Sua Amico Gabriel

Evan loves having another baby around, and he and Gabriel have become fast friends, as have Gabriel's mom, Rosa, and I.

Carnevale

When Rosa and I went out last week, she introduced me to "chiacchiere", a special sweet that we had at a nearby bar/ coffee shop. "Chiacchiere" is also the Italian verb to 'chit chat', but as a pastry, it is eaten mainly as part of Carnevale which is celebrated for 4 weeks, and begins 60 days before Easter. Chiacchiere look kind of like lasagna noodle shaped fried dough, covered in powdered sugar, and served w/ some liquid chocolate that you can dunk it in. I had one bite and Rosa said, "oh..you made a mess!". I looked down, and my black coat was covered in powdered sugar, as were my black shoes. Mamma Mia...you can't take me anywhere!ha! Anyhow, while Josh and I were out walking this weekend, we came upon Piazza Plebiscito and noticed kids running everywhere, shooting off silly string, and throwing tons of confetti. Then, shopping yesterday, I saw huge bags of confetti being sold at all the stores. I checked in with Rosa to learn more and she said that for Carnevale,for 4 weeks, especially during the weekends, you can see kids dressed up in costumes, throwing confetti (coriandoli) in the street and spraying white silly string..they can even spray it on you as you walk by minding your own business. Rosa also informed me that "the kids make jokes (some not nice at all), but you can not protest!" Ok..if I can't protest, can I at least throw a zinger of a joke their way?ha!

Cosa fai questa weekend?

This weekend was sunny and mild, and we had a fun time just strolling the city, making our typical Saturday shopping trip, and relaxing together.

On Saturday, we decided to venture to a new mall, called Campania, that we had heard was nicer than the other one we had been driving to when we needed to shop for diapers, groceries etc. Only about 25 minutes away, we found the mall no problem. The first thing you do at the mall, is get your sideways driving shopping cart from the parking lot. It costs one euro, which you slide in a slot attached to the 'handle bar', and that will release it from the other carts it is chained to. My friend Janine told me a trick though. Instead of a Euro, insert a quarter, and that will also cause it to release, and when you return your cart, the quarter gets pushed back out of the slot. Since we will never spend the quarter in Italy, it's convenient to just keep it in my wallet, so i'll never be without the proper fitting coin whenever I go to the mall. Yeah..that was a good time Janine!

At the mall, we found most of the things we needed (except index cards for me to use for flash cards to study--according to my friend Rosa, they don't sell those here), including a gelato cone w/ whipped cream on top:) Can't go without the whipped cream on top of an icecream cone..love it! After the mall, we had planned to check out some Roman ruins that are in our tour book, but since they were an hour away, we decided to save that excursion for another day.

On Sunday, the sun was shining and everyone was out and about enjoying the great weather. Josh had to do some work from the hotel room, so I decided to finally check out Castel dell'Ovo which is across from the hotel. The site of the Castel has quite a history, initially existing as part of a 5th century estate of a General, then an order of monks founded a monestary there, and then the Normans built the first Castel at the site. Succeeding dynasties modified it after that, and it acheived its present form in the 16th century. Legend has it that its name derives from a magic egg (uovo)hidden inside and placed there by a Roman poet named Virgil. The Castel is now open for free to the public to stroll through and is also used for cultural events. While I walked through it, with Evan in the Baby Bjorn, (or mucipial as Neopolitans call it) there were a bunch of temporary art galleries set up in several of the rooms of the Castel, so it was fun to not only take in the amazing views from various windows throughout the Castel, but also wander amongst some original art--from classic to very modern (and strange) pieces. You definitely get a sense of old history as you pass through the walkways of the castle, and I was so glad to finally explore it.

Later on Sunday we walked to a late lunch to check out Donna Marguerita, a restaurant that had been recommended to me. It was about a mile walk, and it was so peaceful. Sundays are the quietest day on the streets, with stores all closed, the locals usually stay at home and prepare and indulge in huge Sunday dinners. If only every day was quiet like that!

Pictures (bottom to top): Evan and I enjoying the sunny day on our hotel roof terrace; Walking up into the Castel dell'Ovo, Inside the Castel--huge archways; Vesuvius from castel window, our hotel (farthest on the right) from the barred window of the Castel.

Mia amica Italiana

On Friday I had a great day hanging out with my Italian friend, Rosa, and her 6 month old baby boy, Gabriel. Rosa and I met through the Yahoo Group, "Naples Moms", and after emailing while I was still in Seattle, and then chatting on the phone once we got to Napoli, she and I finally connected in person yesterday. It was a great visit, and so fun to have a new Italian friend. Evan also got a kick out of having another bambino around, and he stared at Gabriel a lot while flashing him a wide grin every once in a while. It was so cute.

