Napoli

Friday, November 22, 2013
We know today is our last in Florence, so I take Paco to a little restaurante near the Santa Croce church where I ate before with Caroline, the lady from Colorado.  I suggest he has the Osso Bucco which is to die for and I have this pork and brie en croute with a cream sauce that was out of this world and one of the best things I have ever eaten.   We start with liver pate bruschetta.....  Wanna know how good it was?   Absolutely fabulous.  At the end of the meal,  we have the pannacotta, my favorite dessert in Italy.   It was a fitting end to Florence.  Yum, yum all the way. 
Okay, so today is my birthday and I want to celebrate it eating the BEST pizza in the world.   So, Paco and I head for Naples in the early afternoon.   We arrived at terminal, one of the most beautiful I have seen, in the early afternoon, and it is raining.  Our hotel is right across the terminal but we have to take a taxi anyway because of the rain.   Our hotel is beautiful, very modern, very sleek, very comfortable.   You should see the marble bathroom, in a brown and beige totally awesome.   The Italian designers are absolutely out of this world.   Everything has a touch of uniqueness that is totally Italian, a kind of "je ne sais quois"... really beautiful.    After we settled in, it was time for PIZZA, so the front desk sent us to a little restaurant close to the hotel where we had one of the best pizzas in the world along with some "autum vegetable" side dish that was composed of eggplant, wonderful bell peppers of all colors, and mushrooms (of course).   It was to die for.   If vegetables tasted like this in the US, I wouldn't have a problem being a vegetarian.  It was a lovely way to celebrate my birthday.  Back to the hotel to much needed rest.   I took a sleeping pill to make sure I slept well, and I did.
Saturday, November 23, 2013
I had booked a tour of Naples for the afternoon, so in the morning Paco and I walked the whole plaza where we are staying:  Garibaldi Piazza.   It is full of shops, people selling things on the street, little food stalls with the most wonderful sort of wrapped sandwiches with stuff melting out of them that makes your mouth water just to look at them..... all for 1 euro.   So, you CAN eat cheaply and deliciously in Italy.  I went to a pharmacy and bought some quinine pills because I have been having heavy cramping on my hands, and it has been very painful and uncomfortable.  Luckily, they sell quinine pills here (which they do not in the States) and they do the job.  I just take a pill everyday for prevention.  So, we got back to the hotel to be picked up for our tour of Naples.   The driver was here, Pasquale.  We were the only two people on the tour, after all, it is low season.  It was so much fun!   Pasquale was fun and really eager to please us in every way, shape, or form.   We got to see beautiful parts of Naples.   Everybody had warned us that Naples is dangerous, that you have to watch out for your money, belongings, etc..... but I have not felt it yet.   It is chaotic and gritty, but I do not feel danger.   We went to the church of San Gennaro, where there is a legend that his blood is kept in a container and that every year, on September 9, it either liquifies or not.   If it liquifies, (do not ask me how people prove this), something very good is going to happen in Naples.   If it does not liquify, a calamity will strike.   Well, it must not have liquified because the local team lost to Parma in the match last night.  Everybody is heartbroken..... does it remind you of anything Wildcat?   So, in any case, we saw the most outstanding parts of Naples, and it is BEAUTIFUL!!!!!  Pasquale dropped us off at the best, and most beautiful coffee house so we could have a snack.   We had a couple of glasses of wine and sfogliatella, which is a puff pastry filled with sweet ricotta and pistachios.... it's in such an interesting shape that I don't know how the can possible make it.  It is truly sinful.   Thank God for all the walking.  Now we need to try the Baba, which is something that has rum.... the pastries here are legendary. 
After,wewent to the MOST famous pizza place in Naples, and we heard this from several people, so we know it to be true:  MICHELES.....   There were more than 20 people waiting outside in the RAIN to go inside.   Once inside, and sitting at very simple tables, the magic begins.  There's only two kinds of