This was another port day and actually the only port day where we were getting off for longer than to just get some port photos. We were awake around 07:30 again and got ready. Even though we were going to go exploring later that day, we took care of the photos straightaway as we were not sure if the photographers would be still available when we were ready to leave. We were also leaving at different times. It did not take long to get the photos done and then we got back on the ship. We quickly went to our cabin to pick up what we needed for the day. Then we went to Café Promenade to get some coffee and something to eat. Graham had some pineapple and a Danish pastry. I had some watermelon and a chocolate donut. Once we had finished our food, we went upstairs to the Schooner Bar for morning trivia.
We had got to the Schooner Bar quite early. I suddenly realised that I still had not got around to trying something that I was quite excited about before the cruise. Allure has a unique venue called Boardwalk Donuts. This serves a variety of donuts, and it is included in the cruise price. It is only open for a few hours each morning. As we were so close to the Boardwalk, I decided to check this out. They had a good selection, and I got a maple donut. This was lovely.
Soon after I got back, morning trivia started. We scored 10 out 20 and the winning score was 14. Then it was time to say goodbye as Graham had to head out. He had a tour to get to. I sometimes wonder if Graham has been a mole in a previous life. He has a strange affinity for tunnels underneath cities. When we did a food tour in Naples in 2023, our guide mentioned Underground Naples. This definitely pique Graham’s interest. Underground Naples is part of a network of tunnels under the historical centre of Naples. When I knew that we were going back to Naples this year, I researched this a bit further. I then booked a tour for Graham as part of his Christmas present. I sent him on his own as not only do I not share his passion for tunnels, but I also figured there would be a lot of stairs involved, and my knee does still object to stairs. We did however plan to meet up after his tour.
I had no time sensitive plans and decided to stay for Countries and Capitals Trivia. This was the quickest trivia event I ever attended. From start to finish, it took nine minutes. I scored 19 out of 20 and the winning score was 20. Once trivia was over, I headed out. I had noticed earlier that day that I had managed to lose my sun hat. I had checked with guest services when we were at Cafe Promenade, and it had not been handed in. It was a hot and sunny day. I knew that I needed a sun hat. Fortunately, there is a good selection of shops in the cruise terminal. I have never been a hat person. I wear them as a necessary evil. I had planned to get another bucket hat. However, the bucket hats I saw did not grab me. Then a sophisticated sun hat that was quite a statement piece caught my eye. At €18, it was not expensive. I decided to get this. Then I headed out.
I had decided to go down the AI rabbit hole for this trip. I had asked ChatGPT to put together a half day walking itinerary concentrating on churches but also including a pizza lunch and some gelato. This gave me a starting point for my own research. As I learned more, I tweaked my search and ended up with a nice itinerary that would cover the highlights.
The first stop was Duomo di San Gennaro and Basilica of Santa Restituta. This was about a mile from the port. I had checked Google maps for the best way of getting there. It gave a walking route but also suggested taking the metro part of the way. The local metro stop was just opposite the port. I had never used the metro in Naples and decided to take this option. With hindsight, I would have been better to just walk. Not only did I have to negotiate a rabbit warren of underpasses at both stations, but this option took me to a part of Naples that I had never been to before. The walking route would have taken me via familiar streets for the most part. I may have no sense of direction, but I have a very good memory and once I have been somewhere once, I can navigate by landmarks. From where the metro stop was, I did not have that advantage. The directions that Google maps gave me did not make sense either as they were leading me straight to a building site. Ultimately, I did figure out where I needed to go and before too long, I recognized familiar streets. From that point it was easy.
