First, the facts…
… Over four billion pizzas are sold in America every year, 17% of all restaurants are pizzerias, including Italy at World Showcase at Disney World at EPCOT and around about three hundred and fifty pizza slices are eaten every second. Pepperoni is the most popular pizza at just over one-third of all pies ordered.
Posted in Arts and Crafts, Europe, Food, History, Italy, Postcards, Travel, USA, World Heritage
Tagged bouef bourguignon, Canada Poutine, Guðni Th. Jóhannesson, Italy EPCOT, Naples, National Pizza Day, Norway Pizza, Pizza, Poutine Pizza, Queen Margherita of Savoy, Sorrento, The Scream, Vincent Van Gogh
As we leave 2022, please excuse my annual self-indulgent post to begin the new year as I peer through the keyhole to look back over the last one.
The top ten most visited posts on my Travel Blog always surprise me but then I don’t pretend to understand how search engines work. I say visited pages rather than read because I am neither so conceited or sufficiently naive to claim that a visit equals a read. I know that a lot of people will arrive here by mistake and swiftly reverse back out via the escape button!
No. 1
I first posted this in March 2010 so this one has been around a while and with 722 hits and a thirteenth year in the Top Ten is becoming a stubborn stayer. It is also No. 3 in all time page views with 19,400 recordings. It has been viewed every month since first posted.
No. 2
First posted in June 2009 the post has 552 hits in 2022, almost double the previous year and staying in the Top Ten for the fourteenth successive year which by that measure makes it my most successful post.
In total it has 23,750 visits which makes all time second after my post about Norway, Haugesund and the Vikings at 24,722. This one has been around for a long time ( since June 2009) and has always been popular especially around the Spring and Summer when invitations to the Royal Garden Party are going out and when people are wondering how to get one or what to wear if they have one.
Another post that has been visited every month since first published.
No. 3
Bratislava to Vienna Without a Passport
This post was from March 2022 and comes in with 400 hits, I cannot imagine why. It links back to a much earlier post of December 2009 which was spectacularly unsuccessful…
Travel Issues – Forgotten Documents
No. 4
Catalonia – In Search of Norman Lewis
I must confess that I am rather pleased about this one.
I posted this in July 2013 and it first made the top ten in 2015 before dropping out the following year so I am glad to see it back again.
There are some posts that I have written that I would like people to read and this is one of few that have achieved that. Before visiting Catalonia in 2013 I read the book ‘Voices of the Old Sea’ by Norman Lewis which is an account of the Costa Brava in the 1940s and the approach of mass tourism. In this post I attempted some research and some interpretation of the book and the area. It has recorded 288 visits and in this case I like to think that this is because of the subject rather than the pictures.
Another post that has been visited every month since published.
No. 5
Turkey – A problem with Stray Dogs
Another maverick post this one. I first put it up in July 2013 and it received a few hits but suddenly this year it has had regular visits and finishes the year with 288.
No. 6
Malta, Happiness and a Walk to Mellieha
I have written several posts about my visits to the island of Malta, this one is from May 2015. I consider some of them much more interesting than this one but where they have sunk without trace, this one just keeps on attracting hits. 280 hits in 2022 and seventh successive year in the top ten.
No 7
I visited Naples in April 2018. Recently In February 2022 I editing my pictures and sharedethese images of an exciting and eclectic city that I hadn’t used before in my posts…
268 hits this year.
No. 8
Alternative Twelve Treasures of Spain – Antoni Gaudi
This is the ninth successive year in my top ten for my post about the Catalan architect Antoni Gaudi. After I had taken a look at the official Twelve Treasures of Spain I thought it might be fun to draw up my own personal alternative list. I included Antoni Gaudi in a general rather than a specific way. I posted this in March 2013 and this year with 256 visits it has risen one place to number eight.
This is another post that has been visited every month since posting and with a total of 7.,456 recorded hits is number 7 in my all time list.
No 9
Poland (Wroclaw), The Anonymous Pedestrians
This is another post that I am happy to see in the top ten with 360 visits. I wrote this in March 2014 after visiting the Polish city of Wroclaw and finding the street statues of the Anonymous Pedestrians.
The statues are a memorial to the introduction of martial law in Poland on December 13th 1981 and the thousands of people who disappeared (‘went underground’) in the middle of the night courtesy of the militia. In a symbolic statement the fourteen statues were erected in the middle of the night in 2005 on the twenty-fourth anniversary of the introduction of martial law.
A total of 248 hits in 2022 and with visitors every month since originally posted.
No !0
The Island of Hvar
Published in January 2022 and has 242 hits. I can offer no explanation why.