Rosa and I spent about 5 hours hanging out, and as we walked and chatted, she answered quite a few of my questions, and gave me some great insight on life in Napoli. Some of the things I learned or we discussed:

-Every morning, as I walk along the water, I wonder what all the padlocks are for that are hanging from the railing along the sidewalk that lines the waterfront of the Bay of Naples. There are tons of them and I wondered if they were for crab pots..but where are the pots? For boats...but there aren't tons of boats lined up there? For bikes...but hardly anyone is brave enough to ride a bike around here..!?, so what are they for? Rosa explained that there is a famous movie where the main characters write their names on a padlock as a symbol of their unending love and locked hearts. Now, the people in Naples "are just copying the movie" as Rosa said, and so there are hundreds of locks. Today on my walk, for the first time, I noticed that there are names on all of them. I guess Josh and I will have to add one soon:)

-Rosa's never heard of Starbucks! I love that! And, that adds validity to the claim I had heard that Italy has some sort of ban on Starbucks. When I told Rosa what my typical Starbucks order was "Venti, decaf, non-fat, extra-hot, no foam, vanilla latte", she was amazed by all the customization we can do. She was surprised that we could pick the type of milk and the flavor etc. After I told her how large a Venti cup is, she said, "No wonder you like to have 2 cappuccinos, you are used to your big Starbucks!"

-After lunch, Rosa and I walked around the city a bit more and then I suggested we stop for some Cappuccinos. She said, "ahhh..Italians never have Cappucinos in the afternoon, just in the morning, and usually,just one". I told her it looks like I'll be standing out as an American again!

-There is no return policy on purchased goods in Naples. If you buy something, that's it, you can't return it. I said, so if you buy a shirt, and it doesn't fit, you can't return it even if it has the tags on it. She said..."No way...they would laugh at you." I told her about Costco and Nordstrom's generous return policy and she couldn't believe it. She said she would bankrupt them because she'd do all her shopping there and then return things when she got sick of them. She said she would take total advantage of it. I told her some people do, but for the most part, we are used to being able to return things, so it's not that abused. She said the exception here is shopping at Ikea since they allow things to be returned. She said, it's so nice to shop at Ikea because "you don't worry, you just buy what you like, and if you change your mind, no worry, just return it. It is so nice at Ikea!"

-She said Naples recently passed a law about making the city more wheelchair accessible. We were talking about how difficult it is w/ strollers and I said I can't imagine what people in wheelchairs do. She said there are just parts of the city they can't go to at all, because even with help, there are too many stairs connecting some areas to others, and most shops, restaurants, public transportation etc, don't have wheelchair accommodations.

-There is a no smoking rule for all shops and restaurants are supposed to have smoking/non smoking sections. The problem is, it isn't much enforced. When I picked up my laundry last week, the 2 owners and their friend were all chain smoking amidst the clean clothes. Nothing like having your clothes all reek of smoke after paying to have them cleaned.

-I said, why do you think Italians are so much thinner than Americans? She said when she was in the states for a bit, she couldn't believe how much Americans snack. She said, there will be fat people eating chips and nuts and tons of soda. She also said, "You drink milk with meals! Milk has all the nutrients and ingrediants to be it's own meal, and you drink it to go with your meal. That is part of the overweight problem."

-Rosa was dressed so stylish for our visit, but she downplayed it,and felt like she was just dressed totally comfortably. She had on stylish boots, wool,tailored pants, a nice sweater, gorgeous long coat, and a fur hat. I told her I hope to expand my wardrobe and become more fashionable while here, but until then, it's jeans and sneakers for me...especially when out walking the city.

-Employment--Rosa said many companies totally take advantage of their employees because the unemployment rate is high, and bosses figure if their employee quits due to bad conditions, there are hundreds of other people who would love the job. She used to work at a hotel, and she said that it was normal for her to have to work an extra day a week with no pay, or even though her shift was supposed to end at 4, she might be asked to stay until 9--all for no pay. If you complain, the boss will just say, too bad..if you don't want to do it, someone else will gladly take your job. She is glad that she was able to leave after her 2nd baby. In Italy, you get 6 months of 100% paid maternity leave from the government--a generous benefit, but Rosa said taxes are so high, it's just good to get some of what you pay in, back.

