Naples in the News

How can you not love a place like this! My sister took this panoramic photo from the top of Castel Sant'Elmo. 

Naples has been taking a lot of heat lately. Have you heard? The rest of the world finally paid attention to the toxic waste dumping that has been going on for decades in Campania. If you haven't heard about it, I've put links below to several articles written in the last couple of of months. I say that the rest of the world finally paid attention because I believe that this was one of the worst kept secrets I've ever come across. Case in point:

(1) One local asked me why the American base is located where it is since there is so much toxic waste nearby. [As a note, the military commissions water testing yearly, or more often, all over Campania and make those results available to families; any community found to have severely toxic water results in families being moved out, as happened a few years ago in one of the towns that has very recently been confirmed by a Camorra informant as one of the places for huge amounts of illegal toxic dumping].
(2) A local friend (different from #1) warned me to never eat produce or canned goods produced in Afragola because it was poisonous. (Afragola is a farming community located fairly close to Naples, and it too is now known to have experienced an enormous amount of illegally dumped toxic waste.).
(3) Yet another local warned us not to eat the mozzarella di bufala from a certain town because the buffalo there were grazing on toxic land.
(4) One month before we moved to Italy, the lake right by our house, Lago d'Averno was seized by the Italian government from a Camorra boss's front man. I remember discussing with Nathan then that I could only imagine the Camorra boss wanted the lake so he had his own, dump spot. Unfortunately, it's ringed by vineyards, citrus orchards, and small farms, and it's located only about 300 yards from the Pozzuoli Bay. A few months after we moved in, the lake turned this really bizarre, neon green color. Yet another time, I was walking around the lake (it really is an amazing, idyllic spot, complete with Roman ruins, a Sybil's cave, and the terminus of a huge tunnel to move soldiers and horses between Cuma and the lake, which was then open to the sea), and the lake edges were completely filled with dead fish. Lago d'Averno has now been put on the list as one of the sites of illegal dumping.

See what I mean...toxic waste dumping was certainly not a secret among the Neapolitans. But perhaps the extent of the dumping is indeed a revelation. And maybe the attention of the world gives Neapolitans the freedom to protest, when before, protesting could have resulted in some unappealing backlash. Rising up against the Camorra is not necessarily the safest path. I am glad to see the international community paying attention to the problem, but why did Campania have to first have a cancer rate increase of over 40%! For women, 47%! Take just a moment and think about those statistics. They are truly horrific. In some communities, estimates are that the land will be poisoned for the next 50 years. Groundwater is poisoned, wells are poisoned, the soil itself is poisoned...and yet, another article I found highlights the fact that in all likelihood, the Camorra will be able to muscle in on the cleanup contracts as well, making the cleanup as profitable as the initial dumping for which they were responsible.

I hope that with all the negative attention, there will at least be a few positive stories coming out of both the situation and the appeal of Naples. I wrote often in the last few years on how much Naples has to offer, yet it takes some digging. Some fearlessness, some willingness to buck what the fear mongers say and open your heart to both the people and the place. And take another look at the photo by my sister. Naples is full of breathtaking beauty.

Mafia Toxic Waste Dumping Poisons Naples Farms

Toxic Nuclear Waste Dumped Illegally by Mafia Blamed for Surge in Cancers in Southern Italy

Toxic: Napoli, A documentary film

Triangle of Death, on Wikipedia

Mafia's Dumping of Toxic Waste Blamed for High Cancer Rates in Italy

Taking Our View With Us

We rented our house because of the view. For heaven's sake, who can say no to a Glass House on a Roof Terrace with a view of Capri! What a dream. The minute we set foot on the Roof Terrace, we both gasped and started murmuring to one another out of the sides of our mouths. "I love it. Do you love it?" "I want to live here." "We have to make sure they pick us as renters." "Don't mess this deal up!" And so on. Because see, our realtor had told us that Mamma Anna had to like us or she would not want us living in her house. This is the house she and her husband built as a young family and in which they raised their children.

For our first year, we used the Glass House almost every day. I spent hours up there just staring at that magical island, and watching the ferries pass to and fro. We'd have a cocktail or glass of wine in the evenings up there. On weekends, we would get a selection of meats and cheeses from Gennaro, down at the salumeria, throw in a bottle of wine and a bottle of frizzante water, and then while away the afternoon reading and napping in the Glass House. Our second year, I was pregnant. We used it, but not quite as much. We'd built more of a life, so we had more social obligations. We tried to travel on weekends a little more. And then, once Nora was born, I'd thought I'd resume use of the Glass House while La Bimba napped in the travel swing I bought just to have up there. Hah! I never did take her up there. I go up there now just to hang laundry or take it down...but what a view to have while doing such a mundane chore!

Last year at the International Festival held on the NATO base, we met a painter living not too far from us, originally from Germany, who will paint your view for you. We saw some samples of her work there, so I took her card then and always had in the back of my mind that I would love to have her paint our view. In getting ready for this move, I found her card again and decided to go for it. What a special memory for us. With Anja's permission, I am showing a photo of the painting here! I love it (I don't think my photo shows how pretty it really is). Anja included Capri, Capo Miseno, a little bit of Bacoli, and Baia Castle, with it's little beach and red lighthouse below (beach is only accessible by boat). It's everything I love about our view going home to the USA with us. I've started feeling a little depressed about leaving, despite everything I'm excited to be moving to, there is so much I'll be leaving here. I love that I can hang this beautiful painting on our wall and be able to instantly recall the special memories our Italian villa has given to us.

Note:  For anyone in Naples who wants to contact Anja Gemlau, just send me an email or post a comment below. I'll get her contact info to you. She provides such a unique memory of your Naples life for you to take home with you!

