A Trattoria Dinner and a Meeting with Umberto Neon

Che bella serata! (what a lovely evening!) I was craving mussels tonight, so after asking around for piatti di cozze (mussel dishes) my father and I settled down for dinner at a little family trattoria, right by our hotel. I had the cozze alla Luciana (mussels with tomatoes), and my dad had the gnocchi alla sorentina (gnocchi with a creamy tomato sauce and some pieces of melted mozzarella). We also shared an insalata caprese for our antipasto, and a bottle of the vino bianco di casa (house white wine). The meal was simple but delicious and the restaurant was filled with locals and relatives.

Cozze alla Luciana (mussels with tomatoes)

Gnocchi alla sorentina

After dinner, we went for a walk in the neighbourhood. Durinf our stroll, we chanced upon the studio of "Umberto Neon," a man who makes an art out of the manufacture of neon signs. He invited us into his studio to watch as he worked. We conversed with him in broken Italian, subjects ranging from his work to food (of course). He explained to us that the first pizza, invented in Naples, was not the pizza Magherita*, as many people assume, but the pizza marinara, topped with oil, tomatoes, oregano and garlic.  We asked him if he had a favourite pizzeria, and he gave us some directions, adding that we should say that "Umberto Neon" had sent us.

Umberto Neon, working his magic

To finish the night, we ordered some gelato, and walked back to the hotel with happy stomachs.

Une crème glacée à saveur Schtroumpfs! Dégeulasse, ou schtroumfant?

"Do not park here on pain of death" it says

*The pizza Margherita was invented in Naples in 1889 by Raffaele Esposito, to honour the Queen Magherita. He garnished it with basil, mozzarella and tomatoes to represent the three colours of the Italian flag.