There were lots of other things we talked about, learned from each other, and shared, and we are looking forward to hanging out some more soon. She wants to have us over her apartment for dinner, and she said once we get settled into an apartment, she'll come over to show me how to cook Eggplant parmigiana (since that has been a recent favorite at restaurants) and tiramisu. Yum!

No news is good news, we hope!

We have started the negotiations process with the landlord of an apartment that we hope to get in Posillipo. I've been dying of suspense, so I called our Realtor today who said that the landlord's lawyers are currently reviewing the corporate lease document that we would be proposing to use. Our Realtor said he had hoped to hear from the landlord tomorrow, but "since we are in Napoli", he'll give it until mid next week, since things do take a lot longer here. In his opinion, "no news is good news", and being an optimist, he thinks we will get the place, but he's basing that solely on the fact that he is an optimist, not on anything he heard from the landlord or legal team. I'm also an optimist, so I'm hopeful we'll get it too! I'll definitely keep you posted, and would love all the luck and prayers you send our way so that we can hopefully soon be settled in this apartment and out of the hotel. Hard to believe we have been living in a hotel since the day before Thanksgiving, and with a newborn:) Calgon, take me away! ha!

I've attached some pictures of maps (and one of the view looking towards Posillipo) to give you an idea of where we currently are, and the different neighborhoods, including Posillipo, where we hope to be.

If you click on the map that is the 2nd to the bottom, it will enlarge. Our hotel is on Via Partenope in San Lucia neighborhood. I do my powerwalks through San Lucia, to Chiaia, and in the park between via Francesco Carriocciolo and Riviera di Chiaia. I sometimes also walk up to Via Posillipo, but the park is quieter. To get to the apartment we want, you have to go all the way up Via Posillipo, and then head down towards the water. Hopefully, we'll get settled into a new place soon, so that you can come and visit and we can give you a tour in person, vs. virtually:)

Planes, trains and automobiles..

Translates to Mopeds, busses, trains and funiculars in Napoli! I had my first experience with Napoli public transportation yesterday when my friends Jordan and Jen met Evan and I and showed us how to use the funicular. With all the hills in the area, funicular railways are considered a charming necessity. The most accessible and important ones in Naples are the ones that take you from the historic centre of the city up to the Vomero neighborhood--a bustling neighborhood with incredible views, lots of shopping, and of course, a ton of traffic. I learned that there used to be a funicular that went up to Vesuvius. It is now defunct, but that one inspired the song "Funicoli, Funicula"...I haven't heard of it, but in case you have, now you know where the inspiration came from.

So, yesterday, we took the funicular. You can buy tickets at the station, but like the bus tickets here, you can also buy tickets at the Tabaccaio shops. Tickets are1.10 Euro, and are good for 90 minutes on any bus/funicular or train. We got our tickets and ,thankfully, Jordan and Jen were there to help me navigate some of the stairs in the station. Naples is hardly wheelchair friendly, and the lack of ramps and elevators not only poses a hardship for people in wheelchairs, but also for moms with stollers. I have bruises on my shins from having to constantly use my shins as levers or props to maneuver Evan in his stroller up and down steps. (Thankfully tall boots are in fashion here, or those ugly black and blues would be fully exposed!).

Once on the funicular, we had 3 stops until we exited at the top of the hill in Vomero. We decided to take a stroll through Villa la Floridiana park, and then go for lunch. Villa la Floridiana has been a public park since the 1920s, but originally, it was a gift and love token to Lucia Migliaccio, Duchess of Floridia, from her husband, Ferdinand I. So, what started as a romantic gift to a duchess, is now a park that offers some of the best views of Naples and the bay (and considered one of the top 10 romantic spots in Napoli). There are lots of trails, gardens, a turtle pond, and the main building on the grounds is now a museum filled with some remarkable treasures I have yet to check out. That will have to be what I do on my next funicular ride to the top.

Tummy Time!

All the baby books say that I'm supposed to be giving Evan tummy time, but with the lack of carpeting in the hotel, I have to admit, that I've been slacking on that. I did lay down some blankets this week for him though, and when he came up from his time on his tummy, he all of a sudden had a new hair part. I always comb his hair to the side, but maybe he's trying to tell me that he prefers a middle part..just like his Uncle Tom had throughout highschool:) ha!