If you have read one of these posts or any of the 3,200 others on my site ‘Have Bag, Will Travel’, then thank you from the bottom of my heart! I guess it proves that George Bailey (It’s A Wonderful Life) was right when he said: “The three most exciting sounds in the world are anchor chains, plane motors and train whistles.”
Total visits in 2022 – 48,500
Total visits all time – 1,147,447
Countries where most visitors come from – UK, USA, India, Australia, and Spain.
Most viewed picture in 2022…
A little disappointing, I like to think I have posted one or two good pictures of my own during the year but most clicked is a picture of Casa Batlló in Barcelona that I scanned in from my collection of postcards…
I would be interested to know about other people’s most popular posts in 2022 and the possible explanations why? Comment and let me know. I’m a sucker for statistics!
Posted in Arts and Crafts, Europe, History, Literature, Postcards, Travel, Wordpress, World Heritage
Tagged Bratislava, Ferral Dogs Turkey, Gaudi, Hvar, Malta, Mellieha Bay, Naples, Norman Lewis, Royal Garden Party, Statistics, Vesuvius, Wroclaw
We were staying at a place in an untidy little square situated directly behind the Doumo of Naples so it was easy to squeeze in a visit in between an afternoon on the busy streets and preparing for an evening pizza meal.
The Doumo is a fine building with a grand façade that gleams like polished stone in the sunlight and an impressive interior but it is known most of all for being the repository of the blood of Saint Januarius, the Patron Saint of Naples.
An unusually absurd tale…
Posted in Europe, History, Italy, Postcards, Travel, World Heritage
Tagged Januarius, Nales Pizza, Naples, Naples Cathedral, Saint Patrick, Saint Paul, saint Spyridon. Life
Continuing the editing of the pictures of my visit to Naples I came across these images at an exhibition about the famous volcano…
I added one of my own…
Posted in Beaches, Europe, History, Italy, Natural Environment, Postcards, Travel, World Heritage
Tagged bay of Naples, Camorra, Godfather, Italy, Mafia, Mediterranean Sea, Naples, Peter Sarstedt, Pizza, Pizza Margherita, Sant' Agnello, Sorrento
I visited Naples in April 2018. Recently I was editing my pictures so thought that I might share these images of an exciting and eclectic city that I haven’t used before in my posts…
Posted in Arts and Crafts, Cathedrals, Europe, Food, History, Italy, Literature, Postcards, Travel, World Heritage
Tagged graffiti Naples, Naples, Naples Street Life, Street Food, Urban Art
Always, at this time of the year I spend some time looking at my statistics. This year I have been looking back over twelve years to find my Top Five most searched terms which may or may not have brought people to my posts…
Number 5 – Ponte Veccio – 2,508 search clicks
Florence and the Ponte Vecchio
First posted – February 2010
Total visits – 114
Best Year – 2015, 54 visits
2021 – zero visits
A bit of a mystery this one. I love the stats but there is something wrong here, 2,508 search clicks but only 114 post visits? Just another WordPress anomaly perhaps.
Number 4 -Wieliczka Salt Mine – 4586 search clicks
First posted – April 2010
Total visits – 18,340
Best Year – 2013, 5016 visits
2021 – 46 visits so still nice to get visits to a ten year old post.
Number 3 – Vesuvius – 4858 search clicks
Mount Vesuvius, Living on The Edge of Disaster
First posted – April 2010
Total visits – 18,654
Best Year – 2013, 5016 visits
2021 – 465 visits so the oldest posts with the longest legs.
Number 2 – Moulin Rouge – 7,340 search clicks
Onyx UK and an Inappropriate Visit To The Moulin Rouge
A bit of a surprise this one
First posted – August 2011
Total visits – 6,788
Best Year – 2012, 4427 visits
2021 – 15
Number 1 – Vikings – Way out in front with 20,775 search clicks
Norway, Haugesund and the Vikings
First posted – March 2011
Total visits – 24,710
Best Year – 2012, 14,773 visits
2021 – only 15 visits so well past its sell by date.
Posted in Europe, History, Italy, Wordpress
Tagged Florence, Krakow, Mount Vesuvius, Naples, Ponte Vecchio, Wieliczka Salt Mine, Wordpress Statistics
Naples – where my A to Z of Balconies meets my Washing Line Challenge…
“To see Naples as we saw it in the early dawn from far up on the side of Vesuvius, is to see a picture of wonderful beauty. At that distance its dingy buildings looked white, rank on rank of balconies, windows and roofs, they piled themselves up from the blue ocean till the colossal castle of St. Elmo topped the grand white pyramid and gave the picture symmetry, emphasis and completeness
But do not go within the walls and look at it in detail. That takes away some of the romance of the thing.”
