Escapades in Napoli and Christmas at the Colosseum

I SURVIVED NAPOLI!!!

I think that I deserve a t-shirt for it.

You know,

like those shirts that they sold when the Northridge earthquake hit?

The ones that said "I survived the Northridge Quake"...

only it would say:

"I survived Napoli, 2011!"

If you have ever been to Naples, 

you know what I mean.

My experience in Napoli can be summed up like this:

from the second I stepped off the train into the station,

I felt like I needed a shower.

I could literally feel dirt particles attaching themselves to my skin and soaking into my pores.

And the smell....

was like nothing I have ever smelled.

A mix of delicious food and ocean air,

masked by car exhaust, cigarette smoke, body odor, and a few other unidentifiable smells.

I didn't have many expectations heading to Naples,

but I definitely wasn't expecting that.

Also, I was warned by Cristina and her friends immediately as we stepped off the train,

to be very, very careful of my personal belongings.

This I had expected,

as I have heard and read that Naples can be a bit dodgy in that way.

Ok, so aside from those few minor details, 

Naples was great! 

Immediately upon arriving, we headed straight to a local Pasticceria,

where Cristina had me try a typical Neapolitan pastry:

Baba- a rum soaked pastry.

When I say soaked, I mean literally soaked.

Don't get me wrong, it was beyond delicious,

but I couldn't get the taste of rum out of my mouth for hours.

Then, after meeting up with some of Cristina's long lost cousins,

we all journeyed on to a magnificent castle, by the sea.

This castle has been standing since the year 1279!!!!

The architecture was incredible, 

and I couldn't believe how beautiful all of the detailed carvings were.

However, we didn't go past the entryway...

entering into the castle would cost you 7 Euro...

and I was with a large group of Italians...

need I say more?

Apparently some people don't appreciate beautiful architecture as much as I do.

Look at this huge hole in this beautiful door.

One of the rowdy tourists must have been really pissed when he found out he had to pay to get in...

haha JK. 

It was probably a cannon or something. ;)

We stopped to look around this beautiful glass ceilinged building.

There was a christmas tree with tons of Christmas wish lists hung all around it.

 They all said things like "world peace", or "end world hunger"...

I'm kidding.

I couldn't read them...duh! They were written in Italian.

But they probably said things like

"I want a Wii", or "I want my geese to lay eggs."

I thought this photo deserved to be blown up to the "extra-large" size.

I think you'll agree.

Naples is surrounded by beautiful harbors,

and Mt. Vesuvius.

Wikipedia says that Mt. Vesuvius is considered "one of the most dangerous volcanoes in the world"...

maybe I should tell that to the people who built their houses at the bottom of it...?

And what would a trip to Napoli be without PIZZA!

I ordered the "Champignon", with Mushrooms, tomatoes, mozzerella, and basil.

Without a doubt the best pizza I have ever had, ever.

And I will have you know that I ate EVERY LAST BITE of that pizza.

After our pizza we strolled outside to be greeted by this beautiful sunset.

And here is another beautiful harbor.

After taking this photo I realized that Naples must be truly beautiful,

because I can't take a decent photo to save my life,

but all of my photos from this trip somehow turned out looking quite amazing.

And OH! I almost forgot!

The whole reason for our trip Napoli in the first place!!

These were quite a sight.

Each year there is a Christmas market in Naples,

where hundreds of vendors and thousands of people gather.

They hand-craft and sell these intricate nativity scenes.

It is truly an extraordinary sight.

They are much more than just a common nativity scene you can find in the US.

They are carefully thought out and put together,

with the objective of representing not only the Catholic Christmas story,

but also Italian culture as a whole.

In addition to the complete sets,

they sell individual pieces,

so that families can collect them over time and put together their own scene each year.

This is the massive crowd that gathered while we were there.

In the narrow streets of Napoli,

at points it became so jam-packed that we were literally being moved through the crowd by the force of people pushing us from all angles.

Definitely one of the most claustrophobic spaces I have ever been in.

And this?

This, is struffoli!!

Another Neapolitan recipe,

but Cristina insisted that her mother's recipe

 was much better than the 4 Euro plates they sold on the streets of Naples,

so, we patiently waited until returned home to try hers.

And I must say, it was just as delicious as it looks!!

So, that pretty much sums up our trip to Napoli!

I think it's safe to say that I got a goooood taste of Neapolitan culture...

enough to linger on my clothes from the day for at least a couple of weeks.

Yesterday I spent a beautiful day in Rome!

After a few days of off and on rain, 

I was confident enough in the weather forecast that the sun would be a'shining! 