Showing Them Centro

Hand of Herculus, National Archaeological Museum

The day to show my aunt and uncle Centro Napoli had arrived. As I previously wrote about  with Paige and Julia's Centro visit, this can go either way. Paige and Julia happened to love it. Regardless of what you think you'll feel about Centro, you cannot visit Naples and not go into Centro. It is Naples - it's the vibrancy, the noise, the chaos, and yes, the trash. It is exactly what guidebooks and podcasts talk about. I've recently been listening to some different podcasts about Naples, some of which include call-ins. Without fail, the callers say something along the lines of, "I went to southern Italy a few years ago, and we skipped Naples because we'd heard about the crime." Naples has this reputation of being such a hotbed of crime that even seasoned travelers and well-known tour guides either skip it or have a "get-in, get-out" strategy. And so, a beautiful city with treasures beyond compare goes unrecognized and without those valuable tourist dollars that are probably the only thing to begin moving this city out of the feudal, dark ages to which it seems to have returned.

Here's how the folks propped up family photos 2000 years ago.

With purses firmly across our bodies (and we never felt unsafe), we set off on the metro line nearby for downtown. We followed roughly the same route as I did with Julia and Paige by first heading to the National Archaeological Museum. I have no idea where I read it, but some guidebook described this museum as "dusty" and "tired." That description couldn't be further from the truth. With light and soaring expanses of white marble, I enjoy just walking into the museum. I have yet to get the audioguide to the museum, but it really would be very helpful. While most rooms have a large, English translation on the wall describing the collection and pointing out particularly remarkable items, I think an audioguide is necessary to get the full value.

When visiting with Paige and Julia, we'd gone up to the third floor, where the frescoes from Pompeii were supposed to be. We wandered through rooms of amazing bronze statues, collections of ivory, glass, and silver from Pompeii and Herculaneum, and even an old papyrus (from the Villa of Papyri in Herculaneum - over 1700 scrolls were found in excavations!) - but no frescoes. With Mike and Katrina, while in this large, former library turned painting gallery,  we walked to the other end of the room in order to see an old sundial...and there found the doorway to the frescoes. And what frescoes there were! Rooms and rooms, little ones and big ones, all kinds of subjects, all kinds of techniques - some were paintings, some were faux doorways/windows to the outside world, some were just wallpaper type. How amazing to live in a home with such beauty covering the walls. 

We also found a model of Pompeii, complete with the frescoes (that are now in the museum) painted in miniature on the walls in the locations where they were found. Just amazing.

After lunch at Sorbillo, my favorite pizzeria downtown, we went to see the Veiled Christ statue at Capella Sansevero (written about in the post Centro Napoli) and then took a walk down Spaccanapoli, the ancient road of Naples, built about 2500 years ago to connect Naples with the world beyond. While walking Spaccanapoli, we ducked into Chiesa del Gesu Nuovo. I'm never failed to be astonished when wandering into a church. Even the most unassuming, little church on the corner will generally have at least one piece of breathtaking art, wood carved railing in front of the altar, or inlaid marble floor. Gesu Nuovo didn't fail us and presented an elaborate organ facade, inlaid marble walls and columns, large art in the side chapels, and a few sculptures to finish things off.

In need of a break for our feet, we headed to Cafe Gambrinus, sitting on the edge of Piazza Plebiscito. Cafe Gambrinus has a bad rap among locals and guidebooks alike, as all anyone ever mentions is that it's overpriced. But Cafe Gambrinus is one of Naples' oldest coffee bars and was a haven for the literary intellectuals back in the day - Oscar Wilde is said to have spent time hanging about here. The previous week, Paige, Julia and I had stopped in for a coffee while standing at the bar. For three coffees, we paid the princely sum of 3.40euros, about .40 more than we would have paid elsewhere. We'd taken at peak at the two, richly decorated rooms for sit down patrons, and I decided to return soon and take a table. With heavy, velvet drapes swagged back, frescoes on the walls and ceilings, and tuxedoed waiters, what better place for my aunt, uncle and me to rest our feet this day. We could even get gelato while we were at it. The cafe was a quiet, beautiful, and relaxing spot to gather our energies for our next assault on seeing and doing it all. And it was only about 3euros more per person to enjoy the beauty and history while we relaxed in comfort, not crowded into a small table shoved in the corner with masses of people bumping us on their way to and from the stand-up bar.

From Cafe Gambrinus, we enjoyed the pedestrian area of Chiaia for an hour or so before heading home to rest our over-stimulated brains. Another successful day. My aunt and uncle were loving their trip, and I loved the opportunity to share our new life with them.

Centro, Round Two

With only one day left to spend in the Naples area, Paige, Julia and I returned to the Centro area to finish up what we'd missed earlier in the week. The main goal was the art museum of Capodimonte, located in the Palazzo Reale di Capodimonte. It was finished in 1759, and the building of this planned hunting lodge had grown so out-of-control that voila...a new palace instead. Being royalty  back then must have been grand. The museum holds paintings from the Farnese family, royal apartments, art produced in Naples, and an entirely unimpressive modern art collection, save one incredibly famous work: Andy Warhol's painting of Mount Vesuvius.

But first, we headed to Chiaia, that bastion of cleanliness and civility. I love taking guests to Chiaia. Since it neighbors Centro and the Quartieri Spagnoli (Spanish Quarter, picturesque in a gritty way and one of the poorest sections of Naples), it's easy to get the whole range of big city Italy in just a few hours. Wandering through Chiaia, we could relax and spend our time taking in the beautiful buildings. Making our way down to the pedestrian zone and through it to Piazza Plebiscito, we took a turn toward the sea to enjoy lunch in a quiet restaurant with an ocean view. Then back to our touring schedule, where we stopped off at Galleria Umberto (the shopping mall with the glass roof), glanced over at Castel Nuovo (New Castle, built in 1282), then we were off for Capodimonte, making our way through the maze of alleys in order to get off the crowded, main streets and enjoy the delightful surprises one finds in wandering.

