Sunday, July 18, 2010

Ummmm...OK, I'll go to Umbria:)








On Friday night we decided to wake up early and head on a road trip to Umbria, with Assisi as our main destination.

After a quick, 3.5 hour, drive through the beautiful Italian countryside, we arrived in Assisi. It is such a gorgeous, clean and quaint city, easily walkable, and definitely worth the ride. St. Francis of Assisi Basilica is the main attraction, so we hit that spot first...hoping to get some shelter and relief from the heat within this huge structure. We were not rewarded with any cool air, but the Basilica was beautiful, in an understated, yet Gothic kind of way. The tomb of St. Francis was also pretty incredible, and there was definitely a 'holy' feeling within the building.

After touring St. Francis we wandered up to Piazza di Commune, on the hunt for shade and something to eat. We grabbed some beers, cold waters, and sandwiches at a Salumeria and sprawled out our picnic blanket in the Piazza in the shade of one of the big buildings. It was the perfect spot for Evan to play, while we ate and people-watched. There were a lot of Americans touring around, and although there were many tour groups, the streets did not feel overly crowded at all.

After lunch we headed to our hotel, another great find through Tripadvisor.com's recommendations, and then decided on what to do the rest of the afternoon. We went to a few more churches and a temple (Santa Chiara, San Ruffino and Minerva temple) recommended by the hotel, began to melt from the heat, went and got gelato (chocolate and coconut combo) to cool off, and then parked ourselves at a restaurant that had misting fans to help keep their customers cool. We plopped our sweaty selves down directly in front of one of the big fans and enjoyed some cold beers while doing some more people watching. A great, relaxing way to spend the rest of this very hot and very humid afternoon. Evan was happy to cool off back in our hotel room where he enjoyed a cold bath before getting ready for bed.

2 funny things about the churches:
-My tank top and shorts were too revealing for the modesty required to enter the churches, so I was provided with shawls--one to wrap around my shoulders and one to wrap around my waist. Josh said I looked like a gypsy, but oh well, at least I got in:)
-Evan's gas would apparently get to the point of where he just couldn't hold it anymore, and big, explosive "fffaaaarrrrrttttt" would just come out at, of course, the most quiet area of the churches. Didn't he see the signs all around demanding "Silenzio"!


After touring the churches and relaxing in the piazza, we strolled Evan to sleep in his stroller, while we headed off to dinner at a restaurant up the street from our hotel. We enjoyed a nice dinner outside, got some cannolis to-go from a local bakery, and then called it a night.

On Sunday morning we got up and headed out of Assisi to Orvieto, another Umbria hilltown about an hour drive from Assisi. Josh had learned of this town after a brief google search on Umbria, and we were so glad that he stumbled across it. Orvieto is such a pretty town, with many 'post-card-worthy' scenes. Pretty cobblestrone streets, window boxes overflowing with fuschia flowers, little parks offering shade and benches, and lots of quaint shops selling typical wares from ceramics, to olive oils, embroidered items etc. The Duomo is the main attraction...a huge, gothic style cathedral, that from the front, looked to me like Florence's Duomo. I would definitely recommend Orvieto as a great town to go for the weekend, or even as a day trip from Naples, as the ride home was only 2.5 hours.

Now home at our apartment in Naples, we are finishing up laundry from our trip, listening to fireworks (a typical, nightly affair around here), digesting our dinner--Josh's homemade mac & cheese..or should I say cheese and mac, and relaxing. We are thankful to have air conditioning after surviving the temps in the upper 90s in Assisi without the hotel having air conditioning. Note to self: when booking hotels in the summer in Italy...always doublecheck for AC as it is not something that can be taken for granted here.

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Back in Italy


After a week of adjusting from jet-lag, I can say that we are all back into the swing of things in Napoli. It was a tough adjustment the first few days getting used to everything Italian again, but I am regaining my confidence with the language, and getting back into routine. Evan has also fallen back into his routine which is a huge help, so things are good. Buono!

For the past 2 days I've walked up to the park, bringing along a huge picnic blanket, toys and lunch for Evan and I. It is TOO hot and humid to go for my normal speed walk while pushing Evan, so instead, we are just relaxing at the park, which we both really enjoy. Being at the park allows Evan to watch all the kids playing on the playground, while giving both of us a change of scenery from the apartment.

Yesterday, I saw a few women and kids sitting near me, they said 'ciao', I said 'ciao' back, and that was the extent of it. Today, I walked back up to the park at the same time, and the same girls were there. One of them, Mary, came over, introduced herself, sat down with us, and chatted for about 10 minutes--all in Italian mind you. She then invited Evan and I to join her and her friends, which we did. I am so excited about meeting them. There are 5 girls (Mary, Veronica, Maria, a Russian girl who moved here 4 years ago..i forget her name, and another girl whose name I forget) and about 8 kids (Lorenzo, Luigi, Eduardo, Tomaso, I forget the others), and they all go to the park for the same time every day--from about 11am-4pm. They let the kids run around while they sit and visit. They told me to come and join them each day and in no time, I'll be a master of Italian. I love the sound of that!! I held my own in conversation today, and I can't wait to sit with them tomorrow to practice my Italian more...never mind the benefit of adult conversation!!

