1001 Places/Experiences to See or Savour #296 - Brandi Pizzeria, Naples

1001 Places/Experiences to See or Savour After Remission #296

- Brandi Pizzeria, Naples

(Naples is the home of pizza - yep, its birthplace. And the oldest and grandest which is said to be the origin of the margherita pizza, in honour of the Queen then in 1889, is Brandi Pizzeria. We were not looking out for it on Day1 here but after some shopping along Via Toledo, it just popped into view, right in front of us - how fortuitous! We had their seafood platter and of course, the margherita pizza. It was delicious! We also chanced upon Giuliano Pizzeria, which served authentic stuff - you can tell it's good when there's a queue outside each pizzeria at 3pm. These 2 easily made up for all the pizzas that we missed on our 2 previous packaged tours, which served us below-par Chinese yuck in almost every meal)

 

 

 

 

1001 Places/Experiences to See or Savour #295 - Naples, Italy

1001 Places/Experiences to See or Savour After Remission #295

- Naples, Italy 

(The city of Naples, being 3rd largest in Italy, seemed so chaotic after 6days at the Amalfi Coast. But it has its own beauty too, with this large-dome Piazza del Plebiscito being the most impressive. High up on the double-decker bus is the best way to see it, hopping on at the imposing Castel Nuovo, and catching glimpses of the respected National Archaeological Museum and Castel dell 'Ovo. We still love the small side streets best, having parked ourselves in a hotel right along Via Toledo, their main shopping street)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1001 Places/Experiences to See or Savour #294 - Sorrento, Italy

1001 Places/Experiences to See or Savour After Remission #294

- Sorrento, Italy 

 

 

(Being bigger than most of the towns along the Amalfi Coast, Sorrento looks much more built up with lots more people and cars. But at the pier, one can view Mt Vesuvius on one end and the Sorrento peninsula at the other. It took us 2hours to get here by bus. The highlight was a lovely dinner meal of swordfish and seafood at this restaurant near the city's main roundabout, which serves the limoncello liquor at the end for free - nice touch, but at 55% alcohol, we could finish it all)

 

 

 

1001 Places/Experiences to See or Savour #293 - Ravello, Italy

1001 Places/Experiences to See or Savour After Remission #293

- Ravello, Italy 

 

(This little town of Ravello is an easy 30mins bus ride from Amalfi. High up in the hills, it boasts captivating views of the Amalfi coastline, and is well patronised by artists and musicians. In fact, a music festival happens here every summer - probably like this tribute to Michael Jackson, which coincidentally was a feature song during our children's concert this year. It's a charming town, which hosts movie stars like Humphrey Bogart and Italian sirens like Gina Lollobrigida and Sophia Loren - you can easily imagine a love drama scene being filmed here)

 

1001 Places/Experiences to See or Savour #292 - Positano at sundown, Italy

1001 Places/Experiences to See or Savour After Remission #292

- Positano at sundown, Italy 

 

(48hours after our 1st visit, we came back to Positano for another bite of the cherry. This town at sunset and with the night lights on is spellbindingly beautiful. The sun setting by the end of this cove turned all it touched into a glowing amber. Being a Sunday, more people were out to soak in this magic, including this performance by a local group along the beachfront. Its feet-tapping music brought the curtains down on our time here in Positano with a huge smile on our faces, including a pair of travel-savvy Japanese girls we met along the way. Just look at that "Before v After" photo, the top one was from a magazine which mesmerised us 2 years ago)