Galleria Umberto

Random, pretty little church we happened upon in Centro

Porcelain Salon - walls and ceiling are covered with porcelain

What luck - we arrived at Capodimonte and browsed the gift shop located at the ticket office for a few minutes...and when I stepped up to the register to buy our entry tickets, it was about 4:05pm, five minutes past the time when entry became free until the 6:30 closing. This is just more proof of my constant point to Nathan about how my shopping saves us money. This dates back to an old family joke - when my aunt was a teenager, she returned home after a day of shopping for items on sale. My grandfather took one look at her bag-laden arms and said, with a big sigh, "How much money did you save me today?" But back to art...frankly, my brain was on overload from all our touring and now, after I've also visited the Vatican Museum in the last two weeks as well, the art from Capodimonte is a bit of a blur. I know it was beautiful...and huge. I would like to return and take the audio tour in order to really do it justice. I know that it's larger than the Uffizi in Rome and has many comparable works, works by Titian and Botticelli and Bellini. The grounds are huge and are a site in and of themselves, and when we visited, a rousing soccer game was in progress on the palace lawn. We'd been walking for days and when leaving the museum, we faced a long walk to the bus stop, then a long walk to the Metro, then a potentially long wait for the Metro before the 30 minute ride home...and then a walk home, uphill...and it was raining (and no, none of that is a joke). We headed for the nearest taxi and got an outrageous quote. Deciding to just take the taxi to the Metro, for which we already had tickets, we got in, whereupon the taxi driver radioed in that he was taking clients to the Metro, then promptly renegotiated a price to take us all the way home. Hooray! It was late, and we had hot dates with our suitcases to pack for Capri.

Centro Napoli

For Paige and Julia's first day in Naples, we headed off on the Metro to tour Centro (Naples downtown area). Centro can go either way for visitors. It is chaotic, urban, loud, and crowded. You have to constantly watch for speeding motorscooters, cars driving down the small alley where you're walking, and keep one hand on your purse, which must be looped across your body rather than just hanging from one shoulder. And no nice or flashy jewelry visible. Centro is filled with gorgeous architecture that is difficult to see because you are (a) watching the ground to avoid those pesky, uneven cobblestones that are so very charming, (b) looking over your shoulder for the car or scooter that's about to run you down, or (c) trying to avoid the sheer mass of people bouncing off one another like ping-pong balls. For those who can handle the urban jungle, centro is fantastic - filled with the gorgeous architecture I already mentioned, hundreds of lovingly cared for shrines tucked away on the exterior walls, Italians living their lives rather than catering to tourists, housewives on their balconies hanging laundry on the line strung across the alley or lowering the bucket with her money to pay the vegetable man as he sends up her order, and churches filled with beautiful floors, walls, and artwork are quite literally on every corner.

Our first stop was the Naples Archaeological Museum, considered one of the foremost archeological museums in Europe. Beyond a first floor so filled with beautiful, marble statues that I eventually couldn't focus on the individual works, the upper floors contain the treasures excavated from Pompeii and Herculaneum - the two main cities buried under the ash of Mount Vesuvius's 79AD eruption. I love the frescoes - frescoes are everywhere in this country, on the ceilings, the walls, and even among quiet, barely known and visited ruins. The ancients, and then 1500 years later, the renaissance folks, loved their frescoes (although the renaissance time period frescoes were the economical answer to the very expensive, labor-intensive, tapestries previously favored among the upper classes). And a week later, when I took my aunt and uncle to the same museum, I found that Paige, Julia and I had missed an entire wing of the museum with astonishingly intact frescoes. So the frescoes are great, but where I really drop my jaw is with the mosaics. I have zero skill in drawing and painting, so when I look at the mosaics, I just can't believe that the artists took tiny, chips of stone and then arranged them into scenes that show life, movement, shading, and emotion. Even the smallest of the mosaics captures my amazement, so the wall sized ones are nothing short of a miracle.

Centro is also home to the very best pizza in the entire world (confirmed by numerous critics and travel writers, so not just my very biased opinion). My absolute favorite is Sorbillo, which a friend and I found one day by accident as we wandered around downtown after our language class. The wait wasn't too bad, we enjoyed the pizza, and I later found out that we'd just happened upon a local favorite. It's the only place I ever return to over and over in spite of the rude service (atypical in Italy). Paige and Julia had their first taste of pizza in Naples, and it was good!

Christmas Alley is nearby, an area where artisans make the presepes (nativities) and presepe figures by hand and one of the things Naples is most known for. And Cappella Sansevero is only a few, short blocks away. Cappella Sansevero, I've written before, is home to the Veiled Christ sculpture. No photos are allowed, but following the link will show you exactly why this small chapel is, to me, the single most important site in Naples - an absolute "don't miss." I've been blessed with the opportunity to travel throughout Europe in the past, and we've lived all over the U.S., including near the Smithsonian in D.C. I enjoy museums and will usually visit what's nearby. Of the thousands of sculptures and statues I've seen, this one is "The One," more beautiful than David, in Florence's Accademia Museum, more emotional than Michelangelo's Pieta, in Rome's St. Peter's Basilica. In person and up close, the Veiled Christ brings tears to your eyes, either due to the subject matter or awe of the sheer skill by sculptor Giuseppe Sanmartino or both. I wrote of my amazement in taking little pieces of stone and creating a mosaic, but even more confounding is taking a block of hard marble and chipping out a discernible body with muscles and veins defined, yet the whole thing covered with a skin clinging veil. How? As if the Veiled Christ weren't enough, Cappella Sansevero is home to yet another amazing sculpture, Disinganno, of a fisherman surrounded by a fishing net that is folded in on itself in places - all out of marble, and yet one can so clearly see the the holes in the net, the places where the net lies on top of itself, and underneath, the man. I did a quick check, and Veiled Christ doesn't even make the top 100 in lists of greatest sculptures. To visit it, you walk down an alley most likely filled with garbage, make a turn, buy a ticket from the office that may or may not close for the afternoon, then walk down the block and enter an unassuming door...and into a place that will prove itself far worthier than those ever more popular museums so crowded you must make a reservation, wait in line for hours, spend more hours walking through miles of corridors filled with jostling tourists, all just as tired, hot, and hungry as you are, before being spit out into the street, unable to remember what you've just seen.

