Ah, Italy

I was once again reminded today that as much as I love Naples, there are still things that drive me crazy. These are the things that often throw my day off and have me saying "ah, Italy."

Over the past few days I've missed seeing yellow packets of Splenda in the cafes. It's frustrating not always knowing what's being said. The lack of options in one store still triggers my need for a Target. But all these things are just part of being in a foreign country and let me tell you, all the things I love about it far outweigh these pesky little things. Yes. Even though I really REALLY miss a garbage disposal.

But that doesn't mean I don't have my moments.

Take today... when I realized the front gate to the base was closed due to construction. Since moving out of the hotel I never use the back gate anymore and come to think of it, I never even bothered to learn how coming from this direction. Nothing like realizing this 10 minutes before you're due in the office.

I took one look at the narrow road that I'm sure was the one that ran parallel to the base, but I've heard one too many horror stories about meeting cars heading the opposite direction. Granted, it was still early so most of the traffic was probably folks also trying to get to the base, but I'm still adjusting to driving a "large" car in the tiny streets here. So back into the freeway I went, heading away from the base with the goal of following signs to Ikea. Not, I wasn't playing hooky from work to shop but I thought that if I could get myself there I'd be able to navigate to the back gate.

At this point I called my boss- "forgot about the gate, trying to find my way to the back gate...booting up my GPS now, but it's normally a power struggle so hopefully I'll be there in 10." He laughed, we had the discussion of how to leave via the back gate just over 15 hours prior, but why didn't we think about the opposite?  Oh well. GPS, lead the way.

Ha. I always love hearing what direction I'm told to go and then seeing more than one roads that would satisfy the vague "exit right" instruction given. Needless to say we had a miscommunication and before I knew it I was headed back towards my house. Crap. Not only do I travel via toll road every day, but also exits/onramps are not the same as they are in the states. (Yes, I know I've mentioned this before, but I figured that it was worth repeating to fully understand my frustration.) So I head to the first exit where it leads me a good mile off into Naples. Where traffic is coming to life. Where I'm beginning to debate calling in and saying sorry- I'm taking a day off. At the first round about I did a 360 and got back on the freeway, headed back towards the office. Well, I think that's what I did.

Taking the same exit as before, this time I picked the "middle right" lane and curved around another direction which apparently the GPS was happy with. Even better? I saw signs for Ikea. Sweet. Following the signs/listening to my GPS I kept going further and further away. Which you do take some serious back roads to get there, but I was looking for the main back road since the base, not Ikea was my true destination.

I must have done 3, maybe even 4 loops between the 3 exits and roundabouts. Finally, the last combination I picked spat me out to Ikea. By this time I was seriously confused, how did I miss the main road? Sitting in Ikea's parking lot I realized that I had a few GPS coordinates in the glovebox and the back gate should be listed.

It was.

After inputting them incorrectly once, I learned that I was only a few miles away.

Within one turn I realized where I was...maybe the sunlight just shed its light one everything so I could get a better idea of the roads next to me and my landmarks? AT any rate, there it was, my road I had been trying to get on for the last 35 minutes. Relieved (and seriously late) I saw the gas station with the dog, the grassy field, and the poster plastered concrete pillars along the side of the road. Funny how this route when I first got here looked seriously sketchy and yet today I was beyond happy to see it. Come to think of it, it still looks sketchy, but it's a familiar sketchy road and I had a fully charged phone, nearly full gas tank, and it was daylight.

Walking into the office I made the decree that I'm changing careers; after my adventure I decided that Italy needs another (okay, maybe a lot) civil engineer. They laughed, teased me about the whole ordeal and then we got on with the day. But seriously?! I think it's time to add stuff to the GPS.

*Refusing to let this route get the best of me and in preparation for the next time the gate is closed I took the direct route the next day. It should only take 5 minutes more...when done properly. Good to know.