Opposite my first destination, I found a little souvenir shop. When one of our team leaders goes on holiday, we tend to bring back a little something for the other team leaders. I saw some keyrings with the cornicello, which looks like a chilli pepper, but is actually an amulet that is meant to bring good luck. I got a keyring for each of my colleagues. Then I crossed the road to the Duomo, which is the cathedral of Naples. There has been a place of worship in this place since Roman times. There were two churches on this site when the construction of the new cathedral was commissioned by King Charles II of Anjou. One of them, the Basilica of Santa Restituta, has been incorporated into the cathedral. It is a very beautiful cathedral, and the combination of the two churches makes it very interesting.
On the way to the Duomo, I had crossed Via dei Tribunali, which is the main east-west street through the historical centre of Naples. I knew that the entrance to Underground Naples, where I had arranged to meet Graham , is just off Via dei Tribunali. I followed this street and soon I was at my destination. I still had some time until I was due to meet Graham. However, there were two churches in the area that I was interested in.
San Lorenzo Maggiore is located at the precise geographic centre of the historic centre of the ancient Greek Roman city. The church’s origins can be traced back to the presence of the Franciscan order in Naples during the lifetime of St Francis of Assisi, himself. The site of the present church was given to the order to compensate them for the loss of their earlier church on the grounds where Charles I of Anjou decided to build his new fortress, the Maschio Angioino in the late 13th century. San Lorenzo Maggiore is a very plain church. It is definitely the plainest church I saw that day. I would even go as far as saying that this is the plainest Roman Catholic church I have ever seen. That does not make it any less beautiful though.
The second church I was interested in was Basilica di San Paolo Maggiore. Our guide in 2023 mentioned that this was a very beautiful church. Like the duomo, it was built on the foundations of a Roman temple. Unfortunately, it looked very closed that day.
I figured I may as well check out the limoncello factory that is in that area. Just as I was turning around, Graham was coming the other way. They had finished their tour, but their guide was taking them to see the remains of the ancient Greek Roman Theatre of Naples, also known as the Theatre of Nerone. He asked if I wanted to come along. I had nothing else to do and decided to come along. If you did not know what was there, you never would never be any the wiser. The building we entered looked just like a residential house. There was a hatch at the end of the ground floor that covered the stairs down to what used to be the dressing rooms for the theatre. The guide referred to the lasagne way of building. We had come across this practice in Civitavecchia in 2022. Rather than knocking old buildings down, they just built on top of the older buildings. In Civitavecchia this all happened very much in the open. Naples was a bit more discreet about this in that they partially paved over the older structures and where this was not possible, they put a new facade on the older building. When we were in the ancient changing rooms, the guide pointed out a window with a shutter above us. This window belongs to an adjacent house, which is seasonally used as an Airbnb. One of the conditions that is attached this is that the occupants are never allowed to open the shutter.
We left from the other side of the theatre, which was a little bit disorientating. However, we soon enough ended up back on Via dei Tribunali. From there I knew where we needed to go. I still wanted to check out the limoncello factory. We had visited that on our food tour in 2023. They were advertising free samples, but we were not offered any. We did listen in on an explanation on how limoncello is produced. Then we had a look around the shop. I ended up getting a bottle of melon cream liqueur.
After this, we were ready for some lunch. Across the road from the limoncello factory was Pizzeria I Decumani. This seemed as good an option as any to me. I found out afterwards that this is normally strictly by reservation only. They were however happy enough to seat us. I have a colleague from Naples, and I could imagine what she would have to say about our choice of lunch location. It really does not get any more touristy in Naples than where we were. Having said that, the pizza was so big that even with us sharing one pizza, we were stuffed afterwards and at the princely sum of €9, I thought this was excellent value. The restaurant was also a perfect spot for people watching.
We had the Quattro Stagioni, which consisted of tomato, mozzarella, salame, baked ham, special mushroom and basil on the traditional Neapolitan base. It was not only filling, but also delicious. Graham had some Salvator, which is a red beer, with his meal. I could not resist the temptation of an Aperol Spritz, especially after the disappointment of the previous day. This one was delicious. The best Aperol Spritz I ever had is still the one I had at the station bar in Lucca, but this was a close second.