I've been practicing vocabulary via homemade flashcards, but nothing beats conversation. I've made friends with Vincent and Bruno--the security guards at the park, so we talk a bit each day as I'm coming and going, plus the produce man, Francesco, at the Super-O is helping me with the names of fruits and vegetables. Hopefully, by the time I am home at Xmas, I'll have more language skills to show for my time here. Hard to believe that by December we will have already lived in Italy for one year!!!

Time to Pahhk the Cah in Hahvahd Yahhd



After cracking a molar while in Istanbul, I decided to fly back to my Hingham, hometown, dentist rather then venture to a dentist here in Southern Italy. I had heard that the option for Novacane was variable to non-existent, and knowing my low-pain threshold, I quickly logged onto Orbitz to find Evan and I some cheap, last minute flights to the US. After hardly having time to unpack from Istanbul, we were back on a train to Rome's Leonardo di Vinci airport and then over to Boston's Logan airport via London.

Lesson # 1---never attempt an International trip without a stroller!! I had thought the stroller would be too much of a pain loading on/off trains and planes with my luggage in tow, but Boy! was that a mistake! I arrived at each 'transition' along the route looking sweaty and disheveled, with 20 pounds of Evan strapped to me in the Bjorn, a backpack on my back, my baby holster (i.e large fanny pack containing bottles, toys, pacifier etc) and my large roller bag being dragged behind me. If any of you have ever read the book "Slummy Mummy" and remember the character....I was her!!

Lesson #2---consider forgoing feeding Evan prunes with his morning cereal on any days that airport changing stations are involved. I had Evan propped on the changing table in the restroom at the airport and Holy diaper Explosion!! Just what I needed!! I had so much stuff with me, but did I have enough baby wipes for something as massive as this..of course not!! In a matter of seconds, there was poop everywhere, Evan had thrust both hands in it, and I was looking more and more incompetent to the 'spectators' watching this all happen as they primped in the mirror from their long flights, washed their hands etc. I was sweating even more than before---say hello to Slummy Mummy again! Can I please just get my bags checked and get onto the plane please!!

Finally, on the flight after being delayed due to French air traffic controllers being on strike, we took off heading 'the long way' to London, since we couldn't even fly over French air space. Thankfully, I made my connection in time, and was on my way to Boston...hooray!

As we exited Logan's baggage claim area, Tom was there to greet us with a big "We love you Kim" sign. He had left work early and drove all the way down from Vermont to pick me up and to meet his nephew Evan for the first time. How nice was that!!

Driving from the airport to Hingham, I immediately noticed just how orderly the driving seemed and how 'easy' things already felt. What a huge difference it makes when you can understand what everyone is saying, when you can read street signs, and when you actually know where you are going. A convenience/luxury you can easily take for granted until you are plunked into a foreign country.

The trip to Boston was great. Some highlights:
-Spending quality time with family and friends, cousins, aunts, uncles, college friends, Hingham friends, work friends etc. Just so great to see everyone and catch up.
-Visiting Nana and watching her with Evan. She loves babies, and thankfully that's the truth considering she had 8 of them.
-Dunkin donuts coffee
-Going grocery shopping and knowing what I am buying. The ability to read labels is a huge help when it comes to shopping!
-Watching Evan with family and watching them get to know each other.
-Hanging out by 'the pool'..even if it was just a blow up, inflatable one.
-Meeting some of my friends' babies who were born when I was either out of state or out of the country. So fun for Evan to meet so many potential future wives:)
-Going to the 4th of July parade and festivities. Really made me feel 'at home in the US'. In Italy, there have been so many Saint's days and holidays, but I always feel a bit out of the loop not even knowing that it is a holiday until I try to shop and find the stores closed.
-The luxury of babysitters--thanks Ma & Pa!
-Getting my haircut and being able to explain what I want the stylist to do. Another communication thing that is easily taken for granted.
-The support of friends and family which allowed me to conquer the 'cry it out' method and get Evan on a schedule that seems to work for the both of us.
-Time at the beach in Brant Rock, Hingham Harbor and Egypt Beach. It was fun for me, although Evan still is a bit scared of the ocean--not sure if he doesn't like the waves, or if it's the sand, but 3 beaches=3 strikeouts with him liking it. Maybe it had to do with the borrowed pink beach hat I had him wear. He was maybe just too self conscious and wanted to get the heck off the beach before any of his baby friends saw him:)

During our trip home, we were able to fly down to Pittsburgh to see Josh's side of the family, and introduce Evan to them. Poppy had come out to Seattle when Evan was first born, but the rest of the gang had yet to meet him. From Boston, it was a quick flight, and Evan flew like a pro.

