Espresso (Sorrento - Naples)

Another excursion from Sorrento, this time to Naples to experience a food tour with Culinary Backstreets. I have used Get Your Guide and With Locals previously, but this group was new to me and I will certainly be including them in the mix in future. Great guide and great day. But first we had to get there, dear reader.

Naples can be reached from Sorrento by car, ferry, train and I imagine bus although that was not included in our options. (Nor was matter transporter, RIP Mr Chekov). The train, the Circumvesuviana, is the most cost effective option, however it has a reputation that is not enviable. Apparently it is notorious for pick pockets and the like although that was not evident in either trip today.

Being at the end of the train line has advantages and disadvantages. Trust me, I grew up at the end of the line, we didn't even get electric trains until 1966. The obvious negative is the time it takes to reach your destination. The journey to Naples is 1 hour 15 minutes, assuming the train runs on time. The bonus is you get on the train before it starts to fill up. The Circumvesuviana is known to be crowded and it was today. By the fourth stop there was standing room only. Not long after that it reached the official term of "packed".

The train we were on was an older model. It was noisy and rocked and rolled. Think the 1960s red rattlers of the Sydney network with less comfortable seats. No one else seemed phased by the rollicking ride so we could only assume this is the norm.

We arrived close to on time and then negotiated the morning crowd to find the Metro Line 1. It was pretty simple really and in no time, we were queueing for the Metro. It was crowded, New York subway style crowded, but the train was empty when it pulled in. Mind you, we weren't agile enough to beat the young university crowd to a seat, but we were only going half a dozen stops, so standing wasn't an issue. Clearly there is no respect for elders here.

Vanvitelli Piazza and Metro stop is named after an architect and painter of the 1700s and we were early to the piazza due to a mix up in times. So we settled in a café for an espresso and I had a croissant. In hind sight that was an unnecessary addition to the food I consumed later in the day. Francesca arrived prior to 9:30am and introduced herself,  providing some background as to where we were, why it was the chosen meeting place and the nature of Culinary Backstreets itself.

As we've had a few espressos since we arrived today's title song is Espresso by Sabrina Carpenter. Ok, I had no idea and found it on Google. Unimpressed though. I know sex sells, but really? Remember when music ... OK, sorry, I digress.

We were steered to another cafe, Salvatore Varriale established 1960, on the same piazza and while we waited for our first taste of Naples, Francesca produced a paper map of the city to help orient us to the tour and more broadly to the districts of Naples. Then our espressos arrived with 2 delectable sweet dishes that are typical breakfast food for the locals. The first was the crispy version of the sfogliatella and then a caprese chocolate cake. Once the ingredients and origins of these were discussed and then the food consumed, we toured the actual cafe, having all the offerings explained in terms of their seasonality and significance. Everything looked delicious and the pedigree of the establishment was unpacked so as to understand why we had commenced the tour here. 

Modern art.

We had begun in the wealthy residential district of Vomero but soon left there to continue tasting, this time in another culinary institution, established by the son of a family of pizza makers who left the family business because he wanted to specialise in all things fried. Here we sampled fried potato croquets, fried crumbed polenta and fried spaghetti, all delicious and consumed in the early morning sun.

A short stroll around the corner and we were seated outside a bakery/deli/cafe/wine shop and plied with savoury items that locals would be eating mid-morning, to tide them over till a late dinner - ham bread rolls and spinach and ricotta pastries - a doggie bag was provided (luckily we had our shopping bag with us to carry the leftovers). While we ate here, we were adopted by a small dog who appeared out of nowhere, hopeful of a free feed. He disappeared just as quickly when he was left unfed.

The rolls and pastries.

They also sold this deliciousness.

From there it was a short stroll to an amazing cheese providore where the different types of DOP mozzarella, provolone and peccorino were explained before we had a cheese tasting. The providore was very keen to discuss money making opportunities that he had heard about in Australia and then we left with our second doggie bag of left overs - we were already hitting the food wall and it wasn't even 10:30am!

Provolone is my new favourite cheese.

Thankfully, we had a longer walk to reach the produce markets in the old town where the different types of vegetables were pointed out as we dodged the scooters and cars that seemed to negotiate the narrow lanes at break neck speeds. Neopolitan driving etiquette was discussed and Francesca described the code as a personal set of road rules that not even the police seem to challenge.

The markets.

Just up a little alleyway, we stopped at a cucina where we were invited inside to sit at a high table while Francesca went to order our lunch. This place was another institution where you can purchase what our guide termed "homestyle dishes" to eat in or take away. The menu cycles through the week and then repeats. It was very popular with the locals.

Pasta and white beans and rice lasagna.

We drank a beer, Peroni of course, since we have crossed the beer line, while the plates arrived with a pasta and bean dish in creamy tomato sauce and a dish that looked like lasagne except it was made from rice. By now, we were really full but we bravely attacked these 2 dishes and thankfully our guide agreed to help us eat them. 

We were getting ready to leave when Francesca went back to the counter for the next 2 dishes! We looked aghast at her and she laughed. This time we were presented with fried crumbed provolone and a sausage dish with greens. We sampled it and Francesca put away a good proportion of it but another doggie bag was requested.

The cheese is to die for.

The provider of the last four dishes.

We finally waddled out to meander the backstreets, weaving between the vehicles and stopping once again at a street vendor that specialises in fried pizza - a must try in Naples. We pleaded for a small sample and were presented with one the size of a dinner plate, filled with cheese, ham and tomato. Delicious but the majority was packed away for later consumption. I felt like Mr Creosote from Monty Python's The Meaning of Life.

My type of food, but I just couldn't ...

Afterwards came a traditional cuccuma coffee, happily with no food. It's like the traditional stove top pots except the Neapolitan version is made upside down. Once the water boils you need to invert the pot so the water can filter back through the coffee. Unlike the more common stove pot machine that is a percolator.

The café, it means: this is how you brew coffee.

We moved off towards the port area out of the old town where we stopped at another institution, a gelatoria where we managed to find a small space for a double scoop cone. As we walked along, we found ourselves in an ever increasing crowd of people since it was now mid afternoon and we were in the area of Municipio. Here there is a galleria, very similar to Milan's Victor Emanuelle II and apparently the oldest (by 20 years) opera house in Europe. Come on Milan, this is fight territory.

Not a patch on Milano.

It was in the galleria that Francesca bid us farewell with some suggestions for pizza dining should we return to Naples later in the week. She also presented us with a Culinary Backstreets book on Naples. After that, we had a quick look at the major piazza, glimpsed the massive cruise ships in the port and wended our way back to the metro to trace our steps back to Garibaldi station and the Circumvesuvian train home to Sorrento.

Christmas decorations are appearing.

Messages from above.

One of the Neapolitan castles.

Yes, scooters ride down there.

The platform was crowded with people and lots of luggage. This would be an interesting trip. Garibaldi is the second stop and while there were not many passengers already aboard when the train arrived, there was standing room only when it left the station. Thankfully we scored seats. It only became more crowded as the journey continued, particularly at the Pompeii station.

The crowd thinned a little at the last two stations prior to arriving in Sorrento, which allowed the air con to finally have a noticeable impact. We stopped and purchased wine on the way home that we did not drink. Nor did we attempt any of the left overs we had accrued throughout the day. In fact, I may never eat again. If you are considering joining the Alone Australia challenge doing Francesca's food tour before you submit to starvation would go a long way to ensuring success.

After commenting on the lack of Sorrento moon last night I decided to get up early and take a photo for you. The moon was bright at 4:30am.

Alla prossima.