As if all this we'd seen in the past few hours wasn't enough to actually fill several days, we also did an underground tour of Naples through Napoli Sotterana. I'd heard how interesting it was and had yet to take the tour. We dutifully joined in with the English speaking group, followed our adorable guide down the street and around a few turns to an unmarked door with apartments above it, into a lobby with some nice, presepe examples, and down the stairs to the ancient, Greek theater. Before the Romans were here, this place was part of Magna-Grecia. Beneath modern Naples lie Greek and Roman ruins, complete with forums, temples, theaters, and a huge network of tunnels and cisterns. Many of these places became the landfills for the homes built above them - what's easier than opening your window or the little hole in your floor to get rid of the garbage. In fact, in one place we walked, our guide explained that the trash was too difficult to remove, so rather than digging beneath it to the original floor, a new floor was just paved on top of all the trash. "What lies beneath" is a near constant refrain as I wander around ruins, both those of the urban chaos and when I'm out in the suburbs watching a ruin disappear into a shrub covered hillside.

The main part of the tour took us down into the aforementioned network of cisterns and tunnels, once used by the Romans. We could see the foot and handholds used by the man in charge of skimming the water with a net - he'd climb down into the cistern using small square indentations cut into the rock, then walk above the water with the net to clean it. In some areas, there is still a bit of water that flows through. During WWII, these areas were used as bunkers, and hundreds of people spent much of their lives down here to escape the bombing. During WWII, Naples was the most bombed city in Italy. While Neapolitans lived under fascism for more than 20 years, German occupation was just taking things too far. The people of the city rebelled and freed Naples in 1943.

Following our Sotterana tour, we found that we'd been a little too interested in all that Centro has to offer and had seen only about half the sites on our  list. Aching and blistered feet dictated a return to the metro and home. We would just have to return.

Mall Dogs - at Galleria Umberto

A Little Slice of Naples

I took a tour yesterday through the base of an area called Vomero, located on a hill over the center of downtown Naples. The tour was led by Aldo, a fantastic guide who has put together several, wonderful tours of the area. Our bus dropped us off in Vomero, which was once a wealthy playground for the elite, a hilltop paradise of villas and gardens looking over the sea. The gardens have been razed and Vomero, while still an exclusive area, is now made up of large apartment buildings, several stories high, built on those former green spaces and on top of the fancy villas.

A castle sits up there, Castel Sant' Elmo, the star castle, so called because of it's star shape - the points helped keep out invaders. The view is supposed to be spectacular. I wouldn't know because the terraces were closed due to high winds. I don't believe I've ever lived in a place as windy as this one. We're constantly having sustained high winds. We were able to enjoy a beautiful view over Naples with Vesuvius in the background. You can clearly see that Naples really is the most densely populated city in Europe.

Since the castle didn't work out, we visited a cameo factory next door for a little shop around (the center of the world) for cameos carved out of shell is here in Naples, in a little area at the base of Mount Vesuvius) while Aldo checked into getting us tickets for Chiesa di San Martino. In hindsight, I am so grateful the castle was closed or we would never have visited this amazing church and museum. The church is just a confection of inlaid marble covering the floors and walls, with a vibrant, frescoed ceiling. In the rear of the church, behind the altar, is the choir area where the monks sang - they could not have contact with the public, so they were hidden. Something I'd never seen before is the choir echo chamber - underneath the choir's singing area is a large, specially shaped room, and in the choir area is a huge grate. As the monks sang their chants, the echo chamber would allow the music to fill the church. Attached to the church is a museum with a variety of exhibits...

Old Carriage

Royal Barge

A peaceful cloister

And a huge presepe - I love the flying angels above this one.

 Following our quick peek into this gem, we walked down over 400 steps to the Spanish Quarter (Quartieri Spagnoli) in centro. This area was built to house Spanish troops in the 1500s and is now an area where the working class live. It's vibrant and busy and a slice of real life. Streets are narrow, about 10 feet wide at the most), and apartments open directly onto the street - no sidewalks. I read that this area now has some of Europe's highest rates of youth crime, unemployment, and respiratory disease (from Wikipedia). This area, very near to where my language school was last October, is full of things to see.

We're preparing right now for our spring visitors, who begin arriving this weekend, and I'm having a hard time developing a tour plan between the incredible museums (three major ones, and at least one "don't miss" minor one), the castles, the glass-roofed mall, the churches with their incredible art and marble works, Christmas alley...the list goes on. Balance that with the pure, overwhelming chaos of traffic and people and trash that is downtown Naples and you can get a small idea of this city. I wonder if, over the three years we live here, I'll get to a point where I think I've seen "enough" or "everything" there is to see in Centro.

Bill is Paid

I have a few inquiries on this, so just to let everyone know...I successfully paid our gas bill. It turned out to be quite easy...other than the fact that I got sick in the middle of the night, resulting in a late morning start. Arriving at the post office about 9:30 a.m. is the thing to do. Now I know. Except when I arrived, the little letter/number ticket machine had a big out of order sign on it. I just don't know why I was even surprised at that. Thankfully, there was only one other lady present waiting in "line." I put that in quotes because Italians don't do lines. They don't form them, stand in them, or honor them. It's every man for himself. This includes Christmas Eve Mass at the Vatican and large groups of nuns. As an aside, DO NOT get between a nun and her chance to see the Pope in person. Just don't do it. In fact, I'm adding that to my Life Rule Book. So far, there are three other rules:
1. Do not wear Pantyhose (decorative tights do not count).
2. Do not allow a Doctor you know socially to see your hoo-ha (i.e., in a feminine exam).
3. Don't pinch the whores. (This is one coming from Aunt B. - she observed a French phrase on our local Metro during her visit here. After lots of studying and attempts at translation, this is the best one we came up with. We decided this is a good general rule, whether that's the Metro's intended directive or not.)

