Ah, Napoli. It’s here in this seaside Italian city where I learned the magic of first encounters.
While waiting in line at L’Antica Pizzeria “da Michele,” my new CouchSurfing friend Saverio spun me around on the busy streets. Without a care in the world and grin on his face, he led my feet to the beat of Spanish music from a nearby Tabacchi shop.
Our dancing was interrupted by a loud, “32!” The owner of “da Michele” called out our number in Italian and led us to our table located next to the wood burning pizza oven.
The menu at “da Michele” is simple; the two pizza options include margherita and marinara. Of course, we ordered both.
Anxiously awaiting our pizza pies, we watched as wood was added to the oven and perfectly cooked pizzas appeared. The pizzas were placed on large white ceramic plates and then delivered to our table.
My first bite of Naples style pizza was incredible. The warm dough held the perfect bite- a mixture of marinara sauce, mozzarella cheese and fresh basil. Enjoying every sight and smell in “da Michele,” I devoured my first pizza pie in Napoli. The crispy crust left my fingers slightly dusted with char from the pizza oven.
Saverio then drove us through the back alleyways of Napoli. Dodging vespas and pedestrians, we finally arrived seaside and popped open a bottle of wine. The semi-sweet, bubbly wine was created by Saverio’s Nonna at her vineyard located near Pompei.
Sipping on wine from plastic cups in the streets of Napoli, we took in the breathtaking views of the surrounding islands. The sky changed from pink to dark blue as the sun set in the distance.
Walking back to his car, Saverio started singing and asked if we had ever heard the song, “That’s Amore.” With an extra skip in my step from the pizza and bubbly wine, I sang the lyrics to Dean Martin’s quintessential Italian love song.
“When the moon hits your eyes like a big pizza pie, that’s Amore!”
Although it was a short visit, Napoli taught me to savor every moment- especially first encounters.
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