I still had three churches on my list that I wanted to see. On the way to the next one, we walked past bronze statue of Pulcinella at a corner of Via dei Tribunali. Pulcinella is a classic Neapolitan character, symbolizing the spirit of the Neapolitan people through a masked figure who is a master of survival and humour. The character originated in the 17th-century Commedia dell ‘Arte. According to tradition, touching its nose is believed to bring good luck. I had taken a photo of the statue in 2023, and this had been turned into the magnet for this cruise. However, as it was relatively quiet when we were passing by, I took another photo.
Our next destination was San Domenico Maggiore. This is a church that does not easily give up its secrets. However, if you persist, you are welcomed with a range of treasures. What is special about the church is that it basically has its main entrance at the back. Coming down the hill from Via Dei Tribunali, there is a narrow alley, which leads to a courtyard. If you enter this courtyard, you see the real façade of the church. Currently there is some restauration work going on in this area and the main entrance is closed. We did see signs for the refectory and decided to check this out. We came across two security guards, one by the blocked entrance to the church and one at the stairs leading to monastery, but they did not object to as being there.
The first room was that we came across was the Sala del Capitolo, the chapter hall of the Dominican monastery. Most monasteries have a separate building called a chapter house which is essentially used as the parliament of a monastery. As this monastery is in the middle of the city centre, a separate building was not practical. Instead, they had this hall. The room is embellished with stucco decorations made by Cosimo Fanzago and decorations by the Sicilian painter Michele Ragolìa who depicted the Calvary, scenes of the Passion and Martyrdom of Christ. It is a stunning space. The refectory itself is used for exhibitions and events like fashion shows. There was nothing going on while we were there. While we were checking if the church could be accessed through the monastery, we came across the cell where St. Thomas Aquinas lived between 1272 and 1274. What we did not find was an entrance to the church. I was a little disappointed, but we both agreed it was worth the visit for what we had seen.
We retraced our steps and then headed down the hill towards one of the major squares in Naples. At the back of the square was a very plain looking building. It did however have an impressive door. Graham disappeared through this door. I followed him. It turned out that through this door there was staircase that led up to the church. The Basilica of San Domenico Maggiore was commissioned in 1283 by Charles II of Anjou. It was built incorporating the earlier Benedictine church of San Michele Arcangelo a Morfisa. If you come up the stairs, you enter via the church of San Michele, which is connected to the right transept of San Domenico. We found a seat and just enjoyed our surroundings. The church is absolutely spectacular. The church has a special historical significance. Forty-five members of the Aragonese nobility, including Isabella of Aragon , lie buried in the sacristy of the church. You can access this area via guided tour.
Once we had enjoyed the church for long enough, we headed out again. We followed another east-west street to Piazza del Gesù Nuovo where the last two churches on my list were located. I was also hoping to get some gelato. This is where we hit a slight snag. Graham was slightly ahead of me. There is a surprising amount of traffic in the narrow streets in the historical centre. At some stage, they stopped all pedestrians so that a van could turn around. Graham was already on the other side of the van, but I was stopped. The place I was hoping to get some gelato was on this street. By the time I caught up with Graham again, we were well past this shop. Graham offered that we could backtrack, but I was getting to the point where I had done enough walking for the day. I figured me may come across another place that sold gelato on the way back to the port.
The next stop was Santa Chiara. I was surprised by how much space there was around this church. There are a lot of buildings in a very small space in most of the historical centre, but Santa Chiara was the exception to this. The church itself has some really interesting architectural features, but the star here are the cloister that is decorated with Majolica tiles. I would have loved to have seen this, but unfortunately the church was closed when we got there and was not due to reopen until 16:30. I did not want to hang around for another 45 minutes. There was one more church I wanted to see. This was just across the square and on the way back to the port. Graham had found somewhere to sit in the courtyard in front of the church and told me he would be waiting for me there. There was a certain amount of muttering underneath my breath going on as I was not overly keen on the idea of having to backtrack when I am on my way back to the port. Still, I wanted to really see the church of Gesù Nuovo.
