Every Storms Runs Out of Rain

Or so they claim. My life the past 3-4 weeks? Stormy. Thunder. If you're familiar with the storm warning pop up and email notification system on base...well you'd be so annoyed with all the notification (and legit ones at that) most likely you would give up using that portion of your computer screen.

No, I don't have my Drama Queen crown on...why ever do you ask?

Well, just when I think that the clouds are parting to make way for the clouds, with a brilliant rainbow in the near distance (trip home) there is one last downpour.

Of course.

As if saying "see you later" to someone I've grown rather attached to on account of him moving out of Naples just after a few short months after learning about his existence, I learned that another man in my life is moving on.

It seems silly but when I heard the news I almost broke into tears. But I didn't. You can't do that when it's clear he's questioning the decision he made and has no idea what's next. I thought I was at rock bottom but apparently I wasn't.

Who is this guy? Joe.
My pizza guy. The guy who has come to my rescue on more than one account. My window into life in MdP when I'm content watching things from the safety of our building. My translator. My news reporter. My go to guy for just about anything from good mozzarella, to letting me in when the clicker doesn't work, to taking me to the repair shop for my car. And on top of it all? He makes the most fabulous pizza- so much so just a few months ago I was almost agreeing to take his youngest son back to the states if he promised to move too so I could always have fresh pizza.

He will still be in town. Claims he will still be around. I'm just in shock that when I get back from my CA trip his shop won't be there and I'll have to call him up for our chats.

So despite another melt down in way too few days, I'm glad I ignored my "I'm not that hungry" and picked up a pizza anyways- it is departing for CA tradition after all!

Not Always Glamorous, In Fact It Downright Sucks Some Days

Often people make comments to me about how fabulous my life must be overseas or how glamorous it is. Truth be told, 75% of the time I'd have to agree even if I roll my eyes when it's said. The weekend get-a-ways, beautiful historic sites, exposure the another culture, meeting new people all take on such more significance for some reason over here. Maybe because it still seems so new?

But let's face it. The same stuff that goes wrong in the states happens here and when it does? It seems a million time worse because I'm isolated, I have to rely on others for assistance, and often have to deal with a 6+ hour time difference to call or talk to to anyone that I've known long enough or well enough to be completely honest with how miserable I am or share what's really going on. Yes, I do have a few fabulous friends here but when their lives are tied up with significant others and kids? Or taking advantage of all the travel opportunities putting them out of reach? A girl can feel rather isolated. How's this for a mind blower- what you see on Facebook that's just the tip of the proverbial iceberg. 

Maybe this week has just been particularly difficult having a fabulous weekend with my grandma and aunts, only to have to say good-bye with the reminder that I'll be home in a matter weeks. Somehow each day this week has passed slower and slower...

Maybe the demands of the office pulling me various directions compounded by the workplace dynamics are just wearing me down...

Maybe the fact that I can't seem to sleep through the entire night without waking up with the thought of what's next? or realizing I owe someone information regarding my next steps is wearing me out...

Maybe it's the constant disappointment of things not coming together, despite careful planning and communication...

Maybe it's the pain in my knee, stressing out my body, totally screwing up my ability to do anything other than "ice and elevate" this weekend and keeping me out the gym...

Maybe it's the fear of having to have surgery again, or the mention of PT...

Maybe the super early wake-ups (due to pain) are taking their toll...

I don't know what it is, but I'm miserable this week. Chatting with a coworker this morning I admitted the fact that I've probably broken down into tears more in the past year than I did for my last 5 in the states. Shoot. I'm 3 for 3 in the past 3 days.

Yes. This is me trying to process and get to the root of it- since I really do hate crying! It's so ugly and not to mention messy with makeup. I know you're supposed to cry and process feelings but I like to know what my feelings are triggered by so I can fix the problem. (This should come as no surprise to any of you.)

And yes. It's proof that things do get a little messy and stressful. Same story line as back home, just a different location and lots of subtitles.
 

