We Got Our Stuff!

August 31

The day has arrived.  We are now officially surrounded by the things we love and many, many boxes.  I know what we are doing on this four-day weekend.  Happy Labor Day!

First Day Of School

August 27

It's hard to believe we have spent a whole summer in transition.  The kids have been troopers, and hopefully will look back on Summer 2012 as an adventure.  There were only a handful of times we all wanted to choke each other :)  School started today.  They went out the door with positive attitudes and butterflies in  their stomachs.  We are so proud of their courage.  Both of them know of at least one new friend in their class, which always helps.  They indulged the momster with a first day pic.

Have a great first day!

Cousin Time Again

August 18

Break out the air mattresses and paper plates, family's comin'.  It's a good thing they don't mind that we still don't have our stuff.  We had another great weekend together.  We went on our first touristy outing as a family clan to the Royal Palace in Caserta.  This is where a past king and queen of Naples lived, Bourbon King Ferdinand IV, and Queen Maria Carolina (her sister was Marie Antoinette).  We hiked the gardens and toured the palace.  The kids earned two gelatos!

That's the palace in the background.



The boys dug this lion in the palace.

 I'm not sure how we got by all weekend without a cousin or family clan picture, but we'll do better next time!

 

Meritorious Man

August 15

Will is going to fuss so much about this post, be it ever the humble man that he is, but he never ceases to amaze us.  He was awarded a meritorious medal today for his accomplishments on his last tour.  We are so proud of him...

Jeep arrives

August 14

Not too much to say here, but it was an uplifting day for us.  A piece of home arrived, my faithful car.  This is a big deal in these parts :)  Let's give the jeep a big hug. 
                          

We also received the mysterious "1 crate" out of 11 that made it here separately.  It. Was. Our. Mattress.   The boys handled it soooo well.  Of course there were all kinds of hopes of what was in it.  Will called this one.  Life is good!

Cruise of the Amalfi Coast

August 11

Did I say in my recent post that we also have to deal with the humdrum of daily life here?  Guess I can't complain when it is combined with a mini-cruise of the Amalfi Coast!  Oh the suffering...

We took a tour, and made the bus this time, on a small day cruise out of a port near Naples.  It stopped in Sorrento, to pick up more italians and tourists, then went to Capri for a swim call, then to either Positano or on to Amalfi.  We got off in Positano.  We had a great time!  You have to check your annoyance with the whole cattle car process at the door and embrace the fact of where you are.  I'll cut to the chase, here are the pictures.

First, a swim call at Capri

My snorkelers

Approaching Positano

Positano, on the Amalfi Coast!

Overpriced, touristy lunch, but it was yummy!

 Some summer friends just happened to be on the cruise too, woo hoo!

Ahhh, sunset.

What a great, full day.  Wish Will was in this picture, I promise he was there!

Little lessons of daily life in Napoli

August 7

It has been a bit of a slow news week as far as exciting things to blog about goes.  Life over here isn't all a bed of roses.  Perhaps that is blogworthy though if you want the true picture and not the movie version.  We have spent time in recent days just getting used to living here-where to shop for normal stuff, sports gear for kids, hardware, household items.  I found the italian version of a Super-Walmart and even went on a Saturday.  You'd think I know better.  I don't even do that at home!  Neat store though...during the week.  I am super-excited about finding the local fresh wine shop (enoteca), cheese and meat market, and produce stand, yeah!

Everytime you leave the house it is an adventure, whether it's going around a roundabout three times because you missed the turn (after which you HAVE to laugh at yourself), or paying the same toll booth twice because the exit ramp just simply doesn't have a turn-around that would make complete sense (after this you want to throw your GPS out of the window).  No!  Things sometimes just don't make sense here.  But it wouldn't be living overseas if everything was easy, that is the nature, and the sooner one succumbs to this fact, the easier it is.  I did say this was not only going to be an adventure, but a journey.  This journey will at a minimum make us appreciate home.

The boys and I set out to take a tour the other day with a base tour group.  We were excited and had to get up and at 'em for it.  We missed the bus.  Why did we miss the bus even though we were there twenty minutes early?  As we watched it drive right past us, we realized we were at the wrong bus stop.  Oh?  You didn't know that although this IS an official bus stop, that bus picks up behind that building, on the corner, in the back, behind the blue fence, next to the green sprinkler head, by the little ant hill?  Thank goodness we got a refund AND my kids were watching me, because I was &*(^%!  Life in Naples...better yet, me adjusting to neopolitan ways.   

