Walking, Walking, Walking

Flashback to our hotel room last night....

Me (legs up on the wall, convincing my legs they have more walking around Krakow in them): When does Schindler's Factory open?
Irma (looking up the information): 10.
Me: And the walking tour starts at???
Felicia: 10 and 130.
Me: Underground museum? 10? But we need to reserve a time slot- right? And we need 2-3 hours at each? Oh, there is no way we can do them all.

<< 5 minutes of talking back and forth about our options and prioritizing picks >>

Me: Wait! We can do it all and even have a short lunch break!

And that's how we toured for 10 hours in one day.

Lesson of the story: When traveling, I want to do it all. I'm not a sit and sip coffee all afternoon in the main square kind of traveler. I'm a "this may be my only time here so I need to do it all even if it means I have 12+ hour days filled of adventure" kind of girl. Luckily, my travel partners on this trip already knew this about me and even better? They're all for it!
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Free walking tours are perhaps my favorite things ever because they take you around the city to get the lay of the land, you hear a local's perspective and did I mention they're my favorite price--- free! (Okay, not really when you tip the guide, but totally worth some of the travel budget for the information you learn and the awesome maps of the city they always have.) Worse case, you ditch the group mid-tour if it's terrible or fear you will forget where the museum is they just pointed out to come back later...but this was not the case at all!

Alyica was clearly proud of her town, Krakow. In the 2.5 hours we followed her around, we covered several miles in the city and about 400 years of Krakow's history- Kings, Austrian Empire, and more kings. We learned how "true Poles" were tested by saying 4 of the most challenging words in the Polish language: młyn (millhouse), soczewica (lentil), miele (milling), koło (wheel). Didn't pronounce it correctly? You're dead and only the Polish remained.

We learned about how the king is crowned, not born into the job so at one point, the daughter of the deceased king was crowned king while they looked for a husband for the young girl. They found someone which lead to the baptism of the nation so that they could join the Polish kingdom. By the way- back when? Poland was HUGE! The country boarders extended much past what they are today.

Walk though old told we heard stories about how the bell tower is the only part remaining of the city call after an ill-fated restoration. We heard learned about the stories that "every Pole knows" including the story as to why the trumpeter's song ends on a broken note on the top of every hour each of the 4 times he plays it. The player, a fireman, stands in the clock tower and each hour he first plays his song towards the palace, then market square, the city gate, and then the fire station. (Legend says it's because the invading tribes shot an arrow through is throat cutting his warning signal short...it's all false, made up by a local and told to an American journalist so the story continues on.)

At the University we heard about the professors lured to a conference on the German Culture shortly after the SS invaded. Rather than learned about the culture, they were arrested for starting the academic term without permission and then sent to prison camps. Here we also heard about the list of Poles who attended the school- among them Pope John Paul II (but he never graduated). We soon stood later under the the window t the Bishops Palace where he would deliver his speeches to the people when he would visit.

Our final stop lead us to Wawel Hill where the Royal Palace and Cathedral are situated. Although the country is now a democracy, the President still used the castle. We decided to "change our lives" by touching the "strange" wall where local legend says 1 of the 7 pieces of a material that fell from the sky landed on this site. Why? Well, Krakow did survive many invasions but never lost their castle. If that's not enough for you to drink the cool-aid,  this is the only section of wall of the entire castle that does not have a mold problem. (You can't make this stuff up!)

At the case of Wawel Hill, along the river, my pressing question about those dragons was finally answered! Situated outside of the Wawel Dragon's lair, we learned how he used to cause problems for the king by eating all the virgins. So the kind declared war on the dragon and announced to tall the knights that whoever killed the dragon could have half the kingdom and a bunch of riches. Knight after knight tried to slay the dragon, but they all died. After months of this, a shoemaker told the Kind he knew how to slay the dragon and asked if he did, if he could have the reward. The king doubted the ability of a shoemaker to kill the dragon, but agreed. The shoemaker, Krak, took a sheep's fleece, soaked it in sulfur, and left it at the entry of the dragon's lair. The hungry dragon devoured the "sheep" and became incredibly thirsty. He traveled down to the river and drank and drank and drank and drank and drank, drank, drank, drank, drank, drank, drank until all the water caused him to explode!  Krak got his reward and eventually was crowned King of the city. Krakow, translated means "city of Krack." Oh and the moral of the story? "Don't drink too much!"

Um yeah, of course I picked up a dragon Christmas ornament. (I decided Nico wouldn't like a baby dragon as a toy and would probably result in him bringing me even larger reptiles.) I mean, who doesn't like a dragon and now that I knew the story behind it? I'll always remember Krakow.

Sadly, that was the end of the walking tour...but not even the half way point in our day. Let's keep moving people...

Next stop: Rynek Underground 

 This museum was mentioned to us by our driver and also our guide on the walking tour so we knew it would be good! (If growing up in a touristy town has taught me anything- it's how to know what's really good versus what's really just a tourist trap based on the local opinion.)

So, the main square of Old Town has been around for a very long time. So long that over the centuries the roads were repaired by adding layers of sand/gravel to fill hole or cover the debris. This happened so many times that the current day square and Cloth Hall is slightly over 5 meters higher than it was in the midevil time of the city. One of the small churches in the square, was once on a small hill, but is now on the same level as the other buildings!


Excavation began in the mid 2000s and they were amazed with all they discovered- artifacts including the original roads from the 11th century! When the vase amounts of the items were realizes they created the  museum in what at one point was the main square, now 5 meters underground. The interactive museum had the items, but also videos and holograms of the busy markets, how fires were deadly to the city, and maps of the old town. The way of life was also explored through found graves and explaining burial practices, as to avoid vampires. A look of what the people looked like was also explored, having height charts to see where you stood among the average height. One display had you step on a scale to see what your weight was in 14th century Krakow measurements. The results? Well I'm only okay with posting it here because unless you have the conversions handy you don't know what I weighed in that day...and if you do? I swear it was the result of all those pirogi that first night in town!

There were also several movies about the town, through the various years, but once again, one the Red Army showed up to liberate them from the SS, the history sort of stopped. I don't get it. What about those 40+ years? Now I have to research or, come back and do the Commie walking tour.

Back above ground we set off for our 3rd destination. Little did we know the adventure in stores as we went in search of Schindler's Factory.

Turns out the tram number given to us as incorrect. With a lot of map reading (which we all know I'm terrible at, so luckily Andrew understands them) and a short trek through a residential area (near the old Jewish Ghetto at dusk which was only 4pm) we made it with just a few tickets left for the last admittances of the day.

The "factory" was a huge building that took us through Krakow in 1939 to 1947 as a resident of the city. Each year brought new issues: the joining of the war, SS invasion, concentration camps, a rescue by the Red Army. Although the focus was on the Jewish population at the time, there were many items from the SS invasion. Unfortunately as someone who doesn't read German or Polish many of the displays were simply pictures for me. Pictures that spoke more than most likely any translation could.

