A Few Days in Naples: Grit, Grandeur, and Great Pizza

Last month, we enjoyed a short trip to the vibrant city of Naples. From the moment we arrived, we were captivated by its unique charm — that rare blend of grit and faded grandeur. Naples isn’t your typical picture-postcard destination; it’s a city to be embraced, full of fascinating history, contradictions and indomitable spirit.

The Spirit of Naples

Nestled beneath the ever-watchful Mount Vesuvius, Naples has weathered centuries of challenges — famine, plagues, poverty, and the devastation of World War II. The city was bombed more than 200 times, yet during the Four Days of Naples, locals rose up together to drive out the Nazi occupation. That same resilience still pulses through the city today, perhaps most vividly felt during a football match!

A City for the Locals

Unlike many Italian cities I’ve visited, Naples feels deeply for the locals. Even as tourists pass through on their way down the coast, the city’s heart beats to its own rhythm. We wined and dined throughout the city and found everything both fairly priced and absolutely delicious. The famous Neapolitan pizza did not disappoint, alongside local specialty, Spaghetti alla Nerano (pasta with courgettes),

A Day by the Sea

We spent a “quieter day” at the beach club Bagno Sirena — easily reached by metro to Mergellina. The sea was still warm in late October, and we bobbed around in the water, looking at the volcano in the distance. Lunch brought another discovery: the Tartufo, my ice-cream cake of dreams.

Football and Fierce Devotion

In Naples, football is unavoidable. Every street is lined with Napoli flags and tributes to Diego Maradona, whose legend looms large across the city. His flaws seem to have been completely forgiven; here, he’s treated as a god. Watching a Napoli game in a local bar was wonderfully entertaining — no need to pay for stadium tickets when the streets themselves come alive with every goal.

Getting Around

Travelling around Naples is surprisingly easy and inexpensive. The Metro is cheap and efficient, but for a bit of fun, we hired a scooter for a day and whipped through cobbled streets strung with washing and blue-and-white flags. For something less hair-raising, you can also book a Vespa tour — a fantastic way to explore the main sights scattered across the sprawling city.

Where We Stayed

We stayed in a central Airbnb with a beautiful courtyard, a calm refuge from the city’s lively chaos. After a day of wandering through bustling streets and dodging scooters it was the perfect place to unwind.

If you’re looking for a buzzy city break filled with history and high-quality carbs, Naples is a great destination.

You might just need a rest when you get home.

Bring back the postcard

Alongside letter writing, we have seen the steady decline of the postcard over the years. These days we prefer to send a lovely filtered photo of our destination and ping it around the world for all to see within seconds via Instagram, Snapchat, Facebook etc. Unsurprisingly Britain’s oldest postcard publisher. J Salmon shut its 140-year-old operations in 2021 due to declining sales. Such as shame since these little sun cream smudged notes hold so much significance and remind us of people that we love.

When my best friend died ten years ago, I was clung to tangible things that made me feel connected to her. These included a small stash of birthday cards and I was very sad when our text messages perished alongside my old phone. If you have experience cleaning out the home of an elderly relative, you can piece parts of their together through letters and postcards with their dates and stamps. Even a few words scribbled on the back of an overexposed sunset, form part of a paper trail and a legacy.

Over the years I have tried and failed to write postcards. This is a particularly excellent rainy day activity or something to do with children when waiting for a meal. The tricky part of completing this task is having a pen, buying stamps and finding a post box. I would suggest getting the stamps, novelty pen and postcards on the same day. There is usually a post box at the airport and it really doesn’t matter if you get home before the card arrives.

It makes me a bit upset to think that all my memories, photo’s and correspondence are stored in the cloud and probably being used to suggest weight loss programs, cruises and funeral plans amongst other things. This year, I am going to attempt to write, because there’s nothing like that dog eared postcard that constantly falls off the fridge and reminds you of someone.

Sophie x

Tablecloth in Wimbledon Linen