Is it possible to celebrate Thanksgiving in Italy? It is if you’re visiting American friends residing in Naples. There was no way I would miss this cool invitation to toast the Pilgrims with a worthy Chianti in the land that gave us pizza and a view of Capri. “Thanksgiving Wherever” sounded like the perfect Diva antidote for this single San Franciscan who didn’t want to go thought the nine-course turkey day tradition alone.
With ticket in hand, I departed on a Lufthansa night flight from San Francisco to Naples, with small layover in a snow covered Oktoberfest land, Munich. Munich airport is a grand place to be on a layover: leather goods, jewelry, wine, you name it—Rodeo Drive/Union Square/Manhattan-like boutiques all lined up awaiting your visit with your Visa card in hand. You never know your layover is a layover. And ladies, naughty not-in-a-brown-bag items are sold at the purveyor of erotica, Beate Uhse, in the oh-so-public area Level 4 in Terminal 2.
From my productive layover in Munich, I went on to Napoli (as Italians call Naples), just a lunch hour from the Amalfi Coast. I flew Air Dolimiti, and they filled my small but perfectly fluted wine glass (yes glass, as in no plastic) with ruby claret-colored Italian vino and fed me soppressa (rich, red, real salami), precious Italian cheese, a bundle of grapes, and fat little bread sticks—all signs that I had arrived in Italy, or at least was headed there.
I touched down at Naples airport on time at 9:30 p.m. and was met by the friends I had come to celebrate Thanksgiving with. I was wide awake and ready to roll after my fifteen-hour venture from San Francisco. My dreams of visiting the warm Naples Bay were shattered immediately when we stepped outside the airport to be met by 4 degrees C. My Celsius converter was off but my frozen cheeks told me it was near freezing!
I was fortunate to be staying in a mountainside terraced villa with a pool (brrr) overlooking the beautiful Bay of Naples, but there are abundant first class hotels on the main waterfront street of Naples overlooking Mount Vesuvius, the Isle of Capri, and the enchanting harbor waterfront across from Castel dell’Ovo—which translates to “the Egg Castle.” Legend says an egg was placed inside the walls of the castle and that these stone walls were so strong an egg could survive forever within.
So what’s a gal to do in Napoli? For starters, I tried plenty of cappuccinos, truly the epitome of morning coffee. Don’t order after noon or you’ll label yourself a classless idiot. Be prepared: some cafes serve this frothy delicacy with lots of sugar included.
True confessions of a cannoli lover: not only did I have one over the top traditional turkey Thanksgiving dinner in Naples, but I had three evenings in one week where we consumed the bird with all the trimmings! It seemed wherever we went that week, our Italian friends rolled out the Neopolitan hospitality to conjure up their version of the meal we all know so well. I was soon relegated to begging for pasta, pizzas, mounds of mozzarella, and local sweet calamari. I thought that my next Italian mangia experience might be at a San Francisco ristorante after I got home!
Wines are divine and they’re sulfite free, which means no hangover! I paid 4 euro at a local market or less and I had a great bottle of vino to enjoy back in my hotel room. Remember to travel with your corkscrew, but pack it in your luggage, as it may be on the list of “not welcome on board” items. (If you overindulge on the zesty vino, take a day boat trip to the Isle of Ischia to revel in the volcanic muds known for their treatment of aches and pains. Caution: Ischia thermal spas are only open spring to fall.)