As we followed the history of Jews during this time- being forced into a ghetto, needing permission to leave, living in jammed quarters (it's estimated that each person had only 2 cubed meters of space). Accounts of children and adults written and translated on the wall mimicking the one once built around the area with pictures from the time. Perhaps the most haunting one was written by an 8 year old about how as the wall went up he realized that each segment looked like a tomb stone, foreshadowing the deaths of hundreds.

After our day spent at Auschwitz I began to see just what the experience was for many of the Jewish people prior to the miserable experience at the camps; more misery. Life in the Jewish Ghetto wasn't that much better- crowded conditions, starvation, fear of death, austere regulations. Although the Schindler story wasn't that huge part of the museum now in his former factory it was interesting to take a look into "his office." -->Side note. I'm now reading his wife's autobiography of that time frame and getting a much different impression of the story. I haven't quite finished it, but it is fascinating. I love how she says repeatedly that neither her or her husband were heroes, they just did what anyone would have...but they didn't. That's why so many died. 

So yeah, our crazy long day ended rather somberly. I recommend all three activities, although maybe not all on the same day? 

The Heel of Italy: Santa Maria di Leuca

What better time for a Sunday drive, than on a Sunday? For my last day we opted to drive down the coast to the town located at heel of the boot, Santa Maria di Leuca. Just like on my drive to the Bari area, I was stunned at just how familiar the view looked from the car window! The only difference was I was in Italy and the in Marine Headlands in the Bay Area or on HWY 1 along Big Sur's rocky coast line.  Okay, so maybe the gray sky had something to do with both of those comparisons but check it out for yourself in those pictures!

An hour into the drive we reached the coast and decided it was a great time for coffee and morning snack. At the coffee bar we were asked if we wanted chocolate on our drinks. Si was the answer, thinking that a light dusting of cocoa powder would appear. Nope. Full out chocolate syrup art work on my cappuccino! At first it was almost too pretty to drink, but that thought passed about as quickly as it arrived in my brain and I enjoyed every last drop.

We continued down the coast, and experienced some torrential downpour in the process. You know, the kind of rain that resembles your car being sprayed with a hose? Yep. Like that. But just like the day prior, the gray sky only intensified the grasses and wildflowers on the hills, the blue of the sea, and the stratification of the rocky edge connecting the land and sea. Two hours later we had arrived at our destination, marked by the lighthouse just like Jess had promised as we came out of a curve in the road.

The town was situated on a bay and in the direction we came from the sky was black with clouds ready to drop rain at any second. In the other direction? Blue sky because for the moment we had once again out ran the storm. So we found ourselves in another popular tourist destination but with only a few tourists scattered among locals. Not a big deal and in most cases preferred if you ask me!

Having our pick of both where to eat and where to sit,  we ended up at a place called Nautilus serving, you guessed it, ITALIAN! While I went for their namesake's pizza topped in different veggies than I can get in Naples, Jess ordered some fabulous ravioli looking things. Although not sure what sort of ground mixture was in each of the pockets she was positive she made the right pick after spying them on a neighboring table.

Post lunch we walked a little longer around the water before getting to see the rest of the town driving out to the more direct route up north. How much more direct? I think we took an hour off the return time? Sometimes it's all about the journey and other times it's all about getting home so you can take a Sunday afternoon nap because driving (well, riding in my case) is exhausting!

East Coast Italy: Alberobello

Note to readers: This post is part of the previous post (Ostuni)

Around some curves and over a few hills we reached our next stop- Alberobello. I've been hearing about this town since I first arrived to Italy because of its proximaty to Naples and the oh so adorable trulli houses. 

So what's a trullo? 

One of these round roofed buildings. They are unique to Puglia region of southern Italy and seem to have prominent the 19th century. It is thought they were originally built to serve as temporary store houses in the fields for crops. The dome roof allowed for a loft like structure, keeping the harvest dry in the winter and up off the ground. As they grew in popularity, some people actually resided in these houses, but with multiple domes each serving as a room.

Of course one of the most famous stories for the creation of these homes is just how easily they can be knocked down. Why? Well, in true Southern Italy fashion it's rumored that these houses were dismantled when inspectors made their round to avoid high property taxation. Yep, only in Italy. 

At any rate in our post yummy lunch state (grilled meats) we were two of the few tourists walking the streets of this popular destination. As we walked up to check out the view from one of the houses (now transformed to shop) we heard it: thunder. And no, it wasn't hard to hear at all considering the dark clouds and location of the lightning flashing wasn't too far off in the distance. Luckily, the partially blue sky held for us as we continued to explore more allies and shops. Our favorite shop? Oh the one selling pasta, sweets, and lemoncello...but in just about any flavor. The girl waved us in the shop and within seconds told us to sample the chocolate and rice candy before setting it aside to pull out cups and the first flavor of 'cello.  And then the second, followed by the third, followed by, well, you get it. Almond, Olive & Rosemary, Chocolate & Pepper, Hazelnut, Passionfruit, Bitter Almond, Rose, Strawberry, Coffee.
 
I think that's all we "sampled" and of course each round had a candy, nut, or cookie to taste. Our search for gelato was quickly abandoned. When I told her that I lived in Naples she said she'd skip the lemoncello one then, because Sorrento had the best. At least she knows that! We left there with 3 bottles each.

Our meandering through the rest of the hill was meandering. I mean...have you carried a box of 6 bottles of before? Arm work out! As we continued there was the cutest little boy sitting at the entry way of the trulli arranging plastic fruit on his table. I was too busy snapping a picture but I should have asked him how much and made his day with a sale. Of course you could hear his mom laughing at him from inside the house but he was providing some great entertainment of us. 

As the weather continued to turn for the worse and the desire to nap kicked in, we decided to call it a day and head back to her new trulli for riposo before continuing enjoying the delicious beverages we purchased later that evening.

East Coast Italy: Ostuni

Memorial Day 2011: I had just arrived to Italy and was ridiculously jet-lagged. This condition highly influenced my decision to remain in my TLA room for the entire weekend. Well, a year later- no longer jet lagged (but still keeping crazy early morning hours) I welcomed the 3 day weekend and hit the road as soon as work let out.

Heading? SouthEast
Estimated travel time? 3.5 hours
Destination? Martina Franca

You see for some time I've been meaning to pay a visit to someone I met last summer shortly after she arrived to Italy. With the weather finally warming up and the strong desire to flee Napoli on my anniversary date I told Jess to get ready for me.

The drive was absolutely beautiful! After crossing through the mountains via so many tunnels the green rolling hills scattered with vineyards, orchards, and farmland was a welcomed sight. With the windows down, Dixie Chicks blasting, and Ravi going speeds over 70mph since arrival, it felt like I was on my way down I-5 to some central valley town. The air was filled with the sweet scents that only sunny spring day can produce. Well, then again maybe it was just the lack of trash burning, car exhaust and cigarette smoke...

After following the most straight road ever I ended up at her adorable trulli house (more on these in the next post) on the outskirts of town. Talk about a 180 from where I live: neighbors present just a ways off, fresh cut hail bales, sparrows darting through the air, cars following (most of) the traffic laws. Absolutely beautiful!

