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!