No to Naples

But if you do go, take a ferry out to Ischia or Capri and stay there. In Naples, yes, you will find maybe the best pizza you have ever eaten (that’s right, friends, I’m going all gluten here). You may even share a bottle or two of wine with three friends, and you may even pay less than 10 Euros each for your individual pizza and your wine.

But, on the following day, you may return to Naples from your ship, find another restaurant that looks equally appetizing but which is on a more populated street. That would be your first mistake. Your second mistake would be to order without establishing the price. Your third mistake would be to enjoy another bottle of wine, to ask for the check, and then to watch your friend pay two times just because the waiter realized he hadn’t charged you the full price for the meal the first time. After a storm of of waving of hands and a mixture of Italian, Spanish and Portuguese, I somehow convinced the manager to give my friend and me two free bottles of wine (without lowering the price), and all parties seemed pleased.

Apart from burning money, most people on the ship agree that Naples was delicious but not as picturesque as Rome. If you’re looking for pretty Italy, try elsewhere.