Walking the city

For the past 3 days I've been starting my day off with a morning power walk. My route is the same each day, offering as much insulation from the morning traffic as possible. I leave the hotel, walk the main drag for about 10 minutes to the entrance to a park on Riviera di Chiaia (see pics..the bottom pic is my walk to the park..you can see the trees in the distance), and then do 2 up and back laps within the park. I guess the park is as much of an in city 'oasis' as you can get, at least within the Chiaia neighborhood which borders my hotel area. The park is essentially a narrow strip between 2 main thoroughfares. I walked on Monday and my effort to escape some of Naples' noise was futile. I felt like I was on candid camera or something, since my walk (which is intended to relieve stress..you know, with that rush of endorphins I'm supposed to get) was littered w/ every loud noise you could imagine--here's a snapshot: at the park entrance I was greeted by jackhammers as workers were digging up some cobblestone, within the park, every landscaper seemed to perfectly time the pulling of the lawn mower starter cord to right when I was walking by w/ the stroller (nothing like startling the baby!), every dog seemed to have a beef with me and barked as we walked by, 3 screaming ambulance sirens, incessant beeping as the owners of cars who get double parked/blocked in just continually beep until the owner of the other car comes to move it, slamming doors of the buildings I passed, 2cranes starting on some type of construction at the far end of the park..etc...etc. Sounds like a nice, relaxing walk, right? I think I returned to the hotel looking so stressed and frazzled that they must have called up to the waitstaff to put extra champagne out for the breakfast buffet, because here was coming a girl who needed a mimosa or two to calm down from her relaxing walk! ugh!

Thankfully, my walk today was a bit more peaceful. The jackhammers were gone, the dogs maybe recognized me, and the lawn was already mowed, so I did get a bit of a relaxing walk in, which seems to make all the difference in how the rest of my day goes. A good work out in the morning, time to clear my head, a cooperative/sleeping baby in the stroller, and then a quick breakfast and time to study my Italian book while I sip capuccino, is definitely,what I call, a successful morning. Hopefully, this morning is the beginning of a successful streak with my a.m routine!

Use your words!

Since Evan can't communicate with words yet, he decided to send a note to all his friends and family back home via the shirt he wore today. He especially sends his 'hug me' request to Nana, Papa & Poppy!

Gift request: Can someone send me some elastic waist pants?

Food in Italy is delizioso, and pants that fit me a week after Evan was born, are now starting to get a bit tight...now that is sad, that Italy is doing to me what pregnancy did not! Bread & pizza dough apparently do more of a number on me than my little dough boy did (pic attached of my little dough boy:).

Despite the delicious, fresh, flavorful food of Naples, such as my "Amalfi" salad that I order quite often (pizza boxes are typically used by the restaurants near our hotel as the 'to go' containers for anything we order..pizza or not), it is still sometimes nice to have some good old American food, so we were excited to have meatloaf & cheesy potatos at our friends house this past weekend. I also indulge every once in a while in my "American Nutty" ~$10 jar of peanut butter, as well as a Hamburger con formaggio (cheeseburger) at this new burger joint called "Orange" that is just about a 15 minute walk away, and is always packed w/Italian teenagers.

I've tried to make it a point this week to order new things, and have been pleasantly surprised by my:
-Zuppa di pasta e zucca= essentially pureed butternut squash served hot w/ a variety of freshly made pasta noodles mixed in.
-Insalate con legumes= cold bean salad. Consisted of pinto beans, white beans and chick peas, served cold on a plate. Then, the waiter brought me a lemon slice, high quality olive oil (which it all seems to be around here) and salt. The beans, lightly seasoned with those items, were delicious. Light, fresh, and so tasty. I think later that day I was "passa a wind" like the sign in my earlier post suggested:)
-Bean and sausage soup. I forget what it was called, but it was great. Very hearty and spicy.
-One of Josh's favorites--the huge mozzarella ball w/ tomatos, called "mozzarella du bufala".
-I've been ordering parmigiana de melanzane at most places that have it to compare the various 'eggplant parmigiana' recipes. Everyone has their own way of making it, but so far, each recipe has tasted great, and it continues to be one of my favorite dishes. They love eggplant here...hmmmm...maybe it's eggplant that the Neapolitan's are 'honoring' with all the purple that they wear. Purple seems to be the color of choice for Neopolitans, and as we walk down the street, it's hard to avoid seeing a sea of purple dressed people. Men wearing purple scarves (I know what I'm getting Josh for his birthday:) , purple pants, women in purple berets, sweaters, jackets etc. Hmmm..maybe they are just die-hard Seahawks fans???...Nah..I think it's the eggplant:)

I'm really hoping that we get that Posillipo apartment so that I can learn some Italian cooking. I talked to my friend Stephanie today, who is married to a Neopolitan, plus, although American, she has a huge Italian family, and she was in the midst of preparing Sunday dinner for her husband. The menu: pasta in a bolognese sauce, meatballs, sausage, steak, salad, cheese's, salami's, olives, nuts, fruit, profiteroles, etc. I've already enlisted her to teach me some of her cooking skills, plus, as a bonus, she makes homemade limoncello--fun! So again, please send me some elastic waist pants--pronto! ha!