Tours By Katie O: Eat & Shop Your Way Through Southern Italy!

Another visitor, another guest blog on the same trip! Enjoy taking a look at my Zia Janet's photo-blog as she summarizes her trip to Italy.

My title for your tour would be "Eat and Shop your way through Southern Italy!"  I really enjoyed the food aspects, as you can tell! 

Katie demonstrating the proper hand gripping the steering wheel when meeting a large bus on a curve along the Amalfi Coast. 

 

"Why are those people in my road?"

Hanging out in Positano

Seriously, it was an incredibly fun little adventure and haven't had so many laughs in quite a while.  My ceramics made it home in one piece and I'll have them to always remember our little adventure and your great hospitality.

When in Italy...

As most you know, in an effort to add to blog entries I encourage my guests and my travel adventure buddies to write an entry. It not only gives me some time off from writing (ha, I've been slacking lately) but often I'm reminded of events I've already forgotten about in the inevitably different take on the situation.

This blog post is written by my grandma, just back from her whirlwind tour of Italy with my 2 aunts- including a jaunt around Naples. Many new memories were made, but I want to have her tell you all about it. So, here's my grandma's debut guest blog, her take on the trip, and our monthly family letter (slightly edited so you don't get all the family details) penned by her. 

Is it time for a Family Letter? Katie says it is! I will review my notes, and write before my memory fades! I will probably remember this trip just fine, it was great!

Janet and I drove to Portland Tuesday evening to stay at the Radisson, left the car there. We worried about meeting up with Sandy in Chicago, she was coming from Los Angles, but it worked great, and soon we three were on our way to Frankfurt, Germany, on a Lufthansa flight. Not much room, our long femurs made our knees touch the seat ahead, but we survived. Didnʼt sleep much though, and arrived at midnight our time, six am German time. The trek across the Frankfurt airport was long, up and down escalators, from one end of the airport to the other, plus passport check. We barely made our Venice flight. Janet ran ahead to hold the plane, and they were looking for us!

Venice airport gave me another new experience. As we looked for our airport transport to the island of Venice, I saw a guy holding up a sign reading GUFFY, MANGIN, BITTER. It was our boat guide, so we loaded in and sped across the water to the Grand Canal of Venice. The driver stopped, pulled up to a concrete wall, and we were to unload. Sandy made the leap to the dock, followed by me, then Janet. It was like a four foot jump. Pretty good for an old lady! 

We walked to our hotel, about six blocks, maybe, but the streets are so narrow, no cars there. Cobblestones, and steps leading up and over the many smaller canals. We were dragging our suitcases, and I need to add that Janet insisted on picking mine up and carrying it when there were steps, sure helped. Since it was about 9 am, we werenʼt sure the hotel would let us into our room, but they did, and since weʼd been up for 24 hours, we rested for a couple hours. We were on Formose Square, a real happening place all day. Small outdoor cafes, a fruit market, and lots of people coming and going. We enjoyed it. We walked to St Marks square, the main square where the big cathedral, the Doges Palace, and other historical buildings are. 

The next morning we set off for Murano, the glass factories, where Venetian glass is famous. The island of Murano has the glass factories, and we enjoyed that, I bought my souvenir rooster. Then we got back on the boat and went to the island of Burano, my favorite. All the houses are painted different colors, a charming place. We had memorable pizza at lunch, we walked a lot, and then returned to Venice and our hotel. People eat late here, so after dark we walked to the Grand Canal area, for dinner. Janet said we needed to have our veggies and fruits, and weʼd only had pizza for lunch so...we sat at an outside cafe and the spritzers looked so attractive (an orange drink with Campari) that we decided to order those. They had a slice of orange in the glass, and they brought potato chips, so we had our fruit and veggie. We did eat healthy on this trip, and all lost weight! That walking will 
do it! Linc even lost weight, he missed me and my cooking!
! 