But back to the gas bill...being the Good American that I am, I stood in line behind the one other lady there waiting. A man came in right after me, and being a Good Italian, he attempted to get in front of me. There was an exchange of glances in order to indicate that I saw he was attempting to jump in front and he saw that I saw him trying to do so...you may or may not get the picture. Upshot = I got my turn and paid the bill. Easy peasy. Nine a.m. must be the magic hour.

Today saw a return to Pizzeria Brandi (where the Margherita Pizza was invented - for reals, as our friend K. would say). Nathan, K., and I took the Metro towards Centro (downtown Napoli) and took a chance by getting off at a stop none of us knew. We wandered through a nice, little area before happening upon something we were familiar with. From there, we took a walk through Chiaia, browsed the windows of shops such as Bulgari, Louis Vuitton, Frette, Rucinella, and so on, then had lunch at the beautiful, Pizzeria Brandi. Afterwards, K. treated us to coffee at Caffe Gambrinus, the prettiest coffee bar I've visited yet. It's quite famous and has a reputation for being snooty and overpriced. Wrong, wrong, wrong. It's gorgeous, the coffee costs the same as any other bar in Centro, and the decorations are divine. Joining true Napoletano culture, we drank our coffee standing at the bar, but we took a peek into the rooms with tables, and they are sublime, reminding me of the grand coffeehouses of Vienna. And prices for sitting at one of these gorgeous tables are no higher than any other tableside coffee in a nicer bar here (and still cheaper than the Big S. back the U.S.A.!). Nathan thought his coffee was a little bitter, and I have to say, it's a bit of an assembly line with the coffees already waiting rather than being made after you order, but for me, the lovely atmosphere made it a lovely, post-lunch stop.

I am headed off for almost two weeks in Venice, Florence, and Siena with Friend K. I will try to post a few updates as we travel around, but I'll be using my phone only (with an itty, bitty, touchscreen keyboard), so a longer description of our Big Adventures will have to wait. Ciao!

Siren Landing

When my friend and I took our walk along the sea yesterday, we passed Castel dell'Ovo (Egg Castle...I'll explain another day, once I've actually visited the castle). More interesting than the castle was the adorable marina at it's base (Borgo Marina) and the fun restaurants lining it. Today, I learned that the marina is on the site of a crucial piece of Neopolitan legend. Odysseus wanted to hear the song of the Sirens, but had been warned of the danger, so he had his sailors fill their ears with beeswax and tie him to the mast of the boat. As they passed by the island of Nisida (now connected to Naples by a short causeway which takes one to either the prison or the Joint Forces Command Yacht Club), Odysseus could hear the songs of the Sirens, but was restrained from giving in. This rejection caused one of the Sirens, Parthenope, to jump off a cliff in despair. Her drowned body washed ashore at the very spot where modern yachties play.

Now Greek colonists had come to this area between the 9th-7th centuries B.C. (making Napoli one of the oldest cities in the world). Some of these early settlers found Parthenope's body and buried her here, thus the city became known as Parthenope, and by the 6th century B.C., it was a bustling city along the trade route. Around the 5th century B.C., some of the Cumean settlers (Cuma is the settlement very near where we live) moved about 13 miles away, just beyond Parthenope, and formed Neapolis (New City). In only 300 years, Parthenope and Neapolis grew together into one city, which just goes to show that even the Ancients couldn't get a handle on urban sprawl.

Shopping Chiaia

Today my friend, K., took me to the Chiaia district of Napoli, a ritzy, beautiful, clean area with that Old World charm one expects to find in Italy. She and her husband love walking around Chiaia, and having seen it at last, I can see why. It is charming, with beautiful buildings, quiet streets, tree filled alleys leading down to the sea or up the hill to grand villas, and the best of the best for shopping. We're talking Bulgari, Louis Vuitton, Hermes, Ferragamo. We met in Piazza Amadeo, where the Metro drops off, and as I emerged from the empty Metro and entered an empty piazza, confusion reigned. This is not the Napoli I know. My friend was already there waiting and had realized today was Epiphany, a national holiday here in Italy. We later found the crowds in our walk around the district, but for the morning, we had blessed quiet. I said it was clean, however, Chiaians love to walk their dogs around - this, apparently, is where the fancy dog owners live, and it must just be too much to actually pick up Fifi's poop. One of us stepped in it right away. Our Italian language instructor had informed us that this is considered good luck. I think she made that up.

After a stop off for caffe, we headed down the street, right away passing the gorgeous, baroque, Chiesa Santa Teresa. Mass was just ending, so we popped inside and found two inspiring paintings, a worn and beautiful, tile floor, Christmas presepe, crystal chandeliers forming an arch over the altar, inlaid marble half walls, and a frescoed ceiling. That little church packs a punch. The coral colored facade is covered with statues and cherubs to delight the eye.

