What do you mean the Easter Bunny doesn't lay those eggs?

I went with friends on a fabulous chocolate factory tour, just in time to sample some eggs before the big Easter holiday. Easter is celebrated in a big way here in Easter, and you can easily see 3+ aisles at the grocery stores dedicated to all types of chocolate eggs, chickens, etc. The bunny apparently doesn't hop around in Italy, but they do celebrate with chocolate.

The tour was fabulous, not only because we learned the secret to making hollow eggs, but we got to sample many of the treats along the way. And you all know, I love my samples...just ask anyone who has ever joined me on a weekend Costco trip!

The tour was very lax..we didn't have to wear any hairnets or booties, but instead were given full access to the various work stations and we got to get up close and personal with the chocolate connosiurs and with the chocolate itself! Yum! Not bad for a free tour!

Enjoying some fine Czech cuisine!

Lots of Goulash, Beer, Dumplings, Cheese spreads, even a steak tenderloin dinner I got came w/ whipped cream and cherries on it. Wow..I like how these Czech's think!

"Me and Dupree"

We spent an amazing 4 nights in Prague and would highly recommend it! It is just a quick 1 hr 35 minute flight from Rome, so on the plane we tried to cram some Czech words into our heads so that we could at least get by with some basics--"please, thank you, good morning" etc. Josh tends to pick up languages a lot easier than I do, especially the accents, and this point was made the first time I tried to say "Thank You" and rather than saying "Daquee", I came out with Dupree--just like the character from that goofy movie:) ha! Well, regardless, I think the Czech folks appreciated the effort to learn their language, eventhough Dupree shouldn't have really 'tagged along' on this trip! ha!

Our time was spent seeing all of the main sites, but at a very relaxed pace since the city is small and everything is within easy walking distance from each other, and thankfully from the apartment we had booked. Over the few days we were there we saw: St. Vitus Cathedral (the most impressive of all the sites to us); The Prague Castle (absolutely breathtaking castle perched up on a hill overlooking the city); St. George's Basilica; Golden Lane;Old Town Square--including Tyn Church, Jan Hus Memorial, Astronomical Clock, Metronome; The Jewish Quarter with a Cemetery so tightly packed with tombstones you can't believe it..since from 1439-1787 there was only this one small cemetery allowed for the Jews of Prague. Apparently the graves are 12 bodies high, which explains why the land is now a big mound. So sad! We also went to the different sites in New Town, Along the Vltava River, The Charles Bridge, The Little Quarter, and the Monastery--where we went to the monastery brewery which was started by an Abbott in the 1600s...no wonder their beer was so good..they've been making it for a while!

Outside of seeing sites, we ate. We ate a lot!! Typical Czech food includes goulash, dumplings (bread dumplings, potato dumplings etc), beer, soups of all sorts--onion soup, garlic soup, potato soup, sausage soup etc (we tried them all), potato pancakes, cabbage and a lot of pork, duck, rabbit etc. Meats tend to be fatty, but it seems to go with the rest of the heavy, yet quite delicious foods. We indulged in it all, washing it down with some amazing cold beer! I drank some of the non-alcoholic beers and even those are outstanding! For dessert we usually went with the apple strudel but also had 'pancakes' which are really crepes filled w/ either blueberry or chocolate and one day we had fruit dumplings which were super doughy dumplings with ice cold berries on the inside, covered in a buttery/sugar sauce--very tasty!

We used Rick Steves' "Best of Europe" guide book and followed many of his recommendations regarding which sites to spend time at, the best time to go to avoid the huge crowds--since Prague is definitely a hot spot for large tour groups, and even tried some of his restaurant recommendations. Overall, we think he did a pretty good job pointing us in the right direction.

There was also an Easter festival going on in Old Town Square, so as I did when we were in Berlin, I found the booth that was selling incredible Belgian Waffles w/ chocolate sauce and whipped cream, and it didn't take me long to really get to know that vendor..since she saw me at least..sometimes twice (I admit it) a day. Those waffles are just irresistible and I have some tight pants to prove it!

Weather was great..a few showers, but generally sunny w/ blue skies, people were nice, food was definitely cheap, and the streets were amazingly clean. A great place to visit for sure!

Indulgent Zeppola for a great Dad!

To our surprise, March 19th was Italy's version of Father's Day, also known as La Festa di San Giuseppe, so we indulged in some Zeppola, the traditional pastry eaten on this day. I also bought Josh a bottle of his favorite Limoncello from Antonio & Antonio, one of our favorite restaurants. Lucky us, we get to celebrate both the US and Italian Father's/Mother's Day!

Below is Wikipedia's info on Zeppola:

A zeppola (plural zeppole, in southern dialects zeppoli) or St. Joseph's Day cake, also called sfinge, and in Rome Bignè di S. Giuseppe, is a pastry typical of Roman, Neapolitan and generally peninsular Italian cuisine.[1] They are also served in Sicily and on the island of Malta.