We left Venice and took a high speed train to Florence,
 then to Siena. Our one experience with the Roma (gypsies) was 
at the Florence train station. We found our car, and was going 
to get on the train when a young man and girl grabbed our
suitcases, and swung them aboard the train and into the 
luggage rack, then held out their hands! We gave them one
 euro each bag, although he said he wanted five! We met an 
interesting lady at that point. She explained that she didnʼt mind
giving them the euro, they “worked for it” instead of begging.
 She was an English woman artist who had lived in Tuscany 30
 years. She had just returned from a trip to the Seychelle Islands, 
off the East coast of Africa. She and artist friends were there
 painting. She told us about the various hill towns we passed 
until she got off before we reached Siena, our destination. 

We 
taxied to our hotel in the Old City, near the famous Il Campo 
square. Every town has a square, a cathedral, and a dome...The 
churches are beautiful, huge, richly decorated. I never saw a protestant church, but I know there must be some.We spent 4 hours in the Siena cathedral, Janet and Sandy climbed to the very top of the tower, but I stopped about sixth floor. I had a new soup for dinner, bread soup! It was good, beans, some savory broth, and chunks of coarse bread. I will say we never had bad food in Italy, the bread was wonderful, and we had wine with lunch and dinners. The wine seemed a bit watered down, but good.

On Monday we had booked a private tour in Siena, and the guide arrived in her van and it
was pouring rain! We saw the hill towns, wonderful old ruins of churches, built in 1100 and 1200 AD, and saw the sword in the stone. Ask me about that!! We ate lunch in a small village in a cafe where the guide knew the people, then visited a sheep
farm , again a personal friend of our guide. He owns 120 sheep, which he said was the number that his 3 dogs could protect from the wolves. He milks them and makes cheese. Showed us all his equipment, took us into his kitchen and gave us wine and his cheese with bread. Interesting to get to go into a localʼs house
! 

The next day we caught the bus and went into Florence, where we went to the museums, shopped.Walked a LOT. We all bought scarves, aprons, etc here, then bussed back to Siena before dark, Passes a US military cemetery from WW II just outside Florence. Remember, the Allies invaded Italy and fought their was up through as a second front, and we lost lots of soldiers there. More good dinners, ravioli for me. We also enjoy the gelato. Better than ice cream!

Onward to ROME! I think we walked more in Rome than anywhere, to the Coliseum, all over the Vatican Museum and St Peters Square, and church. There must be thousands of sculptures and paintings in the museum, the Sistine Chapel. All those things I've always read about, Iʼve now seen. The coliseum is huge, but I canʼt believe the cruelty of the Romans who enjoyed watching slaves, Christians, being torn to pieces by lions. They had Gladiators (costumed men) who wanted you to pay to take a picture with them. We didnʼt! Ha! 

We were disappointed to find St Peterʼs church was closed that afternoon due to a special mass. That night I thought about it, and got everyone up at six thirty am and said, “St Peterʼs opens at seven am, lets get up, take a cab, go see it, and come back for breakfast” so we did, and we were all glad we did! No crowds, got to see the most famous church in the world, the Swiss Guard, etc. You notice my offer was to “take a cab” I was learning that I didnʼt want to walk everywhere! Cabs were good, and only about $15 each way to the Vatican. Walked that evening though, to the Trevi fountain, the Spanish Steps other sites Iʼve read about in novels and movies. (Remember Roman Holiday with Audrey Hepburn?)

We left Rome and trained to Naples. Southern Italy is different than northern. Dirtier, less neat, but a charm of its own. Every apartment window has laundry hanging out of it. Katie met us outside the train station, and we drove to her home in Monte di Procida, about a 40 minute drive. I was so impressed with her home. Three levels, at the top of the building. Views from her balconies of the Mediterranean. Capri, other islands just off the coast. 