One of Chiaia's storefronts

Most of the shops were closed, but we lucked into one filled with clothes on saldi (sale!). Sadly, most did not fit, but we gazed longingly into windows of all the other shops with their large SALDI signs and made plans to return soon. Walking along the waterfront, we took the longer, scenic route to our real destination: Brandi Pizzeria, a pizzeria in business since 1780 and the inventor of the Pizza Margherita...or at least the pizzeria who named it. The original name of the pizzeria was Pietro...a basta cosi (Peter...and that's enough). The owner, Peter, did not have sons and gave over his pizzeria to Enrico Brandi. Brandi later left the pizzeria to his daughter. In 1889, the daughter and her husband were invited to the Royal Palace during a visit by King Umberto I and Queen Margherita di Savoia. The husband prepared three pizzas to present to the Royals, including a white pizza, a pizza with sardines, and a tomato and mozzarella pizza. Queen Margherita particularly liked the tomato and mozzarella pizza, and so the name Pizza Margherita was born. The pizza was delicious, and the atmosphere even better. The host (owner? manager? head waiter?) wore a full suit and wandered about refilling glasses while a talented guitarist showed up with quite a repertoire and got the whole restaurant clapping along.

Every pizzeria I've visited is different. Some quiet and unassuming, some bustling and packing the patrons in, some as family run establishments, and yet others as elegant restaurants that happen to serve only pizza. It's a fascinating range of experiences with only one constant...there's not a bad pizza to be found.

I can't wait to return to Chiaia and see it when the shops, bars, and trattorias have their shutters flung open...maybe even tomorrow.

La Fontana Immacolatella, located along Napoli's waterfront

Felice Anno Nuovo

Happy New Year! We have readied the house and yard for a festa tonight, which mostly involved stocking the fridge with Prosecco and picking up pieces of a dismembered gorilla (toy) that have migrated to every corner of the yard and terraces. For a small dog toy, Scully and his BFF sure managed to shred and spread it. The Glass House got an update with our all day trip to Ikea, which was as awful an experience as it sounds. Hours upon hours walking the aisles to decide on lamps and pillows and bookshelves and wardrobes! But we're now ready for the fireworks viewing. Italians LOVE fireworks. There are some for every festival and event. Every night, local teenagers light off firecrackers in the piazza up the street. It's now 2:40 in the afternoon, and we already have such heavy booming nearby that the dog is quivering on the sofa. He's going to have a long afternoon and evening.

Back to our previous two weeks though:
Nathan's Aunt B. and Uncle J. made the long trip across the pond for Christmas. After Nathan showed them Rome, Orvieto, and Assisi, I took over for a couple of local days. We visited Herculaneum, a place I've already blogged about. I did take some new pics this time, though:

The next day, we explored Centro Napoli, focusing on some of the beautiful churches there, as well as a walk down Christmas Alley. Napoli is famous for presepios (nativities), made of bark and moss, as well as many handmade figures to go into them. Christmas Alley is the place to go for these things. I didn't take many pics while down there, but I did get one that is so typical of Centro:

A gorgeous church, kids playing soccer in a piazza, and a humongous pile of trash.

Nathan had the Thursday before Christmas off, so we did an Aunt/Uncle split. Nathan and Uncle J. headed off to Benevento (a nice, mountain town) and then on to Pompeii, while Aunt B. and I headed to Vietri, yet another town I've already blogged about. Vietri is a small town on the Amalfi Coast and home to gorgeous ceramics shops and artist studios. Aunt B. cleaned up with some great finds that all made it safely back home in her carry-on luggage.

Christmas Eve found us on a train up to Rome, checking into the adorable M.D.M. Luxury Rooms next to the Vatican. I'd booked them online, and while the reviews were great, the name brought to mind a Vegas brothel. Thankfully, the hotel ran a beautiful, clean establishment. We stayed so close to the Vatican because the Aunt/Uncle combo had managed to secure tickets to the Christmas Eve Mass at the Vatican. Despite a torrential rain all afternoon, the weather cleared just in time for our two hour wait in line in the square outside St. Peter's Basilica. Church doors opened at 8:30pm for the 10pm Mass, and we only had to elbow one group of nuns out of our way to get in. The others beat our elbows to the punch. Once inside, the dilemma was whether to try to sit closer to the front, but in the middle of the row, or further back and practically right on the aisle. We picked the latter, and if I'd transferred the photos of my iPhone, I could show you how this worked out! As they say in Italy, "Domani, domani" (tomorrow, tomorrow). Following a Christmas morning of sleeping in, we headed back down to St. Peter's Square for the Pope's noon blessing of the city and the world before running back to the Metro, and just making it before public transportation stopped running at 1pm. We headed home to Napoli and a nice Christmas dinner with friends.

The day after Christmas, we drove down to Paestum, an area that contains some of the most complete Greek ruins outside of Greece. There are three, standing temples that are just gorgeous. Unfortunately, we arrived 15 minutes after the ticket office closed, so we had to content ourselves with gazing at them over the fence line.

After another day of some local sightseeing right around our house, we said Arrivederci to Aunt B. and Uncle J. We had such a great time spending time with family and showing them a part of our new life here. And they'll definitely be back since they followed the time honored tradition of ensuring one's return to Italy:

Reprieve

Naturally, the day after my post on the rain never ending...the rain ended. Yesterday morning was warm and sunny, a proper Mediterranean climate. This morning, even clearer, blue skies and warmer temps. I am back on base, this time searching for the lost remote control to our garage alarm (a bad thing to lose, especially since the garage alarm was turned on). So far, no luck. I think the remote is gone forever. We have other keys to the alarm, however, in order to turn off the alarm, you must use the same key or remote control used to set it. Unless I find the remote control, we have no way to do a reset. I am sensing the return of "the Electric Man" to our house.

But back to weather, as I entered the library, clouds were massing for a kicker of a storm. Our reprieve may be over. I left Scully outside, too, thinking he could use a nice day in the yard. Oops.