Apartment search update

We had some success with our housing search, and are hoping and praying that we are able to lease an apartment in the Posillipo neighborhood of Naples. Our search was focused on finding a place either in Posillipo, or in Cava de Tirreni (town 5 minutes from Amalfi coast), and after 2 days of touring apartments, we found one that we really feel like we would be happy in, which is no easy feat here in Napoli!

The apartment we want is owned by a Countess (I still have to google what exactly makes someone a Countess), but I've heard she is super nice, which was great to hear if she is to become our future landlord. Here are some of the details about the apartment:
-one unit in a 4 unit building
-2 floors, with living/dining/kitchen/bath on 1st floor and 3 bedrooms (one super tiny, but will be perfect for Evan) and a bathroom on the 2nd floor.
-Balconies with great views of Vesuvius volcano, the Bay of Naples, Capri, and the island of Ischia.
-A vineyard is set at the top of the street (see picture), and the apartment is surrounded by greenery, including orange and lemon trees. Quite the oasis in Naples, as it is tough to get away from the traffic and noise in this city.
-Some charming Italian accents, such as the wood burning pizza oven in the kitchen, blue and white tiled kitchen counter top and oven hood, teracotta tiles throughout the apartment, and a teracotta roof.
-Beach access. There is a private beach, only accessible by people within this gated community.
-10 minute walk to the park, which offers a clean playground, various trails and walking paths, and exceptional views. (see pictures)
-15 minute walk to shops, cafes, restaurants, and the bus stop that will allow me to hop the bus into downtown Naples to meet up w/ friends, do more shopping, touring of museums.
-15-20 minute drive (depending on traffic) to get to the train station (or can take the bus). From the train station, can catch the fast train to Rome which only takes about 1hr 10 minutes.
-quiet, tranquil space for Evan, and of course, for our future visitors:)

We are truly keeping our fingers crossed that we get this place. Leases are typically 4-5 years here in Napoli, so it can be tough to negotiate a 'short' lease of only 2 years, but our Realtor is experienced with working on these corporate leases, so we are hoping he will help to get us into this apartment. In the meantime, we are still living in the hotel, in Santa Lucia, Napoli.

I attached a picture of the bay of Naples. Posillipo is at the end of the point in the distance along the water. I also took some rainy day pictures when I was up in that neighborhood the other day. I will take more pictures when we go back to the apartment and hopefully get some pics on a clear day that really show the beauty of this little area of Posillipo. The apartment in Cava di Tirreni was also cute, but a lot smaller. It was also on the top floor, without an elevator, so trying to get in and out w/ Evan, his stroller, etc, would have been too much of a hassle. I would have probably built up some muscles lugging his stroller up and down 5 flights of stairs, but would have not enjoyed doing it day in and day out. I attached two pictures that show the views from the terrace of the Cava apartment. It was definitely cute, and Cava is a great little town, settled in the mountains, and again, super close to the Amalfi coast. A fun town to check out if you come and visit.

Evan is making friends

Little does he know, the baby he's been talking to and flirting with, is cardboard:)

Our own little meatball:)

Evan is just over 2.5 months, but this outfit is a 6 month outfit. We constantly hear "Molto Grande!" (very big) from his Italian admirers, so I guess the pizzas, mozzarella balls, and pasta dishes we are feeding him are really accelerating his growth:)

50 Euro worth of laundry, the remaining 25 Euro worth are still blowing in the wind on the sidewalk!

I put the sneakers there to show the scale of the bags. These are small bags of laundry. I guess owning a Lavandaria is a lucrative business around here!

Check out this Italian Diva!!

This little bitch strutting her stuff at Piazza Plebiscito!

I may have had beans in my salad, but I just wanted to buy a cellphone!!

Who can spot the American?