One thing we are learning to do more here is to make limoncello out of lemons (Get it?  As opposed to lemonade out of lemons, come on people!).  The silver lining of the missed tour came when we met the other person who waited for the bus in the wrong place, Diana.  She lives in America, but her mother and father live here, she is Neopolitan.  We had cappuccino together, had a great chat, and she gave us some great insight into Naples and life here.  Here is a picture of her with the boys.

The day just got better.  There was a parade and festival with local and military emergency personnel right here on base.  The boys had a blast hanging out with their orientation friends (ones who arrived around the same time and our families went through the orientation together). 

That's Ian taking his frustrations out on the padded robot dude.  All in all a good day that started out poopy.  Now, for that limoncello... :)

Gas Pump Winery

July 28

I had been so looking forward to this.  For years Will has been talking about his time in Sicily when he would just get fresh wine from a gas pump, no kidding.  Well today was the day.  Our friend Chuck piled us into his wife's minivan and off we went.  The drive was less than thirty minutes away into the mountains that we can see from our back porch. 

This in-tact Italian Aquaduct just happened to be on our way there. 

One day we will stop to read that plaque.

And sheep grazing in the countryside...

The grand finale, the winery, Cantina di Solopaca.  You can taste and shop there.  Here, have a taste.

I'll take what he's serving :)

On our way home we stopped at "the demijohn store" (a lady who sells stuff on the side of the road).  Demijohn's are what the italians used to put fresh wine in.  Some are handblown, some are machine-made, most are unique and pretty.  Americans collect them because they aren't as widely used as they used to be, which makes them antique to us.  Here is a picture of our first one.  Notice above that Will is putting our fresh wine into a smaller glass vessel, it has a plastic basket around it for effect and is more practical.   

All this talk abour fresh wine is making me crave a glass.  Can't wait for you to join me! 

Finally, The Pets Arrive

July 27

It is a long story, but our sweet pets, Shelby and Lily, were not able to make the trip with us.  Thankfully, Mimi and Gramps saved the day by keeping them and shipping them when the stars and moon lined up and they could travel.  Thank you!

After a looooong trip, and a three-hour italian pick-up process, we finally laid eyes on the critters.  It was a VERY happy moment for all.

And they rest...

They did and are doing great!  Glad to have the family in tact.  Next, the Jeep and our stuff!  Don't know when, but hopefully before our tour is over. 

Across The Pond And Still Near Family

July 26

Some of you may know that Will's sister and her family just moved to Rome.  We were headed that way to pick our pets up at the airport and popped in on them for a night.  Hopefully they won't mind me saying that they have an awesome place and are setup for a true Roma experience.  It was great to see them and really great for the cousins to know there is family nearby. 

Thanks for the Aggie stuff Grammy and Poppe!

We had take-out Chinese-italian style for dinner.  They spoke italian, so we thought it was picture-worthy.  I tried not to be in this picture...sigh...

We look forward to many more get-togethers while we are all over here. 

Trial By Fire

July 21

It's Saturday again and time to go explore.  We thought we would check out the market in Caserta, a nearby town.  The markets are where you can get fresh veggies, fruits, cheeses, and stuff on the cheap.  The locals shop markets first, small shops second, and big stores last.  A GPS is the way to get around in these parts (for an American anyway), so I plugged in the coordinates off the internet and we set out. 

...Hmm, this doesn't look like we're on our way to a market.  Wow, this road is bumpy, watch that pothole!  Hey, are those tobacco plants they are hanging to dry?  Yes, we ended up in the middle of nowhere.  I just wanted the family to see how they grow and process tobacco, and what Italian cows look like (for you Grammy and Poppe).  No really, we were lost, the farming italians thought we were crazy I am sure, but as luck would have it, (again) we eventually found the area we were looking for.  We had a bite, because my men don't shop well on an empty stomach, hit the market and realized what a neat town Caserta is.  We'll be back to see the Royal Palace.  This is a picture of one of the streets in Caserta with mountains in the background.   

Oh, I forgot to tell you that this was the day I decided to drive for the first time off base.  I think it was in the grande plan from above that we "took the long way".  I was forced to drive the small streets and back roads, do crazy turnarounds and such.  It was fine, and a big hurdle for anyone living over here.  You just have to do it.  I even got the trial by fire for drivng at night in another town and on the highways after we attended a BBQ.  Whew!  Glad the first time is over with!  P.S.  The mini is soooo fun to drive!  P.P.S.  That doesn't mean we still don't need your prayers for safe keeping on the streets over here.  Keep 'em coming.