Mark Twain – The Innocents Abroad
On this point I have to disagree with Mark Twain, the back streets are the romance of the place.
Posted in Cathedrals, Europe, Food, History, Italy, Literature, Postcards, Travel, World Heritage
Tagged Balconies of Italy, Camorra, Campania, Culture, Life, Mafia, Naples, Naples Back Streets, Naples Duomo, Pickpockets
Hopefully life is making slow progress towards getting back to normal. Until it does I am still going through my archives. On 20th April 2018 I was in the Italian city of Naples…
“See Naples and die. Well, I do not know that one would necessarily die after merely seeing it, but to attempt to live there might turn out a little differently”, Mark Twain – The Innocents Abroad
We had suggested to some regular travelling pals that we should go to Naples for a few days. They were horrified by the suggestion because of the city’s reputation as being quite dangerous. They said that they would prefer to go to Barcelona in Spain even though I pointed out that the Spanish city is the pickpocket capital of Europe.
There is the famous phrase that says ‘See Naples and die!’ which originated under the Bourbon regime and means that before you die you must experience the beauty and magnificence of Naples. Some, less charitable, now say that the city is so mad, dangerous and polluted that death might possibly be a consequence of a visit there.
To be fair not everyone is so pessimistic and gloomy about Naples and in 1913 George Bradshaw wrote in his guide ‘Great Continental Railway Journeys”…
“Naples is a bit of heaven that has tumbled to earth.”
I liked it immediately. At the Centro Storico the warren of alleys with peeling sepia walls were vibrant, chaotic and gloriously dilapidated, the architecture was glorious, the locals loud and boisterous, the balconies bannered with laundry and the driving was appalling. This was a glorious place, the beating heart of the city, raw, passionate, crumbling, secret, welcoming and corrupt.
Naples, we learned, is considered dangerous for a number of reasons. Most obvious of all is its perilously close proximity to Vesuvius that looms large over the city. Naples is the most densely populated volcanic region in the world and is regarded as potentially one of the most dangerous volcanoes on earth because there is a population of three million people living so close to it.
The second reason is lawlessness because Naples has enormous problems with Mafia style organised crime. The Naples equivalent of the Mafia is the Camorra, which is a loose confederation of criminal networks in control of crime, prostitution, arms dealing and drug-trafficking and the gang wars result in a high number of deaths.
The network of clans has been described as Italy’s most murderous crime syndicate, preying on the communities around it by means of extortion and protection rackets. Rival factions wage feuds as they battle to control the drugs trade.
Most dangerous in my opinion is Italian drivers, a problem that is not restricted to Naples. Italy it has to be said has some insanely different driving rules to the rest of Europe and the traffic was murderously busy and dangerously hectic in this part of the city.
Traffic lights are a good example of these different rules because each one resembles the starting grid of a formula one grand prix. At an Italian traffic junction there is an intolerant confusion of cars all impatiently throbbing with engines growling, exhaust pipes fuming and clutch plates sizzling like a red hot grill plate whilst behind the wheel the drivers blood pressure reaches somewhere several degrees beyond boiling point. A regard for the normal habits of road safety is curiously absent in Italy so although the traffic light colours are the same as elsewhere they mean completely different things.
Red means slow down, amber means go and green means mass homicide. At a junction an Italian driver simply points his car at the exit he is aiming for and five seconds before the lights go green, he shuts his eyes, presses the accelerator to the floor then races forward and may God have mercy on anything or anyone in his way.
Anyway, we had a good four days in Naples, Vesuvius didn’t erupt, we didn’t get gunned down by the Mob and we didn’t get run down by a mad driver. We declared it a big success and would happily return.
Click on an image to scroll through the Gallery…
Posted in Europe, History, Italy, Literature, Natural Environment, Travel, World Heritage
Tagged Camorra, Italian Driving, Italian Highway Code, Maria, Mark Twain Vesuvius, Naples, Pompeii, Vesuvius
Welcome to my latest theme. Monday Washing Lines.
Naples is a traditional Italian living and working class city with shabby narrow streets, care worn but brightly colour-washed buildings that have ancient coats of paint which have blotched and blurred by successive harsh summers and the result is a glorious wash like water colours leaking in the rain, everything running, flaking and fusing.
The streets between the houses are deep gullies made vibrant by washing lines carelessly strung outside windows and across the pavements like tattered bunting as though in anticipation of an important carnival, dripping and swaying above little shops, street food vendors and small bars.
It is a Challenge. Do feel free to join in…
Posted in Arts and Crafts, Europe, History, Italy, Postcards, Travel, World Heritage
Tagged Monday Washing, Naples, Naples washing lines, Washing Lines, Washing Powder
February 9th is National Pizza Day in the USA.
