic
-Exciting
-Rambunctious
-Delicious
-Vibrant
Ah! Even those words don't fully describe it. I think you might just have to GO and experience it for yourself. Seriously. It was such an fun place to explore! And words (or even photos) just really don't do it justice.

Our amazing driver picked us up in Positano, and drove us up to Naples, which happened to be his hometown. He told us about all of the must-see places to hit in our day there, and gave us so much history about the city as we drove. It was so awesome.

Things like, last time there was an earthquake in Naples (about forty years ago), some of the buildings knocked into each other like dominoes because they are built so close together. Is that not the craziest?

Also, props to Luigi for his driving skills...because Napoli driving is insaaaaaaaaaane. If you haven't been to Naples and you think you've seen insane traffic/ crazy driving/ impossible driving situations made look easy/ etc...think again. Being in a car here was WILD.

^Our BFF Luigi, telling us everything we needed to know as we cruised around Naples^

^Jord, trying to snap a pic on the go^

We had mentioned that we wanted to try the best pizza in Naples (it is the birthplace of pizza, after all!), and we asked Luigi for his recommendations. He said to us,

"Anywhere you go in Naples, you will have amazing pizza. No question. But the BEST is from L'Antica Pizzeria da Michele! You need to eat there!!" 

(We had done some research before getting to Naples, and this was the consensus online, too! It's also where Julia Roberts eats in Eat, Pray, Love!)

Here's the best part: Luigi texted his friend that worked at da Michele, and he somehow helped us to skip the 75 person line that was waiting outside. We followed him in and his friends/ the waiters at the restaurant all kissed him on the cheek and yelled "Luigi!" as he entered...and we got sat immediately at a table without waiting. SO AWESOME.  

It pays to have friends in high places--or in this case, a friend that is bff's with literally every other Italian we ran into. (Luigi! You're the BEST.)

^ALL of those people are waiting to go in...and we didn't have to wait a second. So lucky!!^

We were sat next to an Italian couple, and when I say "next to," I literally mean NEXT to. Like at the same tiny table, just eating pizza together with random Italian strangers and having the best time like it was the most normal thing in the world. (This was pretty common in Italy. You get close with strangers quick!! Haha.) So we talked about cheese in broken Italian and English while we waited for our food, and it was awesome. 

At L'Antica Pizzeria da Michele, there are literally only two types of pizza on the menu: 

Margherita or Marinara. We both ordered a Margherita, and oh my gosh. 

There are no words, you guys. 

I don't know if I anything will ever compare to this pizza. I'm dead serious. 

It was unlike any pizza I've ever had, and will totally be the thing that I compare all future pizza to now. Haha! I knew it would be good, but IT BLEW ME AWAY.

^Fresh and chewy and soupy and soooooo good!^

^Boom. finished it off!^

^Jord might kill me for posting this one (haha), but I had to show you the inside of the restaurant! And our table-mate that literally ate TWO pizzas in the time we ate one. #goalz^

After we ate, we headed out to wander Naples for a bit. We had a couple of things we really wanted to see, but mostly we just wanted to soak in its beautiful, colorful chaos.

And that's just what we did.

As we got closer to the old historic city center, the crowds really picked up. 

I'm talking wall-to-wall people. There were tourists, locals, vendors, dogs, scooters...you name it. All  crammed together so tight--walking down narrow streets and clinging to your belongings to make sure they didn't run off. 

As I looked through these photos from Naples, though, I thought--where are all my pictures of the crazy crowds we walked through?? But then I remembered, Oh yeah, I was clinging to my possessions for dear life during those moments. No time for photos! Haha. It was madness, and it was awesome.

^Napoli Sotteranea^

^Those streets. SWOON^

^Casually about to get plowed over by a car. NBD^

^He's a cute travel partner. I also like when he makes sure I don't get mugged.^

^Sfogliatelle! This is a traditional Napoli breakfast or snack...and it was so good. This one was filled with chocolate mousse!^

^Piazza San Domenico Maggiore^

^Sanseverno Chapel^

We randomly stumbled into this beautiful church on the street across from a bunch of vendors, and it was GORGEOUS.

I say "randomly stumbled into," because we literally decided to just peek in after seeing a bunch of other people walk into it. We had no clue what it was. The outside looked like your average, beige, crumbly apartment building...but the inside was just majestic. We were totally blown away when we walked in.

^THE CEILING. Are you even kidding me??^

^So massive and beautiful.^

We loved finding the quieter streets, nestled in between the crazy ones, to wander through. 

Seeing moments of real life happen-- a mother pushing her baby in a stroller to their apartment, a man sitting on his front step, or a woman lowering a bucket out of her apartment window with a few Euros in it down to a street vendor, yelling for some soap, and reeling it back up to her place when he provided it in her bucket (we literally saw this happen a few times. SO AWESOME.)-- it just hit me how this was normal life for these amazing people of Naples.

We felt so, so lucky to be there for a little bit to witness such a vibrant, compassionate culture.

What a city!!!

After a long day of leaving Positano, driving to Naples, and then spending the day there, we were BEAT by the evening.

So we hopped on a train, and headed to Rome.

(The trains in Italy are so awesome. We traveled by train there a couple of times, and we loved the experience. (I'd highly recommend it!)

On the train, Jordan read, I snoozed, and then we arrived in Rome.

And if we thought we already loved Italy, we had so much more to discover.

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(Rome photos, coming soon!)

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If you are heading to this area of Italy and would like Luigi's information, let me know! He MADE this leg of our trip. We highly, highly recommend hiring him!