Yesterday I had some free time and decided to take a 'field trip' to the large grocery store that my friend Jordan had shown me. It took me a few tries to find the correct cobblestone street that it was on, amongst the winding roads, but once I found it, I was excited to take my time, cruising the aisles, taking in the various products, and getting more acquainted with Italian grocery stores. Jordan had told me that she likes to go between 1:30-3, since that tends to be the time it is least crowded, as everyone is at lunch, vs out doing errands. I entered the store and thought, "wow, she was right, the store is dead, and I can really navigate it w/ ease with the stroller, and just have a relaxing time. Great!" So, I began my shopping experience in the produce department, learning how to shop for fruits and veggies. Basically, you select your items...say, apples, than you take them over to a scale, that has a board w/ buttons that each have a picture an item on them (apple, banana etc), you hit the button that corresponds with what you are weighing, so the 'apple' for my example, and then a sticker w/ the price and barcode is spit out. This saves the cashier from having to weigh your produce at check out. So, I gained my confidence in that department,then moved from aisle to aisle, checking out the different items that you just don't find in the US, and the missing items, that I just can't find here in Italy. Some of the observances:
1-Eggs are not refridgerated. They are just sitting on the shelves, just like cereal.
2-Speaking of cereal, it's expensive,and it comes in small boxes (kind of like the size of the grapenuts cereal box). I also thought I was buying the same Honey Nut Cheerios that I get at home, but it seems that General Mills must have licensed their branding to Nestles, because although the Nestle's HN Cheerios box looks just like the General Mills one, complete with the same little honeybee, the cereal itself isn't the same, and I miss the flavor of the General Mills ones.
3-Milk just comes in small size plastic bottles. I've yet to see a gallon of milk anywhere, even at the larger grocery chains.
4-A lot of the yogurt brands come in glass jars, kind of like baby food.
5-The tiniest jar of peanut butter is 6+ Euro
6-It's hard to find baking ingredients such as baking soda,baking powder, brown sugar, chocolate chips etc. Most grocery stores, if they carry baking powder/soda at all, the 2 ingredients are combined in little envelopes, so not sure how you would convert those to try to bake a new recipe? Also, brown sugar has big sugar granules..almost looks like the raw sugar you get at Starbucks, or like light brown Kosher salt. A friend did find some 'normal' containers of baking powder/soda and Dunkin Heinz cake mixes at the Lindt specialty chocolate store, but otherwise, I think the best bet, is to stock up on those items during a future trip back to the US.
7-Speaking of Starbucks, I heard today from several of the girls at coffee this morning (1 who is married to a Neopolitan, and 2 who are dating Neopolitans), that there is a law (not sure if it is a written law, or an unwritten rule) against Starbucks here, and that it's not allowed in Italy. Another one of the girls said that probably explains why her Starbucks coffee beans that she bought while in Edinborogh last weekend were confiscated at the Italian airport.

Anyhow, I kind of digressed from my story...so, I was walking the aisles, taking my time to take it all in, loving how deserted the store was, and enjoying my 'field trip'. I kept hearing announcements on the loudspeaker,but was basically ignoring them,since I couldn't understand anyways. After a few minutes of announcements, and another aisle covered, a store clerk approached me. I couldn't understand her at first, but then realized that she was telling me they are closed. I was the only one in the store, and I didn't even have any intention of buying anything. This was just my field trip. It was so funny! As she directed me to the exit, and as I rode the moving ramp to the door (like a flat escalator that they use at all the malls and big stores), I looked down to see the cashiers all counting out their drawers to cash out, and all the aisles totally empty! I wonder how long they were trying to tell me to get out of there via the loud speaker, since literally, I was the only one in there! The manager was at the door with the keys, and she locked the door the second Evan and I exited. Oops...my vocab for the day "we are closing..get out!" ha

I laughed at myself, and decided to stop and treat myself to a hot chocolate(literally a cup of melted chocolate) at Gambrinos on my way home. Gambrino's is a famous cafe here..still don't know what it is famous for. I got in the cafe, and I decided I'd also get some Tirimisu, to try their version of it. I looked in the bakery case, didn't see it, and so then I opened up the refriderated case and was going through the items in there, to see what the desserts were, and if there was a tirimisu or something else that looked good. The security guy whipped over there so quickly, snapped the door shut, and slapped a lock on it. Apparently, going into the case yourself is a big 'no-no'. Oopsy, this Americana still has a lot to learn to blend in w/ the locals, but when it comes to sweets, I tend to just go for it! ha