We got a nice Christmas surprise at our house. Last week, while on the phone on a cold, rainy day, I was huddled by the radiator in our dining room staring out at the garden. It finally dawned on me that the tree growing right outside our front door is a poinsettia tree, covered in blooms. The tree is so tall, that the blooms aren't noticeable unless your either on the roof terrace or looking up. I've never seen a poinsettia tree like this. Our landlady came over yesterday and told me she was given a plant as a gift many years ago, and after natale (Christmas), she planted it. The tree is the result:

And just another little photo to share - this one is of Piazza Dante, in the center of Naples. It's a beautiful piazza in an area with much to offer - one of the best archaeological museums, great shopping, pizzerias, ruins, castles, etc. This picture was taken yesterday when I met a friend for coffee at a nearby bar. You may notice the piles of garbage in the middle of the square. We believe a demonstration was about to begin. I'm not sure how much the American news has covered the garbage crisis here, but it's gotten really bad. I haven't taken our garbage up the street to our neighborhood dumpsters, so I'm not sure how much our area is impacted, but there are alleys in downtown Naples where cars can no longer drive because the garbage covers the entire alley. If the issue is still going on after Christmas, I'll take a few photos - just what you all want to see, photos of trash. Anyway, here's the very pretty Piazza Dante:

A Small Bit of Sightseeing

View from window of our classroom at Centro Italiano.

With class in downtown, it's the perfect opportunity to explore the museums, castles, and churches. I'm right there within walking distance of it all. But four hours of struggling to speak and understand a foreign language takes most of that day's brain power quota. Then add the thought of the commute home, and I've just not gone off exploring. One day last week, however, I made myself take some time. Naples has an underground city...like most of Europe's larger cities, it's built on top of ancient cities. Dig down just about anywhere, and you'll hit some sort of sign of habitation from centuries ago. Even way out here in the country, this base must be built over some sort of old city or farm because our commissary and department store both have glass walkways on certain aisles providing a window onto the ruins below.

In the Exchange (base department store); We'd lived here three weeks, and I'd passed this aisle half a dozen times, before I looked down and saw this!

One of the sites I really wanted to see was Napoli Sotterranea - a tour of the underground city. Arriving at the site, I found the tour was still an hour away, and "it is not possible" (a favorite Italian phrase) to visit without taking the tour. Next door is the San Lorenzo Maggiore church, which has their own access to a subterranean site. While the San Lorenzo scavi (ruins) are listed in all the guidebooks, by all reports, it's closed to the public. Since I was there, I thought I'd just go see for myself. Off I headed to stand at the ticket booth. And there I stood, in front of a lighted booth with no one in it...and waited, and waited....watching other folks heading into the area, walking with purpose. I finally got tired of waiting and went through a nearby doorway, which opened onto a very pretty courtyard surrounded by a loggia on all sides. Discreet signs pointed the way to the scavi. Not too many people were about, so I followed the signs, walking down a corridor lined with old columns on their sides and statues, and eventually coming to a narrow staircase headed down and an open door at the bottom. Since I'd yet to run into anyone who challenged me or looked askance at my presence, I headed down...and into an amazing subterranean world. Since I hadn't actually paid for a ticket, I didn't have any information on what I was seeing with the exception of my limited Naples guidebook. That at least told me which parts were ruins of an old main street - a street of shops.

Main Street

 Even without information, it was wonderful to wander about on these old streets, walk into homes last inhabited centuries ago, and just imagine what the lives of those who came before must have been like. A friend commented several years ago that the older he gets, the more he realizes that people all over the world are the same, regardless of country, economic circumstance, religion, etc. People everywhere are just focused on their friends and families, raising their kids, getting together with friends, all the things that make up our daily lives. The women living in these houses of old were most likely thinking about what to make for dinner, heading to the shop to get some lamb or chicken, resewing a fastener onto their children's clothing, and taking time to chat with a neighbor. I love the opportunity to live in a place where history is so very present in the day to day. Rounding a corner can bring speeding cars and vespas, yet rounding another corner can put me face to face with a castle built 1000 years ago, and still another corner brings an exposed column set in place over 2000 years ago.

While I enjoyed my little side trip, I was brought back to crushing reality when I got to the train station, waited almost half an hour for a train, finally got to my stop in Aversa (the nearest town to the base accessible via train), and headed to the bus stop alone. Waiting at bus stops in the outer towns, especially alone, is just not pleasant for women. Even when with a friend, it's a constant barrage of honking, men coming up to talk, circling the road by the bus stop to stare, etc. Alone, at least one man stops to try to get you into his car. You may be getting the picture of where the working girls ply their trade, so apparently, no matter one's mode of dress or the fact that they're wearing a backpack, woman at a bus stop equals woman looking for some johns. My friend and I asked our teachers at school what a good Italian phrase is to communicate "get away from me," as we had problems even when we waited together, but they said it's a problem for all women at bus stops,  foreigners or not, and you just turn your head away. So I spent an enjoyable afternoon in Naples capped off with a not so lovely commute home. Plus, it meant Scully was in his crate for 10 hours.  I guess my days of afternoon exploring are over until we're living in our house.

Commuting

I've just begun Week 3 of my immersion language at Centro Italiano. I'm loving the class and feel like I'm getting a great intro to the language - as well as the knowledge of how/when to use what we're learning. But as I've said before, this commute is killing me! And it's just more confirmation of why I did not want to live here on the Support Site. It's a nice place if you need to be near things like the school, hospital, grocery store, etc. But for someone like me, who has a greater need to be near the museums/sites of Naples, it's difficult. I've tried three different options for getting downtown and walking to class, and no matter what, I can't get the commute less than 1.75 hours...one way. Most days, it's at least four hours spent commuting. In my month of class, I will spend 80 hours commuting just into downtown Napoli! If we were living here on the Support Site, I would not leave this base during the week. Planning the route, waiting for the bus that runs only once/hour to the train station, etc. is just exhausting.

