Found! The best pizza in Napoli. . .

Napoli, (aka Naples on this side of ‘The Pond’) is the birthplace of pizza.

For that reason, we told ourselves prior to last fall’s cruise, that we would eat pizza there during our few hours in this ‘love-it or hate-it’ Italian town on Italy’s western coast.  (The photo above of Mt. Vesuvius was taken during our Celebrity Silhouette’s early morning approach to the harbor.)




We’d braved the morning’s rain and set out, umbrellas unfurled, to explore the dizzying, congested streets, and by noon had worked up a pizza-sized appetite. We were far off the main road on one of our direction-less wanders off-the-beaten-tourist-path, when we happened upon this place:

It was one of a trillion or so similar Pizzaria’s that line the sidewalks of this ages-old city.  What made this place stand out for us, was the crush of customers inside. Tiny tables within elbow’s reach of each other were filled. We were tucked into one of the last remaining in a snug corner of Ristorante e Pizzeria da Attilio* .

While most dishes were prepared in an industrial looking kitchen in the back, the pizzas were prepared by a culinary artist (as I prefer to think of him) just  inside the front door.

And since every artist needs an admirer or two, I headed to his gallery to watch him prepare our pizza.



Dough was stretched, toppings in place and he turned the creation over to his assistant whose job it was to cook our pizza in his incredibly hot oven. And within minutes. . .

. . . Mama Mia!  Our pizza was served; the best pizza we have ever eaten, perhaps the ‘best in Napoli’! Or was it?

 That afternoon, back at the ship and resting up from that pizza, we headed to the pool and hot tub.

That’s where we struck up a conversation with a couple who told us they had just eaten ‘the best pizza in Napoli’ for lunch and described a place no where near where we had eaten.  They said they knew they had eaten ‘the best pizza in Napoli” because that is what travel guru Rick Steves had said of the pizzeria located on one of his guidebook’s ‘on-the-beaten-tourist-path walks’. . .

Hmmm. . .I wonder who did eat 'the best' pizza in Napoli that day?

Are you one who ‘goes by the guidebook’?  If so, what guidebooks do you use? Or do you allow yourself the opportunity to make discoveries on your own?

That’s it for this week’s Travel Photo Thursday – head over to Budget Travelers Sandbox for more photos today and stop by here this weekend when we will have more tales and tips for you.

*If you get to Napoli, try Da Attilio Pizzeria, Via Pignasecca, 17, http://pizzeriaattilio.jimdo.com  - we think you’ll like it!

With Travel, sometimes it’s the small things. . .

. . .that leave the longest memories.

And for the animal lovers we are, the small things are those little four-footed creatures who can capture our hearts or sadly sometimes break our hearts when we visit those places that have no compassion for their homeless dogs and cats.

I am happy to report to all our fellow animal lovers that this trip has been a good one – for us and the furry ones that we’ve encountered. Today, on TP Thursday, I want to share some of those encounters with you:

Let’s start in Catania, Sicily where this bride and groom were virtually ignored by us camera-toting tourists. . .


. . .because we were so taken with this charming little member of the wedding party (who WAS watching the bride and groom):



Then there was the stroll through Bari, Italy’s old town when we happened upon this fellow asleep outside one of the traditional bars (where you can have coffee, sweets, alcoholic drinks or just hang out with the locals). And he could have cared less about the number of tourists aiming camera’s at him:


Valletta, Malta wins hands down for the care given its ‘street cats’.  They have free rain-proofed and cushioned  public housing in the city park:



And signs in Arabic and English advise people to only feed them at the ‘feeding stations’ – these are two story structures that offer both food and drink. There was one well fed but camera-shy cat behind the structure just waiting to eat a bit more  as soon as I left:



This fellow was sunning himself against the exterior walls of Dubrovnik, Croatia’s Old City – totally oblivious to the attention being given him by those of those of us who felt the need to capture his bath on film:


Just down the road, we spotted a mom and her adolescent children – all were well cared for and despite her camera-shyness, I had to include her photo. (Those of you who remember our still-loved-and-missed “Thai Guy” will understand why she captured my heart):


This trip has given me hope that animal welfare has caught on world-wide.  If not, at least the efforts are expanding.

That’s it for this Travel Photo Thursday.  Head over to Budget Travelers Sandbox for more travel photos from around the world.