Commonly light, deep-fried dough balls about 2 inches (5.1 cm) in diameter, these doughnuts or fritters are usually topped with powdered sugar and may be filled with custard, jelly, cannoli-style pastry cream or a butter-and-honey mixture. Their consistency ranges from light and puffy, to bread or pasta-like.

Zeppole are traditionally consumed on La Festa di San Giuseppe (Saint Joseph's Day), (March 19). In Rome, Naples and Sicily, these little pastries are sold on many streets and are sometimes gifts on this day. They are also common in Italian communities in the United States.

The custom was popularized in the early 19th century by Neapolitan baker Pasquale Pintauro.[1]

Temporary apartment

Just a couple pictures of our new, temporary, place. It has a wide open living/dining/kitchen space, and then 2 bedrooms and 2 baths. We have a washer/dryer here, so I was excited (no, that's not quite the right word, I was thankful (that's more like it) to have a machine wash my clothes vs. doing my laundry in the sink every morning and hanging it on the drying racks. Yes, we still did use the lavandaria once in a while, but I got kind of sick of seeing our bloomers blowing in the wind:) ha

Pictures:
-Our 'new' key for our apartment, instead of our credit card key. Most everyone has big skeleton type keys as house keys.
-Back yard
-Living space

Peaceful Posillipo!!

What a great feeling to be in our apartment, eventhough it is just a temporary one. Josh and I went to the grocery store yesterday and made, you guessed it, hamburgers, for dinner last night. They didn't constitute a gourmet meal or anything but they weren't pizza either. The only thing missing was cheddar cheese (you can't get there here), but we topped them with parmesan chunks and they hit the spot!

This morning we woke up to a beautiful sound...peace and quiet! It's amazing what a difference 5 miles makes. We are still so close to our former hotel, but we feel like we are in a different place completely. From the apartment we hear the sing-song birds, which is another sound I missed over the past few months, and we even have grass and palm trees, so being surrounded by some greenery is a definite treat!

Evan and I also took a great walk to Parco Virgiliano--just 15 minutes away. The views are stunning and I felt like I was walking in Seattle, looking out across the sound at the mountains, or at the San Juan islands. So beautiful. I definitely think we made the right decision choosing Posillipo as the neighborhood for us to settle into.

Pictures of our walk this morning.

Morning of our hotel move

I was surprised to have some sentimental feelings take over as we moved out of Hotel Excelsior, our first "home" in Naples, and the place we have been living since December 6th. (Prior to that we had a 2 week hotel stay in Seattle, so had been in a hotel since the day before Thanksgiving).

We made our rounds and said bye to everyone from the maids and the front desk crew, to our waiters and waitresses, those being the ones I had formed the closest bond with, since I got to know them during our daily breakfast...almost 7 days a week for the past several months.

I became closest to Francesca and Mario, but there were several others that I hope to keep in touch with as well. They have really bonded with Evan too, and we were starting to refer to Francesca and Mario as Zia and Zio (Aunt and Uncle!). Once we get settled into our permanent apartment, we are planning to have them for dinner, which will be lots of fun. I will also plan to pop into the hotel to make my rounds soon enough, as I'll be in that neighborhood getting together with friends often.

So, it was weird leaving there, I actually teared up saying bye at breakfast, and saying bye to some of the girls at the front desk. I guess it just had to do with some of the memories we have of Evan's first few months of life here. He'll be surprised when he learns that we really don't live in a mansion (the hotel) and we don't have butlers and maids, like we did during our time there!

Pictures: Breakfast at the hotel, Our friends-Francesca and Mario, and packed up and heading out.

Our last night in San Lucia before moving to our temporary apartment.

Just about every night we switched off between having dinner at Antonio & Antonio, or at Gusto & Gusto, 2 of our favorite restaurants within easy walking distance from our hotel. On our last night, which also happened to be "La Festa di San Giuseppe", the Italian equivalent of Father's Day, we decided on Antonio & Antonio for dinner. We sat in Mauricio's section, one of our favorite waiters there, and broke the news to him that we were moving to Posillipo, so would no longer be seeing him every other night. He said, "just don't forget about your friend Mauricio!", which of course, we won't, and we promised to come and visit him soon. The waiters have pretty much seen Evan grow up over the past few months, and they have also all become my informal Italian teachers, so even though we are only moving a few miles away, it was still kind of sad to say bye to them, and know we won't see them every day. After dinner at Antonio & Antonio, we stopped in to see the guys at Gusto & Gusto to tell them that we are moving too, since I went there for lunch almost daily, and didn't want them to wonder what happened to me if I just stopped showing up. After saying bye to them, we promised to stop by as soon as we get settled in our new place, since they too, have become not only our favorite waiters, but friends along the way.