A short bit about Naples...it is beyond a doubt the dirtiest city I've ever seen. Trash is everywhere. Bagged trash, loose trash, overflowing dumpsters, dog poop. I could go on like Forrest Gump's  friend, Bubba, talking about shrimp. This is unfortunate because having spent time in other Italian cities, I find that Naples could easily rival any of the more popular tourist destinations. We have world class museums, including one of the world's top archeological museums, beautiful cathedrals,  historic castles, ruins galore with Pompeii, Ercolano, Campi Flegrei, Paestum, etc., charming alleys, the ocean and seaside towns, and easy access to incredible mountain towns, skiing, the Amalfi Coast, and three distinct islands with their own charms (and thermal baths!). Plus, the best pizza and coffee in Italy. Sadly, it's really hard to overlook the trash. You just can't escape it.That and the crazy drivers. Even the rest of Italy acknowledges that the drivers of Naples are loco.

Today was my first day driving alone. Conveniently, this day happened to be our first torrential downpour. Fantastic! I'm not normally skittish about driving in rain, but guess what Italy has lots and lots of. Marble. So much marble that they mix bits of it in with the asphalt used to pave the roads. Marble and rain create a dangerous combo alone, but then add in the driving. One particular intersection  I go through has four lanes painted on the road, but in the morning commute, these lines are ignored. Both times I've driven this way, the four lanes are actually about seven lanes of cars plus scooters zooming by at close range. Also, I get to this intersection via a tunnel, which spits me out on the left side of the madness, while I must make a right turn about one short block down. Here is the trick: don't look behind you. A refreshing cultural norm here in driving is that you are responsible only for you. For example, once you signal your intention to join a car in their lane, they politely move over for you. After all, the lane is clearly wide enough for 1.5 cars, so why shouldn't you all just share. And if you start moving over, the car must give way to avoid hitting you, which is their responsibility. See...easy.

Piazza Garibaldi in downtown Napoli, where the Central train station is located. One of my three commuting options includes taking a train into the city, and then beginning the death march across these streets to get to school. To quote my friend with whom I commuted for two weeks, "I'm pretty sure I'm going to die at least five times per day on this walk." Crossing streets is another skill...don't stop or hesitate, just walk. But give way to buses and scooters - they don't stop for you...ever.

One of the alleys I enjoy using to get back to the main piazza - this one has far fewer cars to avoid than the main street...and less dog poop.

One of the beautiful buildings in downtown Napoli. Sadly, it was days before I noticed it because my first few days walking the route were exercises in avoiding traffic, trash, dog poop, and a multitude of other commuters strolling along.

Most street corners have interesting art posters pasted to the walls.

Random Bits

I still owe you some pics and stories from our Sunday tour, but that will have to come in a day or two. I'm just too tired tonight to upload photos, label them, and write up a description. I thought I'd just share a little bit of the daily stuff. I started language classes yesterday, and I think they're going to be really helpful. It's a four-week immersion class that meets in downtown Napoli for four hours a day, Monday-Friday. It's through an Italian school, not affiliated with the military. The only problem is the distance...

Getting to school in downtown Napoli involves getting a ride to the nearest train station, training into downtown  35 minutes, and a 25 minute walk to school. The reverse trip includes an extra bus ride on a bus that only runs once/hour, so if we (a friend is also in the class) miss it, it's a long wait. You may recall my mentioning the emphasis in our Area Orientation on "getting outside the wire." I find this highly ironic considering that most incoming families do not have transportation. Therefore, in order to leave the base to go anywhere, one must take a bus to the nearest train station. The bus picks up outside the gates, but in order to take it, you have to have a ticket purchased in advance - it's not available from the bus driver. The office on base which is supposed to sell these tickets always seems to be sold out. So you can't get on the bus. And when I've asked the question (I've brought this up with several different people now) about how to get the tickets, I'm told, "You have to go to the train station." I really enjoy looking at the person and saying, "How do I get to the train station." They always say, "You take the bus." I just look at them and wait a few seconds - usually the light dawns quickly, but if it doesn't, we get to play an interesting round of "Who's on First."


The class is a lot of fun, and four afternoons per week, we have some sort of optional activity - a film, a lecture, a sightseeing tour.

I missed the activity for this afternoon because...drum roll...we met with Housing and our landlords today. We are officially in pre-contract. Today was negotiating day. Our landlady and her son came in, and we loved meeting her son. He is really nice, speaks great English, and is planning to open a pizzeria in Florida next year. For the negotiating, we'd hoped we could get the rent lowered as we're coming out of pocket quite a bit. Naturally, when the time came to ask for this, we choked. I brought it up, but we were sitting across from this sweet, 76 year old lady who tells us how pretty we are every time we meet her. We both started backpedaling. We're terrible negotiators. By the end of that discussion, the landlord had offered a lower rent, and we actually offered to pay more!!! Sweet, little Italian ladies are a powerful negotiation tool.

The only thing we asked for was that the alarm system be hooked up to private police, which the landlord assured us is completely unnecessary. He sensed how uncomfortable I was, and the Housing rep told him that we're American, so we don't understand the area and security issues...the upshot after only a brief discussion was that our landlord offered to install for us a video monitoring system, and after a few months of living there, if we feel unsafe, we can have the private police. Our landlord offered for us to use the pool at his hotel whenever we'd like and for us to come to dinner with their family at the restaurant. When Nathan told him he'd like to learn how to make an authentic Napolitano pizza, he offered to teach Nathan using our outdoor pizza oven. We were very happy to meet our landlady's son and are looking forward to developing a nice relationship with them.


We now enter an even longer bureaucratic process. The home inspection takes place on 12 October and probably won't pass (apparently this is very common). Something will have to be fixed, then a 2nd inspection. Once the house has passed, we'll get an appointment 3-5 days later to sign the contract. After the contract is signed, we'll have a move-in date of about 5 days after that. We're easily looking at the end of October before we're moving in [big sigh from me and Scully]. For now, though, it's off to try to get a good night's sleep. Although my mind is taken up with figuring out how to get to and from school on Friday as the Italian transportation workers are going on strike, and when we asked at school about parking for those of us with a car, the teacher just laughed.