The idea was to go to the Archeological museum.  When we arrived there there were all kinds of games,  happening out front.  On closer examination, the arrows for the target shoot had suction cups and the basket for basket ball was mini.  There was a group of handicapped athletes (mostly amputees) playing volley ball sitting down.  And a bunch of 3 on 3 kids volley ball games.  Have no idea why this was happening in front of the museum. but it’s Naples.  Expect the unexpected.

We went inside to buy our tickets and were immediately accosted by a woman trying to sell us her services as a guide.  We said no but noticing how crowded it was decided to come back on a week day.

So we continued up the hill, thinking we would make it up to the St. Elmo castle at the top.  The walk, through a grittier part of town, was so interesting.  There was this guy, roasting small artichokes literally IN the street.  And this large shrine in the side of the hill:

Shops galore—plants and flowers, fruit and vegetables, butchers and bakeries. Seafood shops had these shallow basins with water and different kinds of clamss.  Most of them looked like shells we find at the beach.  There was even one filled with coquinas—-they were the cheapest.    After we walked up about 15 minutes it began to really cloud over so, since the main purpose was to get the view, we turned around and headed back towards via Toledo. 

Our friend Yvonne had recommended Trattoria del Sole so that’s where we went.  We had a fabulous lunch.  They have this big buffet of antipasti but the waitress has to do it for you.  We had a plate of vegetables and a sausage.  Then we ordered spaghetti with mussels and clams (some of the same kind of small clams we had just seen on the hill) and it was delicious in a light tomato sauce with just enough garlic.  Ken had a Neopolitan cake for dessert.

the dining room at Trattoria del Sole

After lunch we came home for a while.  I had a great nap!

We wanted to walk through the streets of the Spanish quarter.  Heading down there there were tons of people on the streets.  Passegiata time?  We saw a group of Snegalese drummers who drew a large crowd, some guys making white cotton candy, lines out the door at one gelato spot  and a guy doing magic tricks. It’s a carnival!  The shops in the quarter were all closed so we decided to save it for another time and we strolled back home.

I made us a simple frittata for dinner and we had a nice bottle of grocery store prosecco.