Wax on Wax off

I finally found a salon today to wax these catepillars off my face---my eyebrows had grown out of control, and w/o knowing the language, it's taken longer than expected to find a salon capable to handle a job this size!ha I was introduced to the salon owner by 2 friends of mine, who have had luck there w/ their haircuts, leg waxing etc. Thankfully, my friend Alexis has a Neopolitan boyfriend, so she's become fluent in Italian, and could take care of not only the introduction to the salon owner, but also communication of my waxing needs and cost negotiation. If you don't get a price up front, you're likely to be charged a lot more after the fact, so upfront price negotiations are always necessary. So, we stopped by the salon, and Christina, the aestetician said she could take me in 5 minutes and would charge 4 Euro to wax my brows. Wow..what a bargain, considering I pay $18 at InSpa in Seattle. Evan got all sorts of attention as I waited for my appointment, and once ready for me, Christina took me in the back room. The salon assistant, Angela, brought me espresso, as I waited for Christina to get the wax ready. While I waited they asked me if I wanted my hair shampooed, which I didn't, but the inquiry did make me a bit self conscious as I wondered.."what, does my hair look super greasy or something?...I mean, I know I didn't wash it today, but I didn't think it looked that bad"....ha So, without a shampoo, I just waited in the chair for my brow wax. Christina came back with the hot wax and a metal knife (sort of looked like one of those double-rounded knives that you frost cakes with),and I started to get nervous...I mean, heat and metal and sensitive eye area skin spell 'burn' to me, but I kept my cool to see what would happen. Christina first tested the wax on her hand, and deduced it was too hot. She waited a minute, dipped the metal knife in the wax, blew on it, and then headed towards my brow with it. All I could think of was being branded w/ a red hot poker! I totally screamed when she touched it to my skin! ha..just kidding, no I didn't, it actually didn't hurt at all, BUT the fear that it was going to hurt, did up my adrenaline for a second! Since noone in the salon spoke any English, and since my friends had left after negotiating the price for me, I couldn't totally describe how I wanted my brows, but at least they are cleaned up, and I don't have burn marks to remember the experience by...just coiffed brows, and a new salon to call my own:)

Now, for those of you following my bloomers saga, I tried to pick up my laundry yesterday, but due to January 6th being a big Italian holiday, the day the witch (or something like that) of Christmas delivers gifts and chocolate coal to kids (because all kids are bad at least once in the year), I couldn't get my laundry because it was closed. So, I left the hotel this morning at 8:30 to meet up w/ 6 girls for coffee, passed the lavandaria, and my poor undies were still outside on the rack. I think that because it rainded on them the other day, Nina, the laundress, must have had to rewash them, and then rehang them today. After a great day w/ the girls, I stopped in the Lavandaria on my way home. Since my clothes were still on the rack, she gave me 1/2 my clothes today and told me to come back tomorrow for the rest. The damage? 75 Euro, because we had 3 washloads full of clothes. Wow...almost 100 bucks, and again, my clothes were not even getting the electric dryer treatment!

I've learned a lot about laundry since being in Italy. In Naples, you are not allowed to vent your dryer, so most people don't even bother buying a dryer, and for those who do, it takes about 2 hours to dry your clothes, and that's putting just a few articles of clothing in at a time. Most of the expat women I have met, have dryers, but they usually just use their drying racks, since the dryers just aren't worth the effort. This dryer issue explains why as you drive through Naples you see clothes hanging off all the balconies. Rain or shine, they are out there. When it rains, rather than pulling their clothes off the line, people just drape tarps over them.

The water is also very 'hard' here. It's so full of minerals, that you have to buy special capsules of water softener to add to each cycle in your washing machine and dishwasher, otherwise, the minerals will build up and quickly freeze up your machine so that one day it will just stop working. I also notice the 'hardness' of the water in my hair. It seems to be pretty drying! And the clothes, forget it, they come out like cardboard...even when you are paying 75 euro to have them done. A lot of people iron all their clothes, underwear, jeans, sheets etc, because the heat from ironing helps to soften them up. I get poor Evan's baby clothes back from the Lavandaria and they are so scratchy and brittle! I thought for sure his sensitive baby skin would react to the roughness and the super heavy perfumed detergents, but so far, he seems to not notice..at least he doesn't 'complain' about it or seem uncomfortable. I rememmber one of my college roommates whose mom is from Italy, used to tell us how her mom would iron all of the families underwear, sheets, and how my friend used to get kind of annoyed that her mom would iron her jeans, because she would never like the crease her mom would iron into them. I used to think, wow..her Mom is little miss homemaker/martha stewart, but now I realize it was likely just a cultural thing and she was used to always ironing in Italy. Seems like a ton of extra work to me!

