Sunday, October 5 –

Ahhh, it was kind of a nice relaxed day with no formal plans.

Started a little earlier than we planned, not with a call to prayer but a 5:30AM car alarm that apparently could only be shut off for 10 seconds at a time. After 15 minutes of that, I was wide awake!

I guess on a positive note, I was able to get in my resistance band workout before breakfast. Breakfast at the hotel was an extra charge but easy–not an extensive selection, but we did meet and chat with a nice family from Canada.

The streets were rainy when we first headed out–as we are no longer in the land of mosques, I found a neighborhood church for Mass while Dan found the laundromat. Both of us had encounters with the relaxed Italian culture–the Mass started 30 minutes later than posted on the website, and Dan had to jump through some hoops to get change for the machines. However, we both accomplished our goals and actually were done at the exact same time.

Erin had recommended the Pio Monte della Misericordia for its “in situ” Caravaggio, “The Seven Acts of Mercy,” so we made that our first stop. I know very little about art, but I do know the corporal works of mercy and the piece really was impressive. What I liked even more was the fact that its themes dovetail with the mission of the philanthropy that houses the museum, to carry out traditional works of mercy.

The museum also houses a small collection of contemporary art. It is always amusing to listen to engineer Dan wander through that type of work–I only wish Erin had been there to argue with him!

We then just wandered and came upon the Duomo. We didn’t stay long as Mass was in progress and I am never comfortable being a tourist traipsing through a worship service.

By then it was getting towards lunchtime and we knew we needed to try some Neapolitan pizza. We found a place that was uncrowded when we walked in and jammed by the time we left. The pizza was plentiful (eg, too much) and the atmosphere lively. Carlo, our waiter, was delightful.

We stopped back at the hotel to drop off our leftovers (tomorrow’s breakfast!) and our rain gear–the skies were clearing!! We then took a very long stroll through the streets and along the waterfront, with no destination in mind, just getting a feel for the city. It’s really lovely to have no agenda sometimes.

After some rest time, we headed off to dinner at a place recommended by the hotel. When we arrived, we were welcomed by a bunch of guys watching a soccer game. As it was only 6:30, we were the only people there for dinner. It was fun listening to the yelling as things happened during the game–it was a very casual place, there was a dog sitting at the next table. Clearly, very local.

We had a nice dinner, I think Naples won the game, and by the time we left, there were many more people in the restaurant!

Tomorrow morning, we hit the archeological museum before heading out towards the Amalfi Coast!

24,086 steps

11.6 miles