Saturday morning we headed over to Ostuni, The White City, for the Saturday market. This market was probably even larger than the Caserta market but with the same types of vendors: produce, shoes, fabric, kitchen stuff, fish, meat, cheese, plants, clothes. Once we walked 80% of it we headed over to the old portion of town where the buildings were painted, you guessed it, bianco! With the dark storm clouds forming in the sky the city was radiant and looked so clean. Here we walked the cobble stone hill up to the church and picked a few random allies where the restaurant owners were already recovered from the night before and readying tables for opening at 2pm for lunch.

After our hill side adventure we headed down to the main square for cafe since although our stomachs were requesting lunch we knew nowhere would yet be opened. As we sat on the piazza a wedding let out so we felt the need to critique the outfits of the guests while we waited to see the bride's selection. There were so many short dresses and stiletto heels in attendance that I couldn't help but wondering if some of these girls had worn the same outfit to the club the night before. That thought was quickly replaced when we witnessed a pelting, yes pelting, of rice. Note to self: if ever invited to Italian wedding stand in back of crowd while waiting couple to exit church. Eventually you will get your pictures and won't be stung by rice being hurled at your head. Just when we thought that was enough entertainment, the Fiat 550 we walked by earlier pulled up into the piazza for the couple to drive away in. Now these are tiny cars. Although the bride didn't have a princess gown on, it still was lots of fabric to get in the car! Unfortunately even after finishing our coffees, playing the "can you please bring the check" game with the waitress, the bride still hadn't walked her glitter covered self to the car. We actually were never sure who she married either...At any rate, we had another destination to get to -Alberobello!

Barcelona Part Tre: The Rest

Saturday kicked off the true adventures in Barcelona...after fueling up on cafè and something way too crispy, chocolately, and yummy. In true Italian Katie fashion by the end of the first block something already caught my eye so of course we started meandering through the Naples like alleys with shops and cafes lining both sides. Luckily, we weren't that far away from where we wanted to be- Catedral de la Santa Crue. This cathedral was burried in the Barri Gòtic area, just on the other side of La Rambla.

The most striking difference between this cathedral to those I'm used to in Napoli was the amazing stain glass windows. The sunlight filtered through the otherwise dark sanctuary illuminating the hundreds of colors strategically arranged. Simply beautiful. I still don't get the need to have the remains of important people in these buildings through. Well, there is a lot of things about the Catholic Church that I don't understand...but I think that is the one that causing the most confusion in my head. Did these people say "I hope my remains get buried (or put on display) at _____?" Yes, these are the thoughts that go through my head while I'm walking around these old buildings...

Once leaving the cathedral (and admiring its moat) we headed towards Parc de le Ciutadella. If I haven't already bragged about the weather we had, let me do so now- blue sky with the sun streaming down and perfect glorious spring days. Before crossing the street, the Arc de Triomf greeted us as it was originally designed to do for the 1888 Universal Exposition. The park is named after the citadel formally found at this location, built by King Philips V after finally taking Barcelona after a 13 month siege in 1714. The citadel was torn down in 1869, leaving only 3 buildings in place including the arsenal which is now where the Catalan Parliament is located.

For the 1888 Universal Exposition, many of the buildings now in the park were built, including the Natural History Museum (Castel dels Tres Dragons). While we walked around admiring everything, hundreds of runners were utilizing the paths within the park running drills and for a split second I wished I was out there with them...but then my body remembered the marathon just a few weeks back. Piano, piano.

The bench lined walk ways with flower covered branches arching over them were simply stunning, as was the amount of grass. I guess I am becoming more of city girl with each passing month! On our trek through the park we saw dogs playing fetch, an enormous Mammoth statue, old men playing bocce ball, and the greenest of mini parrots sticking out of the palm trees. Eventually we found the Cascada, a fountain designed by...yep you guessed, it Gaudí. This was one of his projects as a student and he sort of designed it after the Trevi Fountain in Rome. Although there was only a ton of algae and a floating watermelon rind the water around the fountain, somehow it just blended with the somewhat natural look of the fountain. Well, minus the gold figures on top that I really just didn't care for. Maybe if there were fish I could have looked passed the goldness...maybe.

Let's see here. Then it was off to my favorite place of all time, but now since you're all Gaudí experts I won't take you through that again. On the route back we wandered through more new streets, re-exploring where we had been the night before. Stopping by Mercat St. Joseph there was some permanent damage done... I love looking at all the stands: produce, fish, spices, cheese, and even the occasional meat case. Well, they took it to a whole new level with ham legs. Cured. Hoof and all. Ick. I may need therapy to work through this.

Fast forward to dinner that night along the water. Finding a place to sit us at 11pm was no tough task. Getting through said dinner when I'm staring at a wall with no less than 3 pig legs hanging from it- tough. Very tough when you realize that the white thing stabbed into it is a "juice pan" and MAJ545 teases you about it the entire time. Gracias by the way.

I think I've captured most of that last collage. Some of those pics are just random but too much fun not to include. And yes, those are our "map shots." By that time of the day all map rules had been thrown out the window since we'd walked way too many miles and were in dire need of naps.

It truly was a fabulous trip and I couldn't have asked for a better escape from Italia. Although I'm not one who typically enjoys returning to places I've been...I'd consider returning to Barcelona because that's how much I enjoyed it. PLUS, I need to see the progress made on the most beautiful building ever!

Barcelona Part Dos: Gaudí Not Gaudy

48 hours in Barcelona is way too few; even when days start early and end in the early hours of the morning. Despite our short time, we chose to spend several hours at La Sagrada Familia. Well. I don't think we chose- that's how long it took us, and although I could have been there until closing we had to see some other things. Okay, so maybe an hour of that was spent in line, but with coffee in hand and chatting with the Italian couple in front of us, we still were in awe of the incomplete building next to us.

I put the link to the Wikipedia page above and I really encourage you to read more. Even after the audio tour of the place and now reading what I can online I'm still in complete awe. Very few times in my life have I ever gotten goose bumps from a cathedral...and this one isn't even completed! MAJ545 summed it up well with his comment about "I don't care what you believe, you can't destroy something like this."

Antoni Gaudí started working on this project back in 1883, one year after the first stone was laid. He spent the next 40 years designing and building the cathedral. How? Well he took his archetectural inspiration from nature: snails, leaves, honeycomb. He also was a geometry genius so took what he learned from nature and applied it to his creations. The use of colors and stones magnified the natural looks of water, sky, earth, and fire. Sculpted animals "scurried" all over the various façades: lizards, snakes, snails, turtles, birds, dogs.

When we finally made it into the gates the Passion Façade, in 3 pannels met us. The sharp lines chiseled into the stone, intensified by the shadows and sunlight, depicted the events of Holy week.  It took me a minute to realize that the scenes followed a s-shaped path, but I could figure out just about everyone and their part in the story. Except for the "thinking knights" that really turned out to be the Roman guards casting lots for Jesus' garments. Eh, I never liked them much anyway. Gaudí left no detail out in this creation: a fossilized palm frond, alpha and omega symbols, the rooster. As we entered into the sanctuary, thousands of words from the gospels with the "What is the truth?" highlighted on the doors. 