A National Pizza day in USA is not really surprising because over four billion pizzas are sold in America every year. 17% of all restaurants are pizzerias and it is estimated that around about three hundred and fifty pizza slices are eaten every second. Pepperoni is the most popular pizza at just over one-third of all pies ordered.
“When the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie that’s Amore”
The USA makes the extravagant claim that it makes the best pizza in the World and specifically from New York but surely the finest pizza must come from come from Italy. Maybe New York has a claim to make because at 15% the Italians are the largest ethnic group in that city.
Back to Italy. Legend has it that Queen Margherita of Savoy gave her name to the most famous pizza of all on a visit to Naples in 1889.
Tired of French gourmet cooking (as you might well be) she summoned the city’s most famous pizza-maker, Raffaele Esposito, and asked him to bake her three pizzas and she would chose her favourite. Like a judge on a cookery TV programme she decided upon the patriotic version, prepared in the colours of the Italian flag – red (tomato), green (basil), and white (mozzarella) and this became the Pizza Margherita.
Everyone in Naples eats pizza, I have never seen so many pizza restaurants in one place, I tried to work out how many pizzas might be eaten here in a single day but I found the number to be so big it was incalculable and I feared that my head might possibly explode.
Interestingly I cannot see that Italy has a National Pizza Day. Maybe the reason why is this. In terms of pizza consumption per population Italy is only fifth in the World. Fourth is Germany, third is the UK, second is the USA but first is NORWAY!
Perhaps not so hard to understand when you discover that the National dish of Norway is something called fårikål – a dubious combination of boiled cabbage, sliced potato and sheep head meat. Norway doesn’t have a National Pizza Day or understandably a National Fårikål Day. It does have a National Day on 17th May each year which seems to cover just about everything including pizza and fårikål.
When I was a boy growing up I am certain that we had a version of lamb stew but we certainly didn’t have pizza!
We had never heard of moussaka, paella or lasagne and the week had a predictable routine. There was absolute certainty about the menu because we generally had the same thing at the same time on the same day every week, there were no foreign foods at all, no pasta or curries, rice was only ever used in puddings and olive oil for removing ear wax.
I can still remember my very first pizza and I consider myself fortunate that it was in Italy, in 1976, my first ever overseas holiday when I visited Sorrento with my dad.
I became an immediate fan of the Italian classic and all of its variants . Just so long as it doesn’t have pineapple on it because pineapple on a pizza is just plain wrong.
And, I am not the only one who thinks this way; in 2017, the President of Iceland, Guðni Jóhannesson said that he was ‘fundamentally opposed’ to pineapple on pizzas.
In his words…
“I like pineapples, just not on pizza. I do not (unfortunately) have the power to make laws which forbid people to put pineapples on their pizza.”
Authentic Neapolitan pizzas are made only with local produce and have been given the status of a ‘guaranteed traditional speciality’. This allows only three official variants: pizza Marinara, which is made with tomato, garlic, oregano and extra virgin olive oil, pizza Margherita, made with tomato, sliced mozzarella, basil and extra virgin olive oil, and pizza Margherita Extra made with tomato, buffalo mozzarella from Campania, basil and extra virgin olive oil.
Pizza should be kept simple but sadly it is not only pineapple that is used to spoil it.
Canada joins in on USA Pizza Day and I nominate this Poutine (chips, gravy and cheese curds) Pizza as probably the worst ever variation on the famous pie.
If we had ever had pizza at home and my mum served this up I can guarantee that I would be there twenty-four hours later listening to her repeat over and again – “you are not leaving the table until you have eaten all of your dinner” or, on rare occasions that I could wear her down…” one more mouthful and you can get down ”.
In Naples we stumbled upon an excellent pizzaria down a predictable untidy back street and went downstairs into the restaurant. Good job we were early because within half an hour it was heaving with customers. The food was cheap, the house wine was served in a jug and I would like to tell you that I had a classic Margherita but I can’t because I added ham, olives and artichokes to the topping.
We cannot go to Naples right now of course so have to settle for the next best thing. Last year I bought a pizza stone and Kim has become a bit of an expert at preparing the Italian classic, making the dough from Italian flour and preparing the toppings from ALDI. The stone works well in a regular oven by absorbing the heat and doubling the oven temperature. This process probably does enormous damage to the oven but it makes great pizza. Check out your house insurance policy before using it is my advice.
This is our favourite, thin crust tomato, mozzarella cheese, prosciutto ham and artichokes…
This may look like a pizza but it is in fact a jellyfish and it is important not to get them confused.
So, what is your favourite pizza?
Have Bag, Will Travel 