My folks arrived in April, and Evan is so excited to have new playmates. My parents have endless energy when it comes to playing with their grandson, and so it's been fun to watch their relationship grow, after so many months across continents. With a week left to go in their visit, I'm already wondering how Evan is going to cope with their leaving...it will be a sad day for all. But...since April, you may be wondering what we've been doing to keep busy, besides playing with an energetic 18 month old. Well, we've definitely been keeping busy, although relaxing a little bit more than on their first visit to Naples about a year ago where we spent a month going around to almost every notable church, piazza, castle and ruin within the Naples area.
This visit, we've been exploring new sites. Padre Pio, for all you Catholics who might be familiar, was born in a town about 2 hours away, called Benevento. Benevento is, in my opinion, a smaller version of Assisi. In this town we saw Padre Pio's childhood home, the church that he preached at, and other relics associated with him. He was a saint known for the stigmatas he had in his palms and feet, just like Christ had, and for various miracles. The town was very quaint, and we enjoyed walking around, looking in the shops, sampling some local treats, and sitting down for lunch. It was a perfect day trip, and a new town for us to all explore together.
Another Saturday was spent on the Amalfi Coast, specifically in the resort coastal town of Positano. This cliffside village is gorgeous, with the mediterranean on one side and steep cliffs on the other. The streets are lined with quaint shops, cafe's and restaurants. I met up with my friend Simonne who I had been used to seeing every day in Naples until she moved to Lugano, Switzerland about 7 months ago, so it was a great spot for a mini-reunion for us. The ride to/from Positano isn't for those who experience car-sickness, since the switchbacks along the cliffs seem endless, and although the views are unbelievable, they can be clouded if you become nauseaus, so you have to be prepared. Unfortunately, my father wasn't too used to sitting in the back seat, so his belly didn't necessarily all the twists and turns, however, he'll agree that the payoff in Positano was well worth the suffering of the drive:)
We also spent a day walking Spaccanapoli...the term given to some streets and thoroghfares, which combined, are said to draw a line right through the center of the city. Along this walk we enjoyed the architecture of the Galleria, the frescos of various churches, the vastness of large piazzas (Piazza Dante), the intimacy of small piazzas (Piazza Bellini),the smells of baking bread and pizza, the many shops selling intricate nativity scenes with so many pieces and varieties (buying them would be like buying a doll house that you can use your imagination to fill up) and the tastes of warm from the oven chocolate-dripping cornettos, sugared graffas and foamy cappucinos. Bellisimo!!
Directly in our neighborhood of Posillipo, we've been spending time at the park, visiting the waterfront restaurants of Marechiaro (the street next to ours) and the ancient Roman ruins and tunnel of Grotta di Seino--an amazing archeologial area that we can actually see from our apartment, but is only accessible via a huge tunnel which dates back to the B.C times. We've also been indulging in Neopolitan pizza about once a week, and enjoying other treats like dark chocolate profiteroles from the local patisserie and some good tastes of home like Duncan Hines cakes and brownies, thanks to a day of shopping on the NATO base! We've been playing cards, yahtzee and reading too...also nursing ourselves back to health after a week of all of us having colds, bronchitis and sinus infection type symptoms. Not fun, but at least we had good views to enjoy while we recuperated.
The biggest "excursion" while my folks have been visiting was our cruise aboard MSC Cruiselines. Our itinerary started in Bari (a 2.5 hr drive from Naples) and brought us to the Greek Isles of Santorini, Mykenos &Corfu, plus the mainland for Athens/Piraeus, Dubrovnik-Croatia, Venice, Italy and then back to Bari. My folks had a room down the hall from us, so we were able to wave from our balcony's as we sailed, and easily meet up for any of the on board shows or meals that we were going to participate in together. True to normal cruising form, we all had plenty to eat both on and off the ship...had to taste the local foods in each port, and we really enjoyed each and every port. We opted not to do too many of the ships' organized excursions, but instead did the "on/off" bus in Athens, so that we had a chance to see the famed Acropolis and Parthenon, plus Josh and I explored the streets of Mykenos, and we all took the gondola up the cliffside to enjoy the hilltop town of Santorini. Other ports we explored on foot, taking in great views, coastlines and local bites.
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