A mere two steps into the sanctuary and I was floored. Even now thinking about it and seeing the pictures I experience the same feeling. After the initial shock factor I just wanted lay down on the floor and stare for hours at the ceiling and the windows flooding the room with color. Despite the 22.2M stone pillars (2M wide) scattered through out the room and the massive stone vaults on the ceiling, this place was so light and open feeling. Nothing like the Gothic and Baroque cathedrals I'm so used to seeing. Again, the detail that was explained from the sea side blues to the mountain side green, the symbols within the patterns, how the lighting was just perfect- Gaudí was an inspired man and the perfect one for this tasking.

Pulling myself up from the seat I found to just take it all in, I wandered back outside to the Nativity Façade, which was started during Gaudí's life and now show the wear of the city around it. Again, multiple scenes depicted the events of Jesus' childhood below the nativity scene completed the portion of the wall below the tree of life. Listening to the audio guide we weren't 100% sure what were were looking at but again, we knew it was something special. Well, I take that back. we were looking at something special and then 4 towers with cones of multicolored items, resembling something like kick balls or dippin' dots ice cream. Turns out that those were the missing baskets of fall and summer harvests. Oops.  

Unfortunately, he died well before much of what we saw was even built...but he left plans. Detailed plans that captured his vision. Many were destroyed during the Civil War, however they are still looking at them to remain true to his plans. On the positive side, much of the technology needed to make the plans transform from paper and models to the real deal is now a reality. Work isn't scheduled to be done until at least 2026, which is the 100th anniversary of Gaudí's death. The photographs in the museum capturing the building that has taken place over the years is stunning, but perhaps even more so, is the fact that the highest spire is still not added. The central spire of Jesus will be 170M (560ft) which is one meter less than the hill in Barcelona. Apparently Gaudí figured his creation should be lower than God's but even so, once completed it will be the tallest church in the world.

So naturally, after falling in love with his design and creativity when the desk clerk suggested Parc Güell for Easter Sunday we took the "oh so scenic route" to the hill overlooking the city. It's my doing with the scenic route. I have this tendency to just walk in a general direction...well when distracted too much it turns out I take arching routes. But never once did our trusty maps not help us out. Granted there are rules about using maps:

• Rule #1 You can't walk around with it in your hand. 
• Rule #2 The fewer number of people see you with it, the better. 
• Rule #3 Never EVER be obviously lost. 
• Rule #4 Gotta still pay attention even when looking at the map. 

Why all the rules? I think it's pretty obvious when you're a tourist, but don't make it so easy for others to pick you out! I'm good at getting us "lost" but I always can find us on the map. MAJ545 was excellent at picking the direct routes back.

At any rate...we made it to Parc Güell. It wasn't too tough once we were swept into the crowds of tourists (with their maps and guidebooks in hand) walking along the street. Of course we weren't there until we climbed up the hill. And steps. Well, I took the steps. There were also escalators, but that's cheating. We started along the trails that lead up to "my house" and then took a back path through a very quite portion of the hill before wrapping back around to a monument of 3 stone crosses. Again, couldn't have been a more beautiful place to see on Easter. Of course all the tourist climbing up the itty bitty stairs (us too) made it a little crazy but a little crazy is good.

The park started as a housing development but never took off. Of the two houses built, Gaudí purchased one. The land was then converted into municipal gardens and somehow Gaudí got involved in designing portions of it and one again his knowledge and understanding of geometry found in nature is put to use. The rock arches are really bearing the weight of the roads above! The "bird nests" of stone just blend into the natural elements.

And then there is the fun stuff. The "like mosaic" as one, yep you guessed it, American tourist said while we passed her. Along the main square's perimeter there is a winding sea serpent that acts as a bench. Tiles make amazing patterns and shapes of sea creatures, that are viewed when people aren't sitting on every open space. Below the square columns support the weight above, and even they get mosaics that are just stunning. The white ceiling scattered with colorful mosaic circles are beautiful. Again, I had to fight the urge to lay on the ground and stare towards the ceiling...it wasn't too hard though since the ground was dirty. The steps leading up to the columns were "guarded" by the Gaudí dragon. This dragon was seen all over the city so we knew we couldn't leave until snapping our pics with him.

So if I sounds like a Gaudí fan, you're right, I am. He has several buildings scattered around town, all that we were able to identify. Turns out the tile along La Rambla is also one of his designs. It just may become my goal to go see all of his projects because they are truly amazing. Funny how I never knew about him and in one trip I discover his works and feel that La Sagrada Familia could quite possibly be the most beautiful man made thing I've ever seen.

A Day in Caserta

I'm lucky to work in an office where my coworkers actually want to hang out after our "mandatory 40 hours a week." Of course depending on who I'm hanging out with greatly varies the activity we're doing: shoe shopping, coaching, dinning out, trekking through France, wine tastings, sipping coffee, sight seeing. Regardless of the activity though, it's always fun to see how they act outside of our "fixin' ships" roles and I love hearing the stories they have to tell me. 

During a send off department lunch on Friday for other 1/2 of the financial department for 3, yes 3, months my boss invited me to join him and his wife on their Saturday Caserta adventure. So, I accepted the invite. The plan was to hit the Caserta market and then the Royal Palace before doing some shopping at either a different supermarket up that way or stopping by one of the usuals. Sounded like a great plan and it was executed...but this is Italy so maybe not quite as advertised!

Once I met up with them this morning it was mandatory café time. (Sign #1 we're going native.) We then headed north about 20 miles to Caserta. We successfully found the Saturday market that had just about anything you were looking for: shoes, purses, clothes, fabric, produce, fish, cheese, bread, candy, kitchen gadgets. Then again, it also had a lot of stuff you probably didn't need like used shoes for 1E a pair. We walked the rows and rows of booths. After much debate about a lemon tree I left without it but that's because I know I can find one a little closer to home. Leaving with fresh artichokes- apparently it's artichoke season around here, blood oranges, melanzane, my boss and his wife left with an oregano plant, dried spices, and a pair of fabulously discounted (unused) pair of boots for her. My boss later explained to me that he only has 2 pairs of shoes. Is that even possible?!

As we walked back to the car (right, left, right, left) we apparently missed one of our right turns. Walking through the streets we began seeing businesses rather than the neighborhoods we had originally meandered through. Totally worth it through in my opinion because it's not every day you get to see something as amusing as this. (Eyes have been blocked to protect the identity!)

Our next stop was the Royal Palace of Caserta. Well, it was once Catherine the GPS unit got us there. She was taking us some crazy route and finally realized what we were doing...as we were parking. It was refreshing to realize that I'm not the only one that has power struggles with my GPS.

Since they had already been to the gardens we took the tour of the apartments. That is after another café. Hey, this palace is really a palace and we needed the energy to walk through room after room. Alright, so now it's time for your Southern Italy history lesson. Today's information is brought to you from a few of the tour books I received as departure gifts- so thank you once again!