I was just as impressed with her driving. I havenʼt said much about Italian streets and drivers, but, crazy! People drive small cars, mopeds, scooters, and fast! I couldnʼt drive here at all, but Kate is an expert! I was in awe! Katie took us to her favorite local cafe, Mariella's, where the specialty was chestnut soup...chestnuts were everywhere, roasted on the street vendor carts, and on menus. All Italian dinners begin with antipasti, appetizers, then follows a pasta course, called first plate, then a second plate, or meat dish, then ensalada, or salad, dessert and espresso. Of course wine and a plate of bread. We left the next morning to drive south, Vesuvius, Amalfi, etc. We went to the Herculaneum ruins instead of Pompeii. Both Katie and Kristen said it was better. Fascinating, and grim to think of all those people buried in the ash from the volcano. 

Then we went to Vietri, wonderful ceramic shops. We all bought something to remember it by, then North along the Amalfi coast. All I can say is “beautiful.” Villages clinging to the cliffs, been there for centuries. Colorful flowers and painted houses. All Italians seem to be good gardeners, terraced up the mountain are small plots.This area grows lots of lemons, olives, tomatoes. We stayed in Amalfi at a charming Hotel Amalfi. The highlight there was that I got to ride with Giuseppe who backed Katie's car into the hotel garage. Clearance about 2 inches...ha He was their resident hotel employee who did that. The 
rooms we had there were in the
 garden, each with a balcony or
 courtyard. There were kitties all
 around, so Kate loved that. I loved
 the lemon trees and flowers.
 Again, gelato! We drove the 
coast to Sorrento, shopped,
 picked up bits of tile and shells on
 the beach, and then arrived at 
Kateʼs at dusk.

The next day we 
rested in the am, followed the
coast to a seaside cafe for lunch, 
and shopped in a French
 owned equivalent of Super WalMart in the 
pm. That store was huge, and very interesting. Very different from our markets, lots of pasta, frozen foods were displayed different, etc.

Our travel home was long! Good from Naples to Munich. At Munich we were delayed over 2 and 1/2 hrs due to an AC problem, so sat on tarmac , no AC, stuffy! Of course that made the plane late to SF, instead of an 11 hr flight, it was almost 14. We missed our Portland flight and were put up in a airport hotel, booked for 6 am, so got to the hotel at midnight, up at 4 to shuttle to the airport. Glad to pick up my car and drive home to Roseburg!

I surely am glad to have gone. I had fun, it was wonderful being with Katie, Janet and Sandy. We were compatible travelers, liked the same things-I liked taxi rides! Ha
!

G2 Invasion of Napoli: The Arrival

For anyone who has met my family- it's pretty easy to confirm they are amazing. Well, if you think it's just my nuclear family? Clearly you never spent a Thanksgiving with them, or spent time with them at a graduation/special event.

The Guffy Gals (G2) invaded this past weekend. With the arrival of my grandma and two aunts (my momma was the missing one) we had our schedule planned. Seriously. Have you never seen one of my plans?

(Now you have.)

With most of their time planned out, I took off from the office to pick them up at the train station. Downtown Naples. Friday afternoon. No problem.

Ha. When will I ever learn? This is Naples, land of the unknown, unexpected, and mayhem.

Slight problem- changed traffic patterns! Talk about putting a major glitch into your flawless plan. Some aggressive driving later, a frantic phone call to "mission control", and a scenic detour I finally was able to pull up along side the sidewalk to pick up my 3 guests that stood out terribly due to their pale skin and heights. Eh, it's for the best if you learn about Napoli time when you first get here rather than later. That's my story and I'm sticking to it. 

We made it to Casa di Nico without incident where he promptly ran and hid. Even when the intruders were sitting upstairs, chomping away on fresh mozzarella di buffala and fried yummy goodness pulled freshly from Joe's deep frier before we headed down to Mariella's for dinner.

The night ended relatively early, mainly on account that our bellies were full of all things deliciouso  and the morning held our next adventure- ancient ruins and the Amalfi Coast!

