Here it is, the end of February and I haven't posted a thing since December. We have been busy despite the lack of blog entries. Now, where to begin...
We spent our first Christmas in Italy with a good group of friends, as our friends John and Suzanne hosted a Christmas party. 13 adults and 11 kids (hopefully I didn't miss anyone) for dinner in our rather small apartments, it was a lot of fun!! Everyone brought a dish or two to share along with wine - lots and lots of wine.
Jamie and I celebrated our 10-year anniversary on December 30th. We celebrated by first taking Riann and Lincoln to Vietri sul Mare with some friends to look for sea glass. It was a wonderfully warm, sunny day and being in such a picturesque place was so relaxing! Jamie and I also had date night planned so we continued our 10 year celebration walking through part of downtown Napoli for a little while before we headed to a restaurant, Kukai, for sushi followed by a stop at Caffe Gambrinus - a 150-year old cafe that just also happens to serve gelato. Driving in Napoli is always an adventure, but en route home we came to a T-intersection where we had a green light to go right... or did we?? Jamie and I wondered as we turned and he said "Wait, How is it we have a green light AND they have a green light??" as the traffic from the left proceeded. Well, this is Napoli and the driving here is definitely different!!
We rang in the New Year with our friends Glenn & Tina down in Monte di Procida, a perfect little part of Napoli. They live in a pretty amazing house with an even more amazing view of Napoli. They were gracious enough to invite all 4 of us to their place over night where we indulged in some delicious pizza followed by some not-so-Italian appetizers - you know, crab dip with Old Bay, guacamole with tortilla chips, the not-so-good-for-you stuff but hey, it was a holiday! We woke Lincoln and Riann up a few minutes before midnight as the fireworks began, walked up on a path with olive and lemon trees, and vines, making our way to the roof for the insane displays of fireworks. It blew any 4th of July display out of the water, even the Independence Day views from Kate Sessions Park in beautiful San Diego.
We had the nasty stomach bug go through our house for nearly two weeks in mid-January (something I actually did not take photos of), so once we were all healthy again, we started planning some day trips and some other longer trips we'll be taking in the near future.
Napoli is only about a 25-minute drive from where we live, so we figured we should cross off some of the great sights Napoli offers.
We had a really fantastic weather forecast one weekend, so we headed to Capodimonte, a Central Park-type area of Napoli where people go to run, walk, bike, play futbol, and my favorite - people watch. We must have had the same idea as many Italians because the park was packed!! It was the first real day of spring-like weather and a Sunday, we should have known.
I went with my friend Katie to Vomero for a girls day out one Thursday while Riann and Lincoln were both in school. The other Katie had been a few times already, and finally our schedules synced up enough for her to show me around. Ahh, Vomero! Another really beautiful part of Napoli that has a fabulous view, an amazing market, great eateries and a gorgeous park, La Floridiana. I fell in LOVE!! I think Vomero might be one of my very favorite places in Napoli to go, so if you come visit, don't be surprised if I offer to take you!
I kept Riann home from school one Friday to tag along with my friend Suzi and her two boys, and my friend Cydney and her two girls to Vietri sul Mare for some sea glass hunting. The kids had a blast collecting sea glass and ceramic tile pieces, then playing in the sand and running around. They worked up great appetites, so we headed to a local pizzeria for some really wonderful pizza. Riann ate an entire half of a 12" pizza - granted, the pizza crust here is extremely thin and she only had cheese, but she was one hungry little lady!!
We've had a lot of great weather that we did not anticipate since everyone here that has been here for more than a year warned us "It rains from November to March". We have tried to take advantage of the awesome weather, and though it isn't true beach weather, we headed up to Gaeta to the beach anyway. We packed a lunch and snacks, sand toys and extra clothes of course and drove the hour to Gaeta. An easy drive, and so worth the trip to be at such a beautiful place! Of course, we looked like the crazy Americans, only in sweatshirts and jeans, and *GASP* both of our kids ended up down to even less clothing and wading in the water. We got plenty of "looks". The Italians dress for the season, unlike Americans who seem to dress for the weather. The Italians are bundled with winter parkas, scarves, hats, furs, whatever they feel necessary to keep warm. So I had to take photos of the unknowing Italian's and their kids to compare...
After our day in Gaeta, the kids had a sitter so Jamie and I could go to Cantina del Mare, a winery near our friends Glenn & Tina's house in Monte di again. SO MUCH FUN!! We went with three other couples, and our host Genarro told us all about the history of his family's winery, his wife whipped up some traditional Italian appetizers that were mighty delicious and helped us taste more of the wines Genarro was offering us. It was a terrific evening with great people, great food and great wine!
And then to bring you just about up to date, I ventured off with some friends to a different cooking class last week, this time with Mariella. What an amazing lady who cooks amazing food! I've been to her restaurant on a few occasions just to eat - and boy, did I eat!! But to have the opportunity to join in on one of her classes was such a treat! We made pizza dough - surely a recipe I will be using a LOT!!! - and then pizza marinara and pizza margherita but with Fior di Latte, a cheese similar to Mozzarella di Bufala. We also made Neapolitan Lasagna which included the traditional mini meatballs within - holy deliciousness!! I mean really, this woman can cook and if I can learn just a few things from Mariella, I will be on cloud nine in my kitchen. I hope to be joining her on many other occasions, if not to eat at her restaurant, then definitely for her cooking classes!!
That leaves me with this past weekend's trip to Matera, Alberobello and Zoosafari to blog about... I will work on that and hopefully have it posted soon, some pictures too of course!
