Of course, we didn't love it first thing in the morning. We were instead loving the great sleep we get in this cabin. I don't think I've mentioned yet what greeted us when we opened the door to our cabin yesterday; the furniture was rearranged in that strange configuration we love so much in these obstructed ocean view cabins: bed separated to be twins and on opposite sides of the far wall, and small table stored in the closet. It makes the cabin feel so much larger and like one where we can more easily spend an extended period of time. But who knew to do that? We were flummoxed.
Well, as it turned out, our cabin steward is none other than the small but mighty Bianca from the Philippines who was our cabin steward two years ago on the Pacific Princess. She said she saw our name on her cabin list and knew exactly what to do to surprise us. Apparently, during the 'cruise that wasn't' these several (15 or so) cabins held the crewmembers whose cabins were flooded when the Pacific Princess struck the breakwater. And after their cabins were once again habitable, there was time to spare before we boarded and Bianca did some rearranging. We love it!
Anyway (no 's'!), back to this morning. I was the first to awaken, at around 8am, after the best sleep I've had in about...oh, 14 nights. I went to the Club Bar for a decaf Americano and then right into the Club Restaurant for breakfast. G had told me, on my way out of the cabin, that he wanted a little more sleep, so I didn't expect him, but after breakfast, while I was sitting in the Club Bar publishing my post from last night, he showed up. He wanted an omelet from the Panorama Buffet, so I followed him up there and had a second coffee while he ate.
We sat on the port side of the ship with a view of the island of Capri and the many ferries and hydrofoils traveling between Napoli and Capri and other cities and islands in the area. While we were sitting there, about six small sailboats were taking a class around a marked course: spinnakers up, spinnakers down, turn, turn, turn, over and over. The day was brightly sunny but breezy, and we stepped out in the Panorama Terrace to gauge the temperature. All of Napoli greeted us, churches and domes and castles and the same kind of crazy, busy traffic we had seen in Rome. We later found out that Rome has 3 million residents; Napoli is the second largest city in the country with 2 million. These are big cities.
Castle Nuovo (c. 1279) as seen from the Panorama Terrace
Certosa di San Martino sits atop the hill, with the Castel Sant'Elmo just behind it, as seen from the Panorama Terrace
We walked off the ship with no plans for the day, but discovered the port terminal houses a collection of shops. I had purchased one scarf in Rome, and the collection grew today with two additional purchases. I am loving these scarves, all made in Italy, for 7 or 8€ each. I knew to expect scarves in Europe but G was amused. "They don't leave their house without a scarf!" No, most of them don't.
We were heading toward the Hop On Hop Off bus we saw in the port parking lot when we were stopped by taxi driver Salvatore. Sal had been born in Napoli and lived here until he was 18, when he moved with his dad to Buffalo, NY to open a Napoli pizza restaurant. When his parents died years later, he returned to Napoli to live in his childhood home and, at 76, was still driving a taxi. I think we both knew that this guy was a character and we would have a fun time seeing the city through his eyes. And, boy, did we ever!
He drove an old, stick shift Toyota, with crank down windows...barely. He spent most of the time alternately pressing and releasing the accelerator, over and over, punctuated by rough shifts. We were dying inside before we ever left the port. We had told him no stops for food or drinks, and no shopping. We wanted vistas and churches and to see the 'real' Napoli. And that's exactly what we got.
G sat in the front seat with Sal, and when Sal started serenading us with Italian songs, joined in best he could. G said he was certain we would not survive the day without being in an accident. Red lights in Napoli are merely a suggestion, cars and scooters drive up on sidewalks and squeeze into traffic and the whole thing appears to be a free for all. And we were going down streets so narrow that Sal had G turn in the side view mirror to keep from hitting parked cars and scooters. I learned several new gestures today, none of which meant 'Have a nice day!' We could have done nothing but ride around in that taxi and it would have been a fun experience. Salvatore called me by my Italian name, and I loved it.
Cathedral of the Assumption of Mary
We saw things, too; the narrow pedestrian roads, barely more than alleys, and neighborhood produce stands, and the Porta Nolana open air fish market, and tiny pizzerias squeezed into every square foot of space. And everywhere we looked there were clothes hanging out on reel lines extended from every single balcony. Rick Steves calls Napoli gritty and crusty and that's exactly what it's like. The tiny taxi climbed hills and navigated switchbacks so tight that poor Sal had to grind the transmission into reverse a couple of times to get the correct angle, and then start out in first gear on a step incline.
We drove by the funicular that goes underground up to the highest point in town, and Salvatore started singing "Funiculee, funiculaaaaaaa!" And G was singing along and the car windows were rolled down and they were both extending an arm out the windows as they held a note, and all I could do was laugh. This was entertainment of the highest order. Eventually (and I mean after a hour or so of going 5mph) we made it to San Martino, home to a Carthusian monastery turned into a museum and the Castle of St. Elmo. The views of Mt Vesuvius and the city were gorgeous. Walking back to the car, we swung into a cameo shop where cameos are hand carved as they have been for generations.
Funicular station
Mt. Vesuvius in the background
Scenes from Certosa di San Martino
Certosa di San Martino
Giovanni of the Cameo Factory de Paola
We started back down toward the sea then, which was considerably smoother. We stopped for more views, this time of Capri and and all the sailboats (by then there were 20 or 30 enjoying the sunny Saturday). Sal told us how Napoli was a monarchy until Mussolini appeared on the scene. We visited the Royal Palace and, across the Piazza del Plebiscito, the Church of San Francisco di Paola. We walked along the waterfront which was crowded on a sunny Saturday afternoon and saw several bridal parties there taking photos. It occurred to us that it was two weeks it the day since we walked along the Promenade des Anglais in Nice. We left Sal at that point to explore the area on foot and take the 10-minute or so walk back to the maritime port.
Capri in the background on the right
Fontana dell Immacolata on the Naples waterfront
Piazza del Plebiscito and the church of San Francesco di Paola
We returned to the ship about 3:30pm, and G admitted that today was the first time since Nice that he had finally relaxed and felt like all the stresses that occurred as a result of that day were off his shoulders. I felt exactly the same way. As much as we enjoyed Rome, it was a bit of a push to fit in even the few things we did. Even getting on the ship yesterday we knew we had to unpack and settle in. But today, all the work was behind us and we have just fun and relaxation to look forward to. We hope.
Pacific Princess webcam with Mt. Vesuvius in the distance
At 5pm, we went to the Platinum/Elite/Suite (PES) Lounge which is being held in the Pacific Lounge on Deck 10 at the bow of the ship. We wanted to enjoy the gorgeous views of Mt. Vesuvius in the distance. Dinner at 5:30pm was three courses plus dessert (we had skipped lunch and were hungry!). I had soup, garden salad and a delicious scallop dish, and a chocolate and caramel Chocolate Journeys dessert. We sat in the Casino Lounge for awhile listening to the Pacific Princess show band and then attended the 7:45pm performance of production show Cinematastic, the first time threnew cast has performed it in front of an audience. We've been told they had plenty of time to practice, as the Cabaret Lounge was not needed for other events during the cancelled cruise, and it shows. They were fantastic.
We arrive early tomorrow in Cantania on the island of Sicily. Though Sicily is moving clocks back an hour tonight at the end of DST, the ship is not going to. We'd only have to move them forward again in two days when we arrive in Greece. As a result, we'll be arriving extra early on a Sunday morning. We are not going to rush off the ship. Instead, we'll enjoy a leisurely breakfast and meander off the ship by late morning. If we're lucky, we'll run into another Salvatore and have another great adventure.