Local Old Stuff- Day Trippin' in Baia

Keeping in the theme of I live in Italy, I need to see more of it, paired with curiosity of places I drive by every day- this weekend's destinations were all within 5 miles of my house. Yep. These places are in my backyard! Week #3 of "Ancient Civilizations" tour consisted of 2 spots, several adorable Napoli kitties, and lots and lots of Greek and Roman ruins. Today was all about Baia.

Baia or Baiae, was the seaside get-a-way for the rich and famous in the end of the 1st century B.C. Roman nobility built villas to spend their otia (spare time) at the thermal baths, soaking up the views, and enjoying the sulfur stink steam. Surprisingly enough, there are plenty of references to this portion of "the boot" but even more of the greater Phlegraean Fields. I'm sure I've already bragged, but let me one more time. Those locations we read about in The Odessy or The Aeneid or read about in mythology class? River Styx? Sibyl's Cave? Um yeah. That's where I live. As like most of the area, due to all the volcanic activity, the current shore line is much further inland than it was in those times. In fact, a lot of Baia is underwater. (Yep. There's a tour for that and it's on the list.) At any rate, we had our two spots picked out for today. So, grab your toga bcause we're off to socialize with the nobility of Baia!

Castello di Baia
If you've headed out anywhere near my way (aka the Middle of Nowhere), chances are you've seen the huge rectangular building atop the cliff by the water on your way. This building? Well, before serving as my "almost home Katie" mark,  the castle on the hill was a destination for lots of others- possibly summer home to Julius Caesar, but more likely Nero's home. (Agrippina, his mother IS buried nearby after all.)  In the late 15th century, the Aragonese built over the older Roman parts more of what we see today. It's purpose? To serve as a warning for pirates to stay away!  The size and the steep walls right against the coast line seemed to have done just their job.

Today, the castle holds lots and lots of artifacts found in this area- jewelry (don't touch those cases, they're equipped with alarms), various pieces of statues (there was an entire fingers & toes/feet case), urns, dishes, you know, all the regular stuff. Yep. I said it. "The regular stuff." It's hard to keep getting excited about all of it when you can't go anywhere in this town without seeing old stuff. It was pretty impressive though when I remembered it was in it's original location. But, truth be told I was more impressed with the view of the bay and the amazing water color. Hey, it's all about location, location, location when building a home- right?

Alright, time to get into our chariots for a quick gallop down the road. Past the Temple of Diana and up the hill near the Temple of Venus. Why? We're hitting the spa!


Terme di Baia
Okay, so maybe it's not quite the spa. Part of what makes this area of the boot spectacular are all the volcanoes. Just don't think about the super volcano that I live above... All that heat under the surface causes plenty of warm mineral water that Roman engineers diverted into pools and create steam chambers.

These now ruins are in 5 sections which include temples, pools, theater, and villas. Nope. It's not a tiny place! And better yet? Like so many of our other sites, you just get to explore all over, climb on the stairs, go 'sloring down the dark halls under the amphitheater. Come to think of it? I'm getting rather spoiled. I can already see it now when I'm back in the states: Park Ranger: Excuse me ma'am. You can't climb in Lincoln's lap. In fact, haven't you been banned from all National Parks and monuments? Me: Mi dispiace, pero no parlo inglese. Okay, maybe I'm not that terrible but at times I almost feel guilty for walking on the ancient mosaic floor, but there are just so many things they have much better preserved they don't care. Talk about walking through history and discovering it for yourself. With these sites left in various states of excavation and ones like these practically void of other visitors, it's like I'm making these discoveries. Yep. I do need an Indiana Jones hat!

With most of this place crumbling apart, there were 2 hands down winners (besides the adorable orange tabby kitties): In one of the alcoves we "discovered" a fig tree growing upside down. The second thing? Well it took a little more patience in truly discovering it. Ready for some Lori & Katie Non-Running Adventure insights? When the two of us are out and about, especially in places like these it goes something like this:

OOOOOOh. Look at that ______. Lori being the professional photographer she is starts clicking shot after shot while I'm done after one, maybe two. While she carries on, I start looking around for paths, doorways, anywhere that calls me. These are my 'sploring times which almost always results in me calling out to Lori to hurry it up to see the new thing I "discovered." 