(Although as I am discovering, the weather forecast is only accurate about 50% of the time...)

I arrived in Rome around lunch time,

but before I tended to the needs of my hungry stomach,

I was bound and determined to see the Pantheon.

Here's what happened...

after some slight confusion on the Metro,

(i.e. took the wrong line, in the wrong direction...

there's only two lines btw...so I had a 50/50 shot)

I was walking,

walking,

walking...

passed some cool ivy...

and then...

BAM!!

There is was!!

No directions,

no maps, 

just walking, 

until out of nowhere it just...appeared.

It was prettttty amazing.

Here's the hole in the ceiling...

where according to Cristina,

it never rains.

I'm convinced there is glass over it,

but she says she knows for a fact that there isn't.

So, I guess it's just magic, or something?

After I had basked in enough victory of my accomplishment of finding the Pantheon,

I went to the nearby Piazza Navona,

where they have a festive Christmas market,

candy,

games,

and this-

Vin Brule!

(Mulled wine)

But (just my luck) when I asked the woman behind the counter for a glass,

she loudly proclaimed:

"We don't have that!"

Then why are you advertising it lady!?

That's what I wanted to say...

But instead, disappointed and confused, I said "OK?",

and was on my way.

When it finally came time to tend to my stomach,

I wandered into a restaurant nearby,

and was surprised when I sat down and saw this.

(Thought you would appreciate that mama!) :)

The restaurant did not have the name advertised on the outside,

so it was solely by chance that I picked a restaurant with "Coco" in it's name.

Funny how these things happen in life, huh?

After lunch I wandered around Roman neighborhoods for hours,

in and out of the coolest stores,

hidden jems, you could say.

I found a neighborhood full of vintage thrift shops!

And, as you can imagine, felt the overwhelming need to buy at least one thing,

so that I could brag that I bought it at a vintage shop in Rome!

So, I settled on a beautiful, silk scarf.

It was a bargian too,

only 10 Euro!

Quickly after leaving the store,

I pulled my scarf out to admire my purchase,

only to find that as I looked a little closer,

there were coffee stains on it! :(

Yes, disappointment had struck for the second time that day.

But, I decided not to take the scarf back.

I just sucked it up and thought,

"well, at least its Italian coffee!"

:)

Finally, as the day was winding down,

and I could barely feel my legs anymore from walking for 6 straight hours,

I managed to make it to the Colosseum just in time to see this...

The sun setting over the Colosseum.

After my last visit, I didn't think the Colosseum could get any more beautiful...

but man was I wrong.

It almost doesn't look real!!

Never in a million years did I imagine that I would be watching the sun set over the Colosseum at Christmas time...

I wish I could teleport all my family and friends to this moment.

It was so magical. :)

I took the train home with Cristina at the end of the day,

and, of course, had one last funny thing happen.

The train was very, very crowded,

so Cristina and I were sitting in separate aisles, but nearby.

As she got up to get off the train

(she exited a few stops ahead of me because she rode her bike to a different train stop that day),

she quickly mentioned something to me about waffles...

not quite sure where the thought came from,

but she said that she was told that American waffles are gross.

I quickly came to the defense of one of my favorite foods,

and said something like,

"you just haven't tried the right ones!"

She agreed, and before exiting the train made a quick comment about a man's iPhone, 

who was sitting next to me.

"I don't like..", she said, with a funny look on her face.

I laughed a little, and then she left.

Immediately after, 

the man sitting next to me turned to me and said in fluent English,

"I don't think she meant to insult your waffles..."

!!!

I started laughing, and said,

"Actually, I think she did! But I don't take it personally!"

I was laughing on the inside and out,

first because of his comment about the waffles,

and second because Cristina had just insulted his phone right in front of him...hahaha.

(Although I'm not entirely sure he caught on to that one...)

Anyways, we got to talking,

and he told me that he is British, living in Anzio (the next town over from Nettuno),

and has moved here to be with his Italian girlfriend.

(So romantic!)

He was very nice, and it was so nice to be able to talk with someone in plain English, 

without having any communicative confusion.

It was truly like a breath of fresh air.

So, that was that.

We said "see ya round!", and he was off.

So, my dear family and friends,

on that note,

I hope that you all take a moment today to appreciate that you don't have to worry about a language barrier between you and the barista at your coffee shop,

or the grocery store clerk,

or even your dog.

Because trust me,

your native language is one of those things that you don't appreciate,

 until nobody around you speaks it!

So my friends,

until my next awkward encounter...

Peace, love, and (delicious Neapolitan) Pizza!!!!

<3 Arrivederci!