Some highlights from Pittsburgh:
-Being picked up by Dara at the airport and seeing Leah and Chloe's excitement about meeting their new, baby cousin for the first time.
-The irony of going to "The Olive Garden" for lunch---if you ask me, it is still pretty good Italian, and you got to love the bottomless soup, salad and breadsticks:)
-Watching Evan check out Uncle Ed for the first time. It was as if he was wondering..."is this Daddy? Did Daddy shave off his goatee?"
-Evan and cousin Aubrey meeting for the first time. They really checked each other out.
-Watching all the cousins playing together in the kiddie pool and on the 'love sac'.
-Going to take a shower while leaving Evan in the care of Ed, Dara and the kids, and coming back downstairs to find Evan all 'girled' up with a pigtail on his head, playing with dolls, on the pink barbie couch. Nice touch Blank family! ha
-Poppy's reaction at just how much Evan has grown and how different he looks. He's a real little boy now!
-Being able to see, in person, how much Evan looks like Jason, since at one time or another, it seems that all the Blank kids look like Uncle Jason.
-Getting to meet baby Lilah, and see how much Zack had grown, and visiting with Robin, Aunt K and Aaron.

We plan to head back to the East Coast for a few weeks in December, so we'll be seeing everyone again soon.

Wednesday, July 7, 2010

I'll take a Turkey Kebap please!



We were in Turkey for a long weekend at the end of June and it was amazing! I was surprised to feel more 'at home' in Turkey than I initially did in Southern Italy. Istanbul was definitely more Western than I had imagined, and to prove it, our first stop once off the bus from the airport was at the Starbucks...a company most of my Italian friends have never even heard of. After refreshing iced venti, decaf, vanilla soy lattes, we took the Funicular from Tasnim Square down into new town, then a metro ride over to Sultanhmet (old town) where our hotel was. I had found our hotel on Trip Advisor and when we first arrived at the address given on the website we were shocked to find an abandoned building, but thankfully, the address I had was wrong, and we were quickly pointed to the correct building and we found the Maywood Hotel to be quite nice, especially for the bargain rate I found on line. We spent each day enjoying the huge buffet breakfast at the hotel complete with lots of chopped salads of eggplant, tomatoes, cucumbers, feta; huge platters of honeycomb, olives in every style--from fresh in their own juices to marinaded or spiced up with red peppers, large varieties of "Turkish Delight" a sweet, candy type item, plus egg dishes, pastries, and of course --Turkish Coffee...although we observed that tea seemed to be the more popular beverage among the Turks. For lunches and dinners we tried as much of the local fare as we could, and enjoyed the restaurants that had pillows on the floor for seating, since that allowed Josh and I some freedom from holding Evan as he was more than comfortable playing on the cozy cushions next to us while we enjoyed meze plates, super cold Turkish beers, Turkish pizza, and various lamb and beef dishes--yum! I was a definite fan of the food and impressed by how consistently iced-cold the Elin beers were. Very refreshing considering the temperature each day was in the upper 80s to 90s.

Some favorite spots:
-Lunch under the bridge along the Bosphorous straight. The breeze was great, plus it was fun to see what the fisherman were pulling up before even they saw, as about 100 fishing lines were dropped down in the water from above where we were dining.
-Taking the bus over the bridge and on one sign seeing "welcome to Asia" and then driving in the other direction, "Welcome to Europe".
-The Blue Mosque--the history and architecture were so impressive!
-The Grande Bazaar--you just can't believe how huge this shopping area is. It is all inside,with tons of hallways/wings selling similar items--i.e the Leather wing, the Candy wing, the Jewelry wing etc. It's like a maze and hard not to get lost in it.
-The Spice Market, fun place to walk through and watch the locals buying their spices, nuts etc. The scents are incredible as you walk through.
-The various restaurants with the floor/pillow seating. I wish there were more of those in the US and Italy as it was a very fun and comfortable way to dine. Hmmm..maybe I shouldn't have spent so much time assembling my Ikea dining chairs...throw pillows would have been much easier and maybe I could have started a trend in home dining decor...hmmm...
-The people. I found the Turkish people to be very nice and wow..do they love babies!! I didn't think anyone could love babies more than Southern Italians, but the Turks definitely do. People were practically diving over each other on the crowded trains to get a chance to stroke Evan's cheek or hold his hand--unbelievable!
-The Whirling Dirvishes!! These guys are amazing. I had never heard of them, so in case you haven't either, they are these monk-type guys who wear long white dresses and twirl in place to music. They hold there posture in such a way that their arms are out, their head is slightly tilted and looking up, and they just spin their feet with their whole body kind of on an axis and with the white dress flowing out to the sides. They are truly mesmerizing to watch, and we watched 'a dirvish' while we were indulging in pistachio baklavah and sipping apple tea at a cafe in the park between the Blue Mosque and Aya Sofya.
-Sultanahmet was a great neighborhood to stay in for ease of access to all the sites. It is the "heart of old city" and was once home to Byzantine emperors and Ottoman sultans, but now it's just the perfect spot to stay if you are visiting and it is within walkind distance to most major mosques, museums, hotels and cafes.

We didn't buy a Turkish rug on this trip, but if you are ever in the market for one, I'd recommend a trip to go buy one in person. You won't be dissappointed by what Istanbul has to offer!