Caserta was built in the middle of the 18th century by King Charles III (Bourbon King) decided to create a new center of administration. He lifted the name from the nearby city Caserta Vecchia, the medieval village which I visited last summer. This plan was heavily influenced by the need to move the power away from Palazzo Reale as it was rather vulnerable by sea and the British had threatened to attack. Once the threat passed, the plans for the building turned into more of a palace, with Versailles as a model and building began in 1742. Problem was, when Charles III returned to Spain in 1759 to become King, construction slowed. By this time, they spent more time working on the gardens. The palace by stats: 1,200 rooms, the biblioteca contains over 10,000 volumes, the nativity scene has 1,200 figures hand crafted from the 18th century and dressed in clothes made by the queen and her ladies in waiting.

 As we walked through the rooms, I found myself wanting to lay on the floor to really take in the magnificent murals and intricate molding on the ceiling. Granted, there was so much gold oozing off most walls it was icky but then again, some of those other rooms had beautiful colors and flowers painted all over.

The clouds and sun created beautiful shadows and natural lighting for some of the rooms. Granted, some of the teal, green, or red rooms really shouldn't have been viewed in bright light but it was fun. Shoot, I even got some decorating ideas for my house...like a canopy bed with a crown holding it all up. Just kidding. That would ruin the view from my window!

One whole room was dedicated to that nativity scene with all 1,200 figurines. It looks a little chaotic but I guess it was a little chaotic the night Jesus was born. This side was the more traditional scene, but as you walked around you began to see families around tables, livestock, water buffaloes, exotic travelers with camels and monkeys. It hands down was the most intricate one I've seen and most of the chapels have amazing ones. In addition to the main one in this room, figures of different sizes were also on display along the perimeter of the room.

I've got to say...I don't think I can call my house  a castle anymore after seeing a real one. But I think I'm okay with that because heating/cooling that place has got to be a nightmare! Plus there were way too many nooks and rooms that Nico would get locked in and it would be days before I could find him. Then again, that garden would be amazing to run around in...

Roma-Ostia Mezza Marathon: Giorno Uno

It's just a half marathon.

Yep. Those words flew out of my mouth so many times this past week I lost count. The phrase started off as a joke with my training buddy but we quickly realized that it really just is a half marathon.  13.1 miles. Va bene. Nothing like the mileage we've been logging along our path to the Rome Marathon now in just under 3 weeks.

Le Piume Nere headed north in our bus where we laughed about previous trips, other races, and ate fabulously appropriate pre-race day food like Thin Mints, M&Ms, and chips. Once entering the city our first stop was in the EUR district which was just outside the city walls "way back when." Our destination was San Paolo alle Tre Fontane which is the location that Paul was martyred.

The chapel was beautifully decorated from what we could see since mass was occurring. The three fountains inside supposedly sprung up in each place Paul's head landed after being decapitated. Turns out the fountains were actually closed up in more recent years due to pollution. The Abbey area was also gorgeous: tree lined walk ways, birds flying through the air chirping happy songs, statues scattered. No real reminder that just on the other side of the wall was the busy city.

After milling around until almost sunset we loaded back up for the dinner location.  I still have no idea where we actually were. I should have turned the GPS on because after a while it was a game of "where are they taking us?" Finally the bus stopped and we were told it was time to get out for a "short walk." No problem right? Well, you'd think that considering 90% of those getting off the bus were running a half marathon the next day. Yeah, you'd think. Not really the case but it was getting late and I for one was ready to eat. We walked through a neighborhood to get to the place and found our typical 2 huge tables waiting for us. Food starting pouring out of the kitchen and then it was "pizza no stop" time. Pizza no stop is the glorious pizza meal where they keep bringing out different pizzas. I think we got through 5 or 6 types before turning over the peg from the green to the red saying "basta!"

All the pizza brought out was similar to ones I've tried before, with the exception of the one with red lentils. Yep, lentils. It was absolutely yummy because the pizza dough in Rome is much more like a fried flat bread or tortilla. So if you can imagine this type of crust with lentils and cheese, it almost tasted like something Mexican or in the least, not something too Italian. The final pizza was con nutella ma, it wasn't the best one I've had so it was onto the café and lemoncello. This of course was dopo i litri di vino, birra, e acqua.

Looking around the table seeing all the seats full while hearing the laughter, chatter, and clatter of dishes is a crazy experience. It's like a huge reception but not because we're all at the same table! I'm telling you dinning with fellow LPN members makes me really feel like an authentic Italian family. Of course this family consists of a whole lot of Americans, British, Italians, Spanish, Germans, Romanians, French, Canadians, and others but when we're all together we're a regular United Nations!

While we waited for the bus back on the street we were entertained by the radar speed sign. When a car passed by at a certain speed higher than the posted limit a -5 would appear. Who knows what this meant but we figured it wasn't good and were very amused when we saw it several times...including as our bus pulled up!

We had one last stop before the hotel....a drive by of the Colosseo at night. It was beautiful. So beautiful. Even more so than this awesome picture Lori captured from the bus driver's window.

Finally (finally, finally) we arrived at the convent we were staying at. Tired and stuffed we waited for our keys to the rooms. Within 15 minutes of getting into our room the lights were out and we were sleeping since it was way past my turning into a pumpkin time. Plus, we had to be moving in the morning crazy early.

My City on the Bay...Just a Different Bay

As round two of Italian class comes to an end, it's field trip time! The various classes met up early last Saturday despite the dark sky to gain even more culture and history of the place we're currently calling home.  Although we treked through many areas I've already seen, this time around we were lead by locals that new the history of the city. Instantly the buildings and streets came alive with stories from the past. And don't get me wrong...when I say "past" I really mean past...like 2,500 years ago!

Our first stop was a castle, now transformed into a B&B, to see what a typical Neaopolitan house. Once again I had the feeling that I was born in the wrong country, in the wrong time period...

The outside of the building was being restored and as we walked under the scaffling into the entry way it looked just a little sketch. Just for a moment though because as soon as we climbed the stairs, faded frescos and mosaic tiles greeted us before one of the members of the family that owns it. We toured the beatiful building while being told the history and on several occasions that it was used for a scene in a Jack Lemon film.

Our next stop lead us through Piazza Dante where the statues overlooking the piazza were explained and also how the different parts of the city used to be separated by walls and gates. We stood in a parking lot where they unification of Italy was announced. After hearing history, we then proceeded through one of the old gates (now Book Alley). Orderly. Not breaking down the gate like they did in the old times when the plague hit the city.

It this square we stood next to a 2,500 year old Greek wall (Greek because they stack stones on top of eachother like that) while being surrounded by modern buildings.

Then it was off to a church. A church that I honestly can't remember the name of but someone really famous in church history used this place as his library. I want to say it was St. Agustine, but don't quote me on that! We snuck inside the church moments before a wedding was starting and truth be told, the red ball gown being worn by one of the guests is still what I remember the most. That and a NY Catholic official in burried there as he apparently died when in Italy, with his Italian girl friend. Oops.