Moving Day (out of TLA)

July 17/18

It's been a month since we packed out our house in Florida, and three weeks in TLA (hotel here), so we are ready to move in to our apartment here on base.  We will have what they call loaner furniture until our household goods get here.  We are very fortunate to have gotten a place, and the place we wanted with a view.  While Dad toiled at work the boys and I made a thousand trips in the mini (Jeep appreciation trips).  Here's the mini loaded up. 

Have Wheels Will Travel

July 14

We bought a convertible mini cooper off the "lemon lot" here on base.  We love it!  More importantly we love having a car and being mobile.  The car we shipped isn't due until mid-August.  It's a stick with european specs so we don't have to do math to know how badly we are speeding :)  Soooo, when Saturday came around we wanted to take a little road trip...get out of Naples...explore. 

We know that the mini and the Amalfi Coast go hand-in-hand but not yet, too crowded right now.  Will researched a place in the Abruzzo region in the mountains about two hours away, Pescocostanzo.  Perfect!  Family of four into one duffel bag, squeeze it in, let's go.

Ahhhh, I can feel the decompression as we get out into the countryside and the mountains get bigger.  What a nice drive.  We get to the town, now what?  We know the name of a place to stay, oh, there's one too.  Let's stop and ask where this one is.  Pescoconstanza is a BEAUTIFUL, small village with cobblestone streets, flowers everywhere, rustic buildings, immaculately clean.  It looked like a Hollywood setting.  We stop in the piazza and ask a poor italian soul where this certain B&B is.  She tells us "qua" (here), so Will parks the family in the car and runs down the little hill to see if they had a room.

Did I mention that it was riposo?  (time of day for rest, things close for a bit, all is quiet).  Did I mention that our "new" car has a special alarm system that you have to hold your mouth right to turn off and that Will hadn't shown Paige how to turn off yet?  Well, guess what went off as Will ran down the hill, while we were illegally parked in the piazza (town center, you know, fountain and all)?  Yes!  The stupid alarm!  We're here!  Hey, look at us stupid americans, as if you didn't notice us already.  I must also mention that it is not tourist season here (which is why we chose it).  People flock here in the winter to ski.  Italians vacation here off season too.  Anway, rescue man came running back up the hill and saved the day.  The fact that he said "I'm sorry" to the villagers poking there heads out of the shops instead of "mi dispiace" is a whole 'nother story :)

After our grande entrance we were warmly escorted by the B&B owner to the proper place to park our car and of course they had a room.  In fact, they had two rooms, one for the bambinos, one for the marito e moglie (kids, husband and wife).  Yeah!  After checking in, we set out to walk the town.  Here's some pictures.

    

I think you are going to get sick of seeing our faces in all of these pictures, but notice the flowers is this one.  They were like that everywhere! 

There just happens to be a church there, the Santa Maria del Colle, that contains amazingly beautiful artwork.  Here is the ceiling. 

...and that is just the ceiling!  Well, you get the drift.  We had a great time, saw more of Italy, decompressed, worked out some kinks in our travel mojo, got to know the car, and were so close that we had a relaxing Sunday afternoon at home.   Che bello!  (How nice!)  

 

Time To Be A Tourist

July 10

On the last day of area orientation, all the newbies ventured out with a tour guide into Naples.  We took a bus, train, and funicular (cable car) to get used to transportation methods available.  Remember, I'm not driving downtown!  We first went to Vomero, a nice area with shops and a sizeable outdoor market.  It was fun to look around and get a feel for italian shopping.  We then went into downtown Naples, il centro, the heart of the city.  Among the MANY things right there is the Galleria Umberto I, an architectural marvel named after a monarch, now filled with shops and cafes.  Here's the proof that I was there.

And right across the street from that is the famous opera house Teatro San Carlo.  In addition to operas, this theater also lays claim to having one of the best ballet schools in Italy (that's for you MC).  Couldn't get in (yet), but here's a pic of the outside.

All of this is near the port, where the big cruise ships come in as well.  As I walked around a bit, I realized that our July 4th shot in the dark excursion was right around the corner.  Wow, good job Will!

After an authentic, non-touristy stop for lunch and a likewise gelato, we headed back.  It was hot and we were ready.  Being a tourist takes a lot out of you.  This was also when everything started to catch up with me.  I was glad orientation was over and was in desperate need of some downtime.  

Where To Live and Go Bama?

July 7/8

It is the weekend and we felt like we needed to explore the options of places to live.  Our hotel room was beginning to close in on us.  We had seen a friends house on base, so we called a realtor and headed out.  We saw some towns, villas, parcos, a beach, had lunch at a pizzeria, met some landlords.  We got a basic feel for things.   