Sunday in Sorrento

The sun was shining, and we were ready for a day trip, so we packed up Evan and headed the 20 miles south of Naples to Sorrento. Because there is really just one main way in and out of Sorrento, the 20 mile drive took us about 2hr 45 minutes. Thankfully, there is some gorgeous scenery along the drive (once you hit the coast), and I had also packed some 'scooby snacks' to help maintain my blood sugar, although a bit of crankiness did come out during the drive, when I was ready to throw in the towel on the gridlock traffic we were encountering. Thankfully, Josh kept me rational..mainly by laughing at me, and we made it to Sorrento, in time to feed Evan, and go on the hunt for our own lunch. In Italy, stores and restaurants close up shop mid afternoon for a few hours for their siesta time, and as luck would have it, we arrived in Sorrento hungry, and just as the restaurants were pulling down their metal grates/doors, inviting us back in a few hours for dinner. We wandered the narrow, cobblestone streets, and finally found a tavern that was still open. We sat down with our mouths watering as we looked over the menu. When the waiter came to take our order, it took us about 5 tries to find an entree (actually a primi and secondi) that were still available...as food is made fresh, so by the time we had shown up for lunch, most of the lunch items were sold out and no longer available (such as the lasagne, minestrone, spaghetti a bolognese etc..that we had initially attempted to order). We both ended up ordering veal marsala, plus Josh got a primi of this delicious pasta dish w/ sausage and a white cream sauce. It was so good..one of the best meals we've had here. After lunch, we casually roamed the streets, just taking in the pretty street decorations, taste testing the fresh limoncello which came in many varieties (regular, creamed, chocolate, cafe etc..we bought the chocolate one), indulging in, or course, gelato, and pondering if Sorrento may be a town we want to consider living in. We had a great time, and Sorrento will definitely be a place we will take guests to during visits..either for a fun day trip, or maybe even for a night or two, as it is such a pretty town, with so much to offer.
We are trying to figure out how feasible the weekday commute would be for Josh from Sorrento to his office, and if it's doable, we plan to contact our realtor to add Sorrento to our list of targeted towns to live in. Will keep you posted on our housing search, as we expect to see more places early next week, once landlords are back from extended xmas holidays.

A Beautiful Day for my Bloomers!

Today, during my typical walk w/ Evan, I found out what our 50 euro/~75 dollars gets us at the Lavandaria (laundry place)..it gets my bloomers a free ride on the drying rack, right outside on the sidewalk! Yup, walking along Via San Lucia by my hotel, I started laughing out loud when I realized that the clothes on the rack in front of our lavandaria, were ours! Blowing in the wind, my undies, for all to see:) It was hysterical! I stopped only to document this with a picture, and then continued on my walk, calling Josh on the way to provide him with some comic relief!

I walked for about an hour and a half, down my street past the taxi driver strike that was blocking off our entire 4 lane road, through Piazza Plebiscito, and up Via Toledo, a long street dotted on both sides w/ tons of clothing stores, bars, jewelry stores etc. It is also lined with street vendors selling knock off purses, wallets etc. They pack up every once in a while with a quick sweep up of all of their merchandise into the huge tarp the goods are laid out on, to avoid a reprimand from the police. I didn't find a new purse, although I am in search of one that can be both stylish, and practical--hopefully large enough to carry some diaper change contents. I did, however, find a 'jungle gym' for Evan--one of those arches that will hang over him while he lays on the ground, allowing him to swat at the dangling toys. I balanced the huge toy box on top of our new stroller (cheaply made but not a cheap price..I still need to learn how to properly negotiate prices here),and started on the path home. I passed the lavandaria again...my bloomers were now not only blowing in the wind, but hanging in the rain..along w/ Josh's clothes, some of my sweaters, and Evan's clothes and bed sheet. Hmmm...I hope the mopeds cruising by aren't splashing dirty rain water up on our 'clean' clothes..I mean, that Lavandaria is not cheap! Across the street from our lavandaria, is the supermercati, so I popped in there to grab some milk, a hunk of parmesan, some fresh bread, and a 4 pack of diet coke...sodas are all sold in 4 packs instead of 6 packs. I'm not sure why, but one guess would be because the fridges are so much smaller here. So, I got those 4 items, coming to about 10 euro, and made it home just in time for Evan to let me know he was hungry. I fed him, set up his jungle gym, skyped with family, and now while the little guy takes a nap ( I rocked him to sleep by pushing the stroller back and forth in the bathroom w/ the shower running--sometimes desperate measures are needed:), and am taking the time to update this blog. I'm hoping Josh will be home no later than 8pm, so that we can grab dinner at one of our local favorite spots, and then call it a night.