On this particular day she was checking out the pomegranates the size of softballs while I was still being a science nerd with the tree. Once I headed her direction I found a doorway, so of course I went in. What I found? A pool of what looked like rain water with goldfish. We were amazed! Then we continued walking towards a temple but given that it was a few minutes before closing the path we needed was closed. Actually, it was a locked door. Paths we walk around. That's when we saw it. The most amazing dome shaped complex without a path leading up to it. Grrrrr. Well, when we did an about face (after I jumped out of the way of lizards) I went to go see a blocked off area, and that's when I found it- the entrance to the dome.

This dome? Turns out it's the Tempio di Mecurio which has an amazing pool, complete with more fish. In the 17th century people started to call it Temple of Echo because the acoustics are amazing. The sunlight streaming in through the windows and opening at the top cast amazing shadows and let that water sparkle. While doing my research afterwards, turns out that when this was built it was the largest dome in the world until the Pantheon was built in 128. Isn't that crazy?! I think so. It's about 71 feet in diameter just to give you an idea of how awe striking this place is.

In summary? Baia was the place to be in the height of the Roman Empire. When the writers referred to it as a place filled with vices and luxury? You better believe Emperor Hadrian, Julius Caesar, Nero, and others we learn about in history spent time here and it's no wonder- it's a beautiful area! 

Hi. It's Me Again.

Well, I think it is. Ever go through those phases where you're going through the motions: heading to work, hitting the gym, remaining semi socially engaged, and just generally swept up in the momentum of the day without ever really taking time breathe or enjoy the small things?

The anxiety of what's next I think really grabbed hold of my normally sparkly personality. Draining me of all energy. Busting my give a damn. Luring me to pull the covers of my bed over my head as soon as I got home. Granted, some of that is still there. But the initial round of chatting with my boss in VA, the 06 responsible for me, and the guy I consider my true boss is all over. I think everyone in my office has a say in what's next for me. They've all heard my discussions with my immediate "work family" about what my thoughts of the day on the subject are. But after the umpteenth conversation with my boss I think I'm finally willing to part with my decision tree and start going with "what my gut says" about each of the options.

It is sort of difficult to care about my job when Congress can't get their act together. Yes, I'm still furlough day free in FY14 however I can't spend any money unless it's a CASREP that puts lives in danger. Travel? Only if it's crucial. Granted, there are last  year's books I could be cleaning up...but what's the fun in that?

Then there is the other daunting task of updating my resume. Rumor is that one of my openings will soon be on the street. For that reason it's a good thing that I ended up staying local this weekend. Of course the file containing my updated items is called "Get Me OUT of Naples" which sort of needs tweaking before emailing it to my boss for review. But, there is now a file and it's beginning to read somewhat like a good candidate for this Financial Management Analyst position. Don't let the title sway you, it's really not that much more than I already do as a Financial Specialist.

At any rate. In between doing what I should be doing (house prep for relatives, laundry, resume updating) this weekend I called up my running partner...and friend and told her I had to get out of the house. Destination? Vietri sul Mare to collect tiles and glass along the beach. Truth be told, it was our plan for yesterday morning until I work up to downpour that I'm sure caused major flooding along my route to work.

I guess it's the Californian in me, but something about the ocean (okay, sea in this case) is so soothing. Maybe it's a result of all those early morning miles along the bay. Maybe it's the calming sound the crashing waves make against the rocks. Maybe it's just the fact that I've always been within a 15 minute drive of the water so no matter where I am, seeing the vast sea reminds me of home.

Next time I'm feeling panicky? Oh we're going to load up the car, blast some Dixie Chicks and head to Positano for another beach combing trip. I mean, we are being paid to live in Italy after all!