Millions of people across the globe, including my mother, have been inspired by the book, and now movie, Eat, Pray, Love. When we arrived in Italy, my mother insisted we find the pizza place where Julia Roberts declared her love for the best pizza in the world. Hey, I had no complaints. I was all for finding great pizza in Italy. So off to Naples we went. 

After a nice day of peace and relaxation, with a hint of the morning’s rain still lingering, we set off in search of the best pizza. Our quest had begun.

The sky grew dim and we were all starving. After a short metro ride, we followed the directions we had printed out and arrived at a quaint small town just outside of Naples. We enjoyed trekking through the brick alleyways and looking at the small quiet houses, but we had to eat! Suddenly, an unusually delicious aroma invaded our noses. We had to find out where this magnificent smell was coming from. Rushing down the alley, skidding through puddles, we reached our destination. We had arrived at L’antica Pizzeria da Michele.

The first thing we noticed was the lengthy line. Groups of hungry people stood in the drizzling rain, umbrellas dripping, waiting to get a taste of this marvelous meal. As we stood impatiently in line, I thought about my ancestors from Naples. Our family name is DeMichiel, so naturally this place was built for us. After we had been pushed and pulled in line for what seemed like forever, we finally made it inside.

Warmth greeted us like a fuzzy blanket. Heavenly smells waft from the wood burning brick ovens. We stared greedily at a pizza as it passed us on a silver tray. A man in a funny little white hat greeted us in Italian. Unsure of what he was saying, we obediently followed him as he took us to our seats. He placed our order right away. Unlike American restaurants, there was no menu, only two choices - regular or extra cheese. No pepperoni or mushrooms allowed here. We decide to order a whole pizza for each of us, partnered with a cold glass bottle of Coca-Cola.

Anxiously waiting, we stared at the other patrons, wishing the pizza was on our table. As if on cue, our new Italian friend arrived at our table with four scrumptious-looking pizzas. Almost instantly our mouths began to water. The moment was finally here! Grabbing a shiny knife and fork, we dug in.

As the first bite of pizza hit my excited taste buds, I noticed the crust. It wasn’t thin, nor thick, but a perfect mix. We couldn’t help but grin as the sweet aromatic tomato sauce, along with the hot grease, slid down our arms and into our laps. This, combined with the ooey gooey cheese, created a masterpiece that we had never tasted before.

As we sadly took our last bite, we shouted out in victory:  This is Pizza! This is L’antica Pizzeria da Michele!

Christian DeMichiel is a member of the Youth Travel Blogging Mentorship Program

Photo courtesy and copyright Christian DeMichiel