I am going to be careful in this discussion, because everyone has their own opinion on the issue of where to live here in Naples.  The bottom line is, everyone has to do what is best for their situation and family.  So, after MUCH agonizing and deliberation, and drinks on the TLA (hotel) deck with fellow newbies, we decided to live on base.  You have to know that this was a hard decision for us because we WANT to immerse in the culture.  We still will.     

Is that bellyaching and groaning I hear?  What about that huge villa with a view for when I visit?  Hold tight.  We'll rent one when you come, in an area of Italy you want to visit.  There is a lot to see here, and not just in Naples...so no worries.  The perfect place does not exist here when you are talking about day-to-day living, so we "pressed the easy button".  We are still in a great launching spot, so come on.  At least you can rest assured that we are safe, our stuff is safe, the boys can roam and play, laundry can be done easily, things will get fixed when they are broken, etc.  Most importantly, we can travel like crazy with a peace of mind.  So there. 

One more thing, for all you BAMA folks out there that we know and love and who befriended us with open arms, check this out. 

Apparently we are in good hands...again :)     

Who Says Don't Drive In Downtown Naples?

July 4th

Of course today is a holiday for Americans here too, so having the day off from orientation, we decided to rent a car and get off base.  Will, being the risk-taker that he is, takes it upon himself to pile us in the car and head out.  Who needs a map, gps, or even a plan?  Not us! Most of you know Will lived in Sicily for three years and that we spent a two-week honeymoon driving Italy, so I had complete faith in my hubby.  It was the Neopolitan driving that I worried about.  It is crazy!  Neopolitans are very good drivers--skilled, assertive, reactive, but crazy.  If you make eye contact you give them the go ahead, forget the road rules we are used too.  The streets are smaller, it is very crowded downtown, and the mopeds are what you really have to watch for.  Even though they whip up from behind you, YOU are responsible if someone gets hit.  Yikes!  I'll be taking the bus downtown.   

So you are not going to believe it, maybe you will, but we ended up in a very beautiful area of Naples-the Castel dell'Ovo (Egg Castle), in the Borgo Marinaro quarter.  Here's a pic.

Yep, that's Vesuvius in the background...again.  We toured the castle, walked around, enjoyed a gelato, and headed back before rush hour hit.  Hope you had a great 4th!

 

BBQ in Paradise

June 30

It is the Saturday after our arrival, and our sponsor invited us to his place out on "the economy" (what you call it when you don't live on base).  He lives in the area of Mt. Vesuvius, the large, active volcano in the area.  Don't be mad, but we did not take any pictures...cringe...gasp.  When I say we were overwhelmed, overloaded, jet-lagged, on autopilot, in zombieland-it is an understatement.

It was beautiful!  The villa was divided into apartments, and was on land that had lemon trees, lots of garden vegetables and flowers everywhere.  The bbq took place under a garden covering overlooking a mountainous and water view, with a mixture of Americans and Italians, the perfect combo.  We ate, socialized and turned in early, but not before leaving with a bottle of homeade limoncello, YUM!  If our gracious friend who drove us didn't have to navigate the roads of Naples we would have enjoyed more of the limoncello right there!  What a great introduction to Italy.  

Since I don't have a picture of Tory's place, I will indulge you with a view from our hotel room, our temporary "home" until we find one.

I know, anti-climatic, but beautiful too.  The larger peak in the back is Mt. Vesuvius.

Kyle's First Pizza Margherita

June 28

We have a general philosophy about travelling--jump right on the time zone you have joined.  Sooo, with a down day before orientation, we had the opportunity to go out to a local pizzeria with a new friend.  It was great and everything we expected...quaint, fresh wine, and great food.  Here is a picture of Kyle enjoying his first authentic pizza margherita, along with an italian coca-cola.

A note about this pizza margherita, as you may know pizza was invented in Naples.  The margherita was named after Queen Margherita, who was presented this type of pizza from a pizzeria back in 1889.  It consists of tomato, buffalo mozzarella, and basil to represent the colors of the italian flag.  Yum!

Here Goes Nothin'

At the advice of the Melanie's in my life I have decided to start a blog about our adventures in Italy. Bear with me as I learn the process. We have been here four weeks and have already learned that our time here will not only be an adventure, but also a journey. We hope you will join us.

June 26

We made it! The flight was long, but comfortable, all went very smooth. We are safe and sound in our "temporary living" situation. We hit the ground running as we had a day to settle in before we begin a week-and-a-half long area orientation. The kids will do summer camp while mom and dad fill out more paperwork, learn a bit about the area, and try to secure a comfortable life here a world away. It is hard to believe we are actually here. I am sure it will sink in more everyday as will the fact of how much we miss our loved ones. We are forever grateful for such a wonderful send off.

To be continued...