Naples, Italy
Thursday, 13 October 2016

I start the day with The American Breakfast--bacon, eggs, potatoes, fruit--perfectly prepared in the Pinnacle Grill, where breakfast seating is one of the best perks of the Neptune Suites.

Bright, blue skies and fair weather invite me to the spectacular harbor of Naples.  I have been here several previous times, including May 2015, and each visit makes me more fond of this raucous, noisy, chaotic city.  When I first visited with Will in 1990 I had previously avoided the city because of all the reports of street crime, petty thievery, garbage strikes (on two visits, actually), and cheating taxi drivers.  But each time since that first visit I have sensed a change in the moral climate of the city.  Perhaps the younger generations are no longer raised to see the life of crime as a way of life.  But the result is that I feel quite safe and happy as I wander the intricate byways of the Historical Center, the largest such preserved area in all Europe.

I begin with a short walk to one of the city's funiculars, a kind of underground elevator to ascend the many hills.  Unfortunately, it is closed for repairs, "chiuso per operto," a phrase the tourist in Italy soon becomes familiar with.  So I continue my walk up busy Via Toledo, with its many shops with elegant designs but moderate prices. This area is well known to middle-class shoppers looking for bargains.  The Underground Metro is close by and I ride for two stops to the National Archaeological Museum.

First, about the Metro:  unlike the mysterious dark urban railway Will and I tried unsuccessfully to use one night in 1990, this is a modern Metro with several lines criss-crossing the city.  The  
stations are designed thematically; I embark at a station designed as if underwater and get off at a station directly underneath the museum, littered with imitation statuary.  The trains and stations are happily clean and safe, with clear maps and directions.

Naples ranks with the major cities of the world in quality of museums, easily equaling New York, Paris, and Madrid.  And the 
Archaeological Museum is the most spectacular.  Chock full of historical artifacts, the museum houses more items from both Pompei and Herculaneum than the original sites.  Sculpture, wall paintings and mosaics are beyond imagination.  The museum also houses the Farnese royal collections of sculpture from the Middle Ages through the 18th century.

Streets of Old Naples

*****

National Archaeological Mueum

Original from House of the Faun in Pompeii

Exotic Art from Pompeii

From the Farnese Collection

 I take a brief rest in the lobby of the museum before heading out and am chatted up by another passenger, Claire from SC, who is also a client of Crystal  at HAL in Seattle.  I leave the museum for a walk through the bustling narrow streets filled with old churches 

(many permanently closed), small shops, and busy restaurants and pizzerias.  Fortunately, most traffic is blocked from these streets, although not all drivers bother to follow traffic rules.

The Cathedral (Duomo) is worth only a short visit since it has been restored many times over the centuries, because of wars, earthquakes, and plagues.  Other churches, which I have entered on previous visits, are more worthy of time and attention, including Santa Chiara's, whose cloister is ornamented with the largest collection of majolica ornaments from the 18th century.  I also pass a series of large unwieldy outdoor monuments thanking various saints for various interventions against various misfortunes.

Jesu Church Facade

Monument to the Saints

Cathedral Facade

I enjoy lunch at a typical outdoor pizzeria:   Caprese salad and margarita pizza.  It is quite true that Neapolitan pizza is the best in the world, with a crust that is both crusty and chewy (an almost impossible combination.).  

 My walk continues downhill and brings me back to the harbor and the Koningsdam at 3:30 pm.  The weather is so good that the captain opens the bow on Deck 5 for close-ups of Vesuvius as we sail out of Naples Bay.

Moonrise Over the Two Cones of Mt Vesuvius

Dinner in the Grand Dining Room:

• Crispy Thai vegetable spring roll
• Chilled cranberry soup
• Five Spice Shrimp
• Strawberry sorbet

After dinner I actually attend a production show in the "One World Theatre."  The venue is great, with a single level of steeply sloped seats and a stage that thrusts out into the audience.  Even better, there are three shows a night, 5:30, 8:30, and 10:15, which allows me to get to the late show shortly after finishing dinner.

Tonight's production, however, is the typical cruise-line collection of pretty young people without great talent.  What is worse is that they are heavily miked and the sound has a deafening echo, thus many of the songs are unrecognizable.  The scenic effects and technology (lights, special effects, staging) are really quite amazing.  HAL has indeed come into the 21st century (although some would prefer it did not).

The captain has warned of high waves tonight, but I can feel nothing up here on Deck 7, in my very comfy King-size bed.  Tomorrow we are heading for Palermo, which, of course, we will not reach.