The church of Gesù Nuovo is a very unusual building. The outside of the church is very plain and does not look like a church at all. The building features small pyramids, a style mainly used in the Venetian Renaissance. When you enter the church, you feel that you have entered a completely different world. The elaborate decorations of the interior mean that this is often referred to as the most beautiful church in Naples. It was pretty busy. I just took a couple of photos and then I headed back to get Graham.
I had expected that we would walk across the square and then downhill until we got to the road that runs alongside the port. This is what we did in 2023. However, Graham found some little side streets that run around the back of Santa Chiara. It suddenly made sense why Graham wanted to stay outside Santa Chiara. Things were a little quieter. Once we were back on one of the main roads, we came across a little shop that sold granitas, which is the Italian answer to a slushie. We decided to have one each. Graham told me to pick a flavour for him, and I went with melon for both of us. This was delicious and refreshing. Once we had finished this, we headed down the hill to the port. Ironically, there was a gelato shop right opposite the port, but after the granita, I did not feel like having gelato.
With the stop for granitas and the fact that we had to hand in the melon liqueur near the gangway, we got to the ship a little too late for afternoon trivia. We headed back to the cabin. I was a little worried that we would go to sleep. I knew if this happened, we would not get up again that day. Instead, I suggested that we get a drink somewhere. Graham asked me where I wanted to go. I told him that I really fancied the Pesky Parrot Tiki Bar, but if that was too busy, I would be happy with Lime and Coconut. We went to check out the Pesky Parrot Tiki Bar and it was not too busy at all. We found some comfy seats. We both ordered a Pain Chiller, which was kind of a cross between the two drinks I had the first night. It consists of Bacardi Caribbean Spiced Rum, Hard Truth Toasted Coconut Rum, piña colada mix, and blood orange sour. It was refreshing, but at the same time indulgent. We both enjoyed this.
Once we had finished our drinks, we headed back to the cabin to freshen up and get changed. We did the round of the photo opportunities and then we headed up to deck 14 for dinner. Dinner that night was at The Mason Jar. We had the same server that we had for brunch
Graham had another Apple Pie Old Fashioned. I tried one of their mocktails first. I had the Orange Ya Glad? This consisted of Monin Vanilla syrup, Fanta Orange soda, and sweetened coconut milk. It tasted like an old-fashioned orange cream soda and was right up my street.
We started with a modified version of “Doohickeys for Y’all”. We got the jalapeno cornbread again but also got some warm buttermilk biscuits. Graham passed on a starter, but I had Fried Green Tomatoes, which were thick-cut and cornmeal-crusted with sweet bacon jam and spicy remoulade for dipping. I had always been curious about this dish, and it was definitely a hit with me. For his main course, Graham went with Meemaw’s Fried Chicken with mashed potatoes and collard greens. I had the Shrimp N’ Grits, which consisted of Cajun-rubbed tiger shrimp over stone-ground yellow grits, folded with smoky cheddar, and topped with crispy bacon and chives. I found a little surprise underneath my shrimp in the form of slices of andouille sausage. The whole dish was a feast of different, but complimentary flavours.
Once I had finished my mocktail, I switched to an alcoholic cocktail. I had the Berry Nice to Meet You, which is their take on a margarita, which consists of Reposado tequila, Italicus liqueur, real blueberry puree, finest call lemon juice, and finest call lime juice. This was truly delicious.
For dessert, Graham had cherry pie with vanilla ice cream. I just had a scoop of Bourbon butter pecan ice cream. It was quiet that evening. Our server chatted with us for a while and then the host came over and chatted to us, too. Eventually we headed out. We went back to our cabin and got ready for bed. After reading my customary pages, I settled down and went to sleep.
Dolphingirl’s Travels 
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