Campania – proper coffee, pastries and winding roads

NAPOLI

One of the highlights of 2020 was definitely a trip to Naples and the Amalfi Coast. When it was possible and allowed I was able to travel to Italy and what can I say, Italy is always worth the trip. It was not the first time for me to visit Campania, but the first time in its capital. We stayed a few nights in Naples, and wow what a city. First of all, it’s a densely populated area of Italy so Naples city centre was very busy. The city is known for its food and known to be the home of pizza so one of the main meals we had was of course Neapolitan pizza. When you’re used to London prices, a Margherita pizza for 3 euros makes you fall of your stool at first. But once you’ve gathered yourself and made it back sitting up straight, you can enjoy it even more.

Apart from pizza I enjoyed the great variety of pastries. One I would like to give a special shout out for is Fiocchi di Neve, meaning literally snowflakes. These are round pastries filled with whipped cream and paired with an espresso you’ve found yourself the perfect mid-morning snack. Do I need to say more? This leads me to the topic of coffee. What I really like about going to Italy is when you order “un caffè”, this is what you get. A strong, simple espresso. Not like in London when you order a coffee you either get an Americano (seriously, espresso with hot water? Anyone here who actually enjoys this?) or the barista asks you to specify which type of coffee you would like (latte, cappuccino, espresso, single, double, decaf, with soy milk, some like it extra hot so it burns the coffee, for takeaway AFTER you poured it into a china cup). I get it, I’ve been on the other side of the coffee counter, and when people in London simply ask for a coffee, they often don’t know themselves what they want so it is better to make them clarify, knowing how angry people can get if you serve them, in their eyes, the wrong type of coffee (even though most people don’t know the difference between a latte and a cappuccino and I’m by no means an expert). Well, this has turned into a small rant about my barista past, back to proper coffee and pastries.

Sfogliatelle are the pastries Naples is famous for. If you live in London you might have come accross them at some point: A flaky dough filled with different sorts of creams, lemon, pistachio, or chocolate. I recommend taking some of these pastries with you to enjoy along the lungomare with the view on the Vesuvio.

Napoli has not only pastries, pizza and coffee to offer. One of Naples’ most famous streets is the Via San Gregorio Armeno which is known for its handmade figures and sculptures for cribs (presepe in Italian). You don’t need to be religious to be drawn to these tiny handmade figures. Via San Gregorio Armeno is a street full of shops and stalls that sell these crib figures, but not just the ones we know, like Mary and Joseph, the three kings or the odd donkey and cow. There is everything you can imagine, ranging from traditional figures, to food, landscaping items, bakers and tradespeople. You can even find battery powered pizza makers with their pizza and oven, so the visitors coming to the crib on Christmas are fueled by amazing Neapolitan pizza. No joke. I absolutely love tiny handmade things like this, the work that goes into making them. Below is a photo of one of the shops, as you can see you can get all different sorts of things, even food to put into your presepe. But don’t be put off by the fact that they are made for the crib, you can also just get them and put them on a shelf for them to look nice.

COSTIERA AMALFITANA

After visiting Naples, we took a car and drove to the Amalfi coast. We went after summer so it wasn’t too busy but I recommend staying somewhere up in the mountains as it’s less touristy and feels more local. Our accommodation was in Agerola, a village up in the mountains, linked with the coast through one long and winding road (extra points if you can guess the song reference here). In and around Agerola you can also find affordable restaurants offering great local food and wine.

On a sunny day I recommend walking the Sentiero degli Dei, an easy enough hiking path linking Agerola with Positano where the posh people live. Even if you are not big into hiking, this is something that will take your socks off. The panorama is simply breath-taking (and so were the sore muscles the day after). The hike itself takes around 4 hours and leads along the coast through a rocky landscape with the sea always in your view. In Positano you can enjoy the beach or walk around the small town and have lunch on the beach. From Positano you can then take the boat (or your private yacht, because who doesn’t have one of those) to Amalfi and from there a bus service links Amalfi with Agerola (that same long and winding road I mentioned earlier). The boat trip is not only practical but also gives you a chance to see the coast from the sea. However, let me tell you one thing, that drive up in the bus from Amalfi is nothing for a weak stomach, but if you have a private yacht you probably also have a private driver (because who doesn’t have one of those). Anyway, the bus drivers know the route in and out and that’s how they drive. Considering the roads are narrow it’s an adventure to sit in a bus looking down the steep coast hoping it will make it around the next corner. That said, it’s an efficient way to get up back into the mountains if you don’t have a car.

On another day, we took the car and drove along the coast, direction towards Salerno. There are some nice coastal villages with beaches to visit. One of them is called Minori. We parked the car and went on the beach and despite it being October I was still able to go for a swim. Not only along the sea but also up in the mountains you can find small, nice villages. Ravello is one of them, from where you can get an amazing view on the coast. On a rainy day I recommend taking the car and visiting Sorrento, direction Naples. It offers a lungomare, a small pretty city centre and nice gelato.

The Amalfi coast is a place I would definitely visit again but I have to say that we went during a special time. First, it was October, so I guess it would be much busier in summer. And second, even though we were able to travel (with no lockdown etc.), it was during a pandemic, so tourism would be much reduced anyway. I would say though try to go there before or after summer when it is still warm but not boiling hot with a lot less people around. Also, renting a car is essential to move around and on top it’s recommendable to be comfortable with driving. We had a few tricky situations with parking (not going to go into much more detail here), and driving along the coast where I was happy not to be the driver, so make sure you’ve got someone who is skilled and fearless of driving.

I hope I could lighten up your mood and make you dream about times when we will be able to travel again freely!