**Pictures: Nightly walk for dinner from the hotel; Enjoying my Parmigiana de Melanzane and Spaghetti con pomodoro (These are 2 seperate dishes, but I eat it "sicilian style" and put my Eggplant parmigian on top of my spaghetti. Bellissimo!Josh enjoying his Zeppola, the traditional dessert served on "Father's Day" and a picture of Josh and Mauricio.

Movin' on...

We got word today that we can officially move into a temporary apartment tomorrow. Wow! We are still looking forward to being in a permanent place, but we are definitely excited to know that our days of hotel living are finally coming to a close. I will definitely miss some of the staff here at the hotel who have become my Italian teachers (by default) & friends (by design), but I've already started collecting their phone numbers and email addresses so that we can stay in touch, and once we get into our permanent place, I've already promised to have them over for an American style dinner party.

The place we are moving to is in Posillipo, the neighborhood we hope to find our permanent apartment in. It is a very tranquil (relative term) part of the city, and I'm looking forward to having more peaceful walks with Evan around the neighborhood there. I've also been to this apartment several times as our friends just moved out of there, so it's nice to have some familiarity with it.

*Attached are pictures of Evan's first "house" in Italy.

I found my oasis!

Evan and I took a "field trip" to the Botanical Gardens, thanks to my friend Stephanie making the plan for us. The Botanical Gardens date back to the 1600s, and this huge park offers an amazing respite from the chaotic streets of Naples. The gardens are owned by the University of Naples and are the most important Botanical Gardens in Italy, with plant and tree varieties from all over the world.

To start our field trip, Evan and I walked to Piazza Amadeo, about 15 minutes from the hotel, to catch the metro/subway to Piazza Cavour, a quick two stops away. Stephanie thought that there was an elevator in the metro station, but unfortunately she was mistaken. Thankfully I'm not afraid to ask for help, and I found some nice folks willing to offer me a hand carrying the stroller up and down numerous flights of stairs to get up and over one set of tracks to the next set that would take us to Piazza Cavour. We also had to maneuver up 3 stairs to get onto the train itself, so again, I was thankful for some helping hands. The metro is old, definitely not sleek, but for a mere 1.10 euro, it's an efficient way to get from point A to B.

We arrived at Piazza Cavour where Stephanie was waiting for us. It was fun to see another one of Napoli's neighborhoods. Stephanie lives in this area, which she refers to as 'the hood', but I actually liked the buzz and energy of this area, and felt quite safe. Her husband runs a liquor and wine business so we stopped by his shop first, since her mother-in-law wanted to see Evan. We popped in the store, accepted an offer for some espresso, enjoyed our cafe, let Evan be loved on for a bit, and then we headed out towards the Botanical Gardens. Antonio, Stephanie's husband, had recommended that we stop in at a local Salumeria to get sandwiches for our picnic in the gardens, and he loaded us up w/ cokes and gatorade before we left his shop.

We found what we thought was the recommended Salumeria (it wasn't the right one, but the sandwiches were still great), bought our 3 euro sandwiches--parmesan and salami for me, and proscuitto cotto (ham) and swiss for Stephanie, and we were on our way. Appointments are required to get into the Botanical Gardens. Stephanie had called ahead, so at that gate, we just checked in, and then began exploring the gardens. We walked through the California palm trees, to the desert section--tons of cacti, around by the rainforest section...brimming with waterfalls and ferns, up to the fruit tree section, with Sorrento lemons the size of grapefruits, past the greenhouses where congested pregnant women and infants are allowed to sit to take advantage of all the clean oxygen, to our picnic spot..a nice little grassy area by a goldfish pond. We enjoyed our massive sandwiches while Evan enjoyed the sun, the breeze, the greenery the grass and the sound of the birds--all which he doesn't get to experience too often in Naples. It was such a peaceful place, and we had a ball. Stephanie goes every few months, and so we look forward to joining her again sometime soon. Such a great hidden treasure and certainly worth the visit!

What do you mean Barney wasn't invited!??

I may have mentioned in a previous post that purple is THE color in Napoli. As you walk down the street, everyone is adorned in purple--purple pants, purple boots, purple hats, purple scarfs, purple puffy coats, purple purple purple! All of the stores' display windows are merchandised with purple, and you just might feel a bit out of it if purple is not included in your wardrobe. So, in honor of this purple phenomenon that has taken over Napoli, our friends, Perry and Jordan, threw a purple party. It was a blast, and so fun to hang out with good friends in all of our purple fabulous-ness! We hear that the color tourquoise will be the next "in" thing to hit these streets, so start shopping now if you want to be considered a fashion trend-setter:)

Check out the purple party pictures at : http://www.perrygill.com/PurpleParty.aspx