Through the exit of the chuch we ended up near the Univerity and stopped for coffee. We stopped for coffee and the rain started to pour. Within minutes the semi crowded streets cleared out, and my to my regret even the two Santas playing African drums moved out. We booked it up the hill to the Museo Cappella Sansevero where some of the most amazing statues I've ever seen were. Check out the link because pictures aren't allowed so you have to look at the professional ones. The ceiling of the chapel was beautiful in brillian greens, blues, reds. Legend has it that the artist Raimondo de Sangro  used bile, blood, and other biological "pigments." Like I said, the art was amazing. Symbolism, technique, all of that but the most interstesting thing? As we left there were two skeletons, a male and female that still had their vascular systems. Again, legend says that an imbalming agent was injected into the live subjects to preserve the system while the flesh decayed. Well, I explored a little more (since it didn't look quite right) and I guess a study back in 2009 found that parts of the skeletons were actually contructed of silk and wax.

Another great day in Bella Napoli and even more fabulous new places to take visitors! Best part? I didn't even have to speak Italian.

Shopping in Sorrento

The first weekend I arrived in Naples I had a friend also arriving for a conference. Her adventures that day lead her to Sorrento, but my plan of meeting up with her was aborted when my body decided that sleep was way more important. (Funny how a major move and jet lag can do that.) Since I'm here for 3+ years I tease that I'm pacing myself with all things Italian- food, wine, cities, shopping but yet when I was offered to go to Sorrento with some folks from work, I jumped right on board. I just couldn't miss out a second time! 
So 9 weeks later (no longer jet lagged) we departed for Sorrento on a beautiful late July day- 80 degrees, sunshine, slight breeze, and very little humidity. Emerita (my coworker) was a fabulous tour guide as she took us to her normal roadside stops for breathtaking views of the bay's sparkling blue water. My internal compass got further confused when I realized that Mt. Vesuvius was not where I thought it should be, because we were now on the other side of it. I keep thinking that we were headed south, but really it's east. Well, I think....I still haven't looked at a map. Clearly I'm not too concerned and why would I be? Seriously. With a coast line like that I just need to be able to find the signs to get me back there.

I guess we beat all the beach traffic because we made it in a much shorter time than I had expected. We hit the streets looking for deals. Oh, didn't I mention the goal of this trip was to go purse shopping? Within the first 2 blocks we knew we were close since the smell of leather filled the air. I of course was torn to go into the purse store or the cafe across from it but we divided and conquered.

After the first few leather stores we took a break to sample limoncello. (Hey, it was 5 o'clock somewhere.) Total yum-ness with the creme flavors in both lemon and melon. I did invest in a bottle of the chocolate kind but it's not being opened until I have my first stateside visitor. (So hurry up and visit!) More strolling through the streets we came across even more purse shops, saw more sparking water, and even avoided being hit by scooters flying down the street.

We head to the Foreigner's Bar for lunch because their view was amazing from the patio. My pizza taste tests continued but it definitely wasn't true Neapolitan pizza- the crust was too thick! It was still yummy though (I don't think you can find icky pizza in all of Italy).  Once rested and refueled, the search for purses continued. Mind you, several had already been purchased at this point in our group. No, I wasn't among that group- I was holding strong- same with the shoes shops we were passing! Near the end of the day I was no longer able to be strong and the bag I saw in the first store called my name and oh no, it's now in my closet. Oops. In my defense- I got rid of a ton of them before moving out here AND it's something I couldn't get back in the states. Yes, I'll post a picture of it before too long.

Over all it was a fabulous day. A long day- the kind requiring a serious nap and early bedtime. Totally worth it though knowing I have some more Italian treasures in my collection and some scrapbook stuff being sent my way by one of the ladies we were with. Double score!

Roman Holiday!

So I may not be Princess Katie, but that doesn't mean that I don't crave an escape from all these trainings...meetings...required certificates...forms...meet and greets...house-hunting...you get the drift. Granted I didn't fall asleep on a bench and meet a tall, dark and handsome reporter who showed me around Rome, but I did see many of the same sights. I say some because if Rome wasn't built in a day, there is no way I can see all of it (or even a fraction of it) in a mere day. 

My day in the Eternal City was jammed packed. Of my sette to do items, I crossed off cinque. So what did I do? Keep reading! 

Piazza del Popolo The People's Plaza  
My day stared off in North Rome at the Piazza del Popolo. This main square not only marks the center of the city but also the traditional north entrance to the city. In the center of the square there is an obelisk surrounded by those adorable lion fountains. Like most piazzas there are churches and other fountains that surround the large area. I didn't check out any of these churches because I was nervous of being delayed/I figure someone else is going to want to check them out so I'll be back one of these days. (Apparently these churches have a ton of artwork and I believe it based on their doors and walls.)

At the south end of the plaza there are 3 roads leading into the city but I think Via del Corso was the most interesting. Why? Well if you look down it you can see clear to the Victor Emmanuel Monument. Since I come from the land of curves, turns, and hills this concept is somewhat crazy.

Cappuccin Crypt
I don't think you can think "Rome" without the mental imagery of the various sights and random historical events. Well that's how my brain operates and in my mental picture of Rome it includes the catacombs. Although there are lots of famous ones to visit, I picked this crypt instead? Why? Well, you can't take pictures so I have to rely on the internet to provide you images. Seriously- check out that link. I'll hold. 

Yes. Those are bones! Isn't it amazing? Those are the bones are from Capuchin monks that died during the lifetime of the crypt. They would exhume the the longest buried monk to make room for the newly deceased who was buried without a coffin. The bodies spent 30 years decomposing in the soil, before being exhumed and used in decorating the walls.

*If you haven't lost your appetite and interesting side note- Cappuccinos are named after these Capuchin Monks who wore brown robes.  

Confession time. I found myself identifying the various bones in each arrangement (apparently I did retain some of that anatomy knowledge).  Another confession? I didn't think this was creepy at all. Well, I did when I started to think about how when those who were arranging the bones may have said, "hey, please pass me Brother John's right fibula" but other than that I was just in awe. Talk about being resourceful! 

After walking through all the crypts, you find yourself in the 6th one looking at scene of judgement day. On the ceiling a skeleton holds a grim reaper scythe and a chandelier of bones hangs overhead. The words "What you are now we used to be; what we are now you will be..." leave you with an oh-so somber reminder that life here is only temporary.  

Trevi Fountain
Yep, the fountain you throw a coin over your shoulder so you can make it back to Rome. It was crazy busy in the late morning already but coins were a-flyin' and the fountain was a-flowin'. Definitely a touristy place but on another visit it will be a great hang out place with a scoop of gelato (or two) and a fabulous friend to chat with while we comment on the folks passing by.

Colosseum
For years I've heard stories about how dirty and crowded this part of Rome is. I've had images in my head of this enormous, smog covered ancient building in the middle of a round about (because they had to build the road around it) with cars 3-4 deep driving around. Please tell me I'm not the only one?! Well, the Colosseum was dirty and falling apart (it is kind of old) but it's still a remarkable piece of architecture- especially when you remember when it was built!

I ended up caving and paying for a tour, mainly because I didn't want to wait in the long ticket line. The tour was actually pretty good and filled in some of the gaps that my reading had left. From inside I couldn't help by be in shock that this ancient building and what took place on the arena and in the passageways below it. I couldn't get enough of all the views and arch ways either- so here is a major collection of the pictures.

Palatine Hill/Roman Forum
By this time in the day my feet were covered in ancient civilization dust, my face had less makeup on it than it started with, and my arms had gained a ton of freckles. I was still functioning, but in the heat of the sun I was fading fast and really didn't want to be looking at piles of rubble pretending I was in a one time 150,000 square foot palace. I had to laugh when I heard two little kids complaining at all the destroyed buildings. The little girl suggested that they tear down the half buildings and use all the remnants to build something new... I don't think she understood exactly what we were touring.  

While waiting for this tour to start up I did some walking on Via del Fori Imperiali and checked out some of the Roman Forum remains. This street was also scattered with statues of famous Romans. Somehow I ended up at the Victor Emmanuel Monument where I saw even more impressive buildings and snapped more pictures of my favorite sights.

Over all, my first to Rome was amazing! The city is incredibly easy to navigate, there is no shortage of sights, and I found most of the locals to be incredibly helpful. True I still have a ton to explore but this trip left me craving more trips that way and also to brush up on my ancient civilizations history. I'll keep doing the research for when you visit since you know it's always better to share amazing stuff like this with someone.

Day 13: I Found Love!

Today was the final day of orientation- Intercultural Relations Day II when we took to the streets of Napoli to see just what's out there. So what's out there?

My new home and I think I'm in love!

Downtown Napoli proved to be home to so many alleys, markets, and breath taking sights. The view my eyes were taking in finally matched the images I had in my head when I accepted this job. (Nothing like having to wait two weeks...)

After a super early departure, we traveled to the base we where it's recommended that we leave our cars prior to catching the Metro. The Metro "right there" turned out to be around the corner and under the bridge. Not exactly the cleanest area or somewhere I plan to be walking at night but at 0800 it was just fine (assuming we stayed on the side walk)!

A few stops later and a funicular ride up the hill, I found myself in the streets of Vomero. No, we didn't walk all the way to the top of the hill to the castello and monastery but we did find an open air market! As soon as we learned there was a mercato we headed straight in that direction. Well, maybe not straight but we found it and thankfully one of the streets was named Via Luca Giordano so I just thought "Frank's last name- I got this" and we made it out and back with no problem. (Yay for my internal compass working in this city while on foot...driving is a whole other story.) 

The produce and fish were absolutely amazing. The colors, scents, and sounds that filled the street we a million times better than Monterey's Farmers Market even on the most picture perfect day. I fought back the urge to buy two heads of lettuce (for only 1 euro) because I knew in the remaining 5 hours we would be exploring it would wilt. Not willing to walk away without something green, I settled for some fresh olives. The nice man looked at us three American women like "what in the world are they doing here?" as we tried to figure out what the difference between the 2 containers of green olives. We all ended up with the same kind and they were fabulous! 

The other find in this town was an amazing bakery. We knew it was going to be good when we smelled the pane e pasticcinis from a few storefronts away and the place was packed like sardines. Kate, for you and you alone I had them venture in there to try something. We left with rolls, mini graffas, and that oh so tasty, crispy, flaky, sweet pastry shaped in a heart. As we wandered back up the hill we took in all the stores there- Sephora being one (so happy they will ship here). With the few minutes we had left we had to stop into the bar (coffee bar) for due caffès, since the 3rd member of our group apparently doesn't like coffee? Ha. I give her 3 months.

 

Back on the funicular we headed back down the hill to Via Toledo which leads to Galleria Umberto, Castel Nuovo, Palazzo Reale, San Francesco di Paola, Piazza Plebiscito the sparkling blue ocean, and about a million little streets filled with bakeries, coffee shops, butchers, pizzerias, shoes, produce stands, scooters, and people. I had to keep reminding myself this was a recon trip, strictly to start getting the lay of the land because the time allotted wasn't nearly enough time to see everything. I managed to make a huge loop through and around the Galleria, castel, water front, and into Chiaia.

While exploring these streets so many strange and wonderful things crossed into my field of vision: couples wearing matching pink shirts, middle aged men walking 8 dogs at a time, kids riding in the lap of their mother while she navigated a scooter through the street. As the cruise ship port the number of languages I heard was also impressive, yet I still seemed to always hear the English first. The quote of the day? "Guido, Guido." As we were exploring off the beaten path a father started calling for his son. It was one of those are you kidding me? moments and we both waited a good 5 seconds before giggling at what we had just heard.

I think it was on the same side street that I found a cute little pasticceria/gelateria called Katia, so once again doing as Kate challenged me to do- we went in. This is where that swirly bar pastry came from. I'm still not sure what I ate but it was good. I think it was brown sugar and maybe almond? Again, it was sugary and yummy so you don't think about it too much. Probably not the best thing to eat within an hour of lunch but you know what? I'm still in TLA so my "no carb left behind" motto can last for a little longer, plus we had a ton more walking to do.

As we headed down into Chiaia, something else caught my eye. No, not a guy, cat, or shoe store- although there were plenty of all of those today- but a garbage truck. Yes. A garbage truck! I know some of you may not believe me so I snapped a picture. Check it out in that next collage. I actually guess that's another thing I can mention about today. In the two sections of town we were in, trash really wasn't an issue. Again, it was really refreshing to see something different than what I'd seen driving around potential neighborhoods...although I don't think I'm up for city living!

Shortly after noon the group met up again as we trekked back up Via Toledo to get to a pizzeria for lunch. We must have passed 20 on our way up no more than 10 blocks. Why did we eat at the one we did? I'm almost wondering if our tour guide knew the family that owned Ristorante e Pizzeria da Attilio. At any rate, the place was full of charm and their brick oven was fired up and ready to cook our Margherita pizzas. While we waited for them, we studied the framed napkins with customers' drawings on the walls in the room we were dinning in. Pizza was (of course) fabulous. 

Hey, I just realized I still have my pizza Friday tradition continuing. I actually don't think it will be that big of a challenge as I'm still searching for Italian food that I can't live without. I'm talking real food here- espresso, gelato, and all these pastries don't count.  I think that if I were to try Margherita pizzas from a different place every day, I still couldn't try all the local spots in three years. Do you think they'd let me sign on those extra years just to finish that goal? 

Well, more or less that's how orientation week ended and it was a great last day. I got to see more of where I plan to be spending my free time and doing my 5pm-5am life. It also gave me an idea of what there is to show all my guests once you all start to arrive. I'll make sure to take the time to learn about this wonderful new place so when you visit you too will fall in love. 

1 week ago I was at MRY awaiting my plane...

...well, maybe I was still running around the house and my parents were forcing encouraging me to eat some of the tofu dishes they picked up from our favorite Chinese place before dashing off to catch a flight. Funny how it seems like so long ago and a world away but at the same time it's one of those memories that seems so recent.

At any rate, I'll focus tomorrow's post on what I've learned in this past week since technically I arrived Saturday night. Tonight I want to talk about my first Friday in Naples!

This morning I started orientation. I have also decided that this whole experience shadows Cal Poly's WOW (Week of Welcome for you non CalPoly folks). Rather than being a wowie though I'm a newbie, but just like WOW there are a whole lot of other people going through this process with you. My hotel room feels like a dorm room. I have to walk over to the food court (or the restaurant or market) to get meals. I rely on others for rides and/or the shuttle. The forms for processing the various things are just as long. Today I applied for my Italian SSN equivalent, filled out the paperwork for my driver's license, and filled out a housing request. Exciting? Maybe not, but you didn't have to sit through all the lectures so consider yourself lucky. Oh and should you write me a letter PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE do not write Italy in the address...it screws everything up.

The fun stuff- I finally went exploring! After a short bus trip over to Capo I finally saw Jessica! Yay. After a quick discussion, we decided to head to Casertavecchia as it had been recommended to her. Keep in mind this was 5 o'clock on an Italian holiday (or perhaps a day of rest after the real holiday) so we didn't know what we'd find up there but did know we wouldn't find a place to serve us dinner for several hours so we put ourselves at the mercy of the GPS and headed north. Well, I think it was north.

After some creative driving by both Jessica and other Italians, several narrow roads, and lots of mountain driving complete with switchbacks, we realized we'd climbed rather high. How high? High enough to get this view:

The picture doesn't even give you the first idea of how amazing it really was. Trust me. We pulled over on the side of the road, then crossed it to take these pictures. Crazy? Maybe but we're trend setters- another car did the same thing!

We finally made it down a road and parked the car and got out to find this castle. Jessica was cracking up about my shoes, but seriously....I'm in Italy so I need to be sporting the shoes. Cobble stone paths? No big deal for my Nine West peep toed shoes. I figure after being one of my few pairs with me at this point they will be retired by the end of the summer, so they may as well sight see while they can. On top of the hill we found a chapel and so many amazing windows. Yep, my official windows of Italy folder has been started in iPhoto. We walked around the streets, up and down for a while. Soon I was able to figure out where we were by the cats in one street, dogs in the other, and old men sitting along one. So my landmarks moved some but we had no issues navigating. Finally after 7 we both needed something to eat, but nowhere was open. Nowhere but the dessert bar. Coffee and pastry before dinner? Yes please.

After being caffeinated and feeling accomplished that we interacted with the cafe owners without any English (well, we used it but they didn't- yay for Italian phrase books), Jessica took on her biggest task of the day up to this point- turning her mini SUV (think CRVish size) in the right direction back down the hill. Added challenge? It was a manual. A little patience was all it took but within minutes we were headed back down the hill as the sky turned pink from the sun beginning to sink into the clouds.

Next stop- Pozzuoli! Sound familiar? Yep. I did talk about it earlier this week from when I first looked at apartments. We took a new route to the town, through Naples. Did you know there are high rise buildings here? There are! I've seen them with my own 2 eyes. The tunnels through the hills were rather entertaining getting there too. At about the same time, Jess and I looked at each other and said how it looked like a video game...Mario Kart to be exact. You know that level right where I think it's called Tokyo something? Bombs, motorcycles, crazy driving in a tunnel? No bombs and traffic wasn't too bad by there were a few bikes with helmet-less drivers flying by.

Pozzuoli looked a lot different at night. After parking the car and paying a few Euros to a young kid to "watch it" we headed down the pathway to hear "scusi" and turn back around. Somehow side lights were on but we couldn't figure out how they turned off. Again after a few minutes of car charades, we decided to leave it, although AAA couldn't have jumped the car if the battery was dead and come to think of it I canceled my roadside membership earlier this week.

The downtown area wasn't too crowded yet but way more people that downtown Monterey! Best part? I didn't go to high school with any of these people and I definitely didn't see anyone I recognized from work. So, so, so many new people. Dinner was yummy- pizza Friday of course! We also braved a caprese salad that had fabulous mozzarella and provolone cheese. Also, I tried a fresh green olive and discovered that I like them that way!  Yummy fresh food shared with a friend is always the best. We had some great table conversation too. I think the illustrations below are from my favorite topic...any idea what we were talking about?

After dinner we walked around a little more and I was in shock of just how many more had flocked to the downtown area for dinner. It was now 11pm and people were still just showing up. For supposedly being the place for younger, single, Americans I sure saw a lot of early 20 Italians. I also saw some beautiful shoes and one pair of hideous plaid pants on a guy. Our last planned stop for the evening was gelato. I figured it only appropriate that the first flavor tried was coffee. So happy on my choice. We took our gelato filled cones and sat out on benches by the water and watched more cars pour in and park. I think we saw one car get "tapped" over 4 times while a Smart car backed out and another much larger car moved in. It was very entertaining watching the cars being parked but also nerve wracking. Oh well, I'm going to tackle one thing at a time and since Ravi won't be here for weeks, driving will be addressed at that time.

Finally we headed back to the car. The same kid (I really wish I remembered his name) I think was explaining to us how the lights that were now off were used to find things on the ground? The world may never know what he was really saying...well any Italian speaker would but we won't. He started to talk to us and when he found out Jessica was from New York started asking about sharks and dolphins. More charades and trying to guess what he was saying in Italian. It was fun and he was really interested about if we'd ever seen sharks.

Were our adventures done yet? No. Why would we call it a night at midnight? Our last adventure involves the GPS unit, me not knowing an address, and lots of closed gas stations. The objective was to get back to the support site and sometime in that process top off the rental car's gasoline. Long story short (because I'm getting sleepy) we picked the town name near where I'm staying but kept letting it "recalculate" every time we'd try to get gasoline at a closed place. Gas stations are off to the side of the roads here...kinda of like rest stops back at home...where you exit then just get back on but without ever being able to actually get off the freeway.

Turns out that the gas stations on the side of the road we were one were closed, but the ones on the other side appeared to be open. Some how during the course of this (well, maybe the way we were being routed) things started to look anything but familiar. We weren't too concerned since we were purposely ignoring some directions in hope of finding a gasoline place. When Ms. TomTom said we were at the destination and we were in the middle of town/a place I'd never been before I really wanted to know where "my home" was. After a loop I started to look for my contact info to see if we could get a real location of the base. Realizing it probably wasn't the best idea to pull over, Jessica started to follow the signs for "US Navy." I still wish I recorded some of this adventure but I have a feeling I'll be doing the same thing when I'm behind the wheel so there will be other chances. All of a sudden I saw some of my land marks (the more permanent kinds- towers) so I knew she had found it. So happy to see it right around 1am!

In summary: Visitor #1*, Jessica, proved to be an excellent travel buddy and a great person to start doing some of this exploring with. I knew it was going to be a great visit but you never know just exactly how it's going to go...but that's what makes it fun. Thanks for a great time out and about (and lots of around too!) today. Can't wait to see you next time when I'll be speaking the Italian (well, trying to) and driving to the sketch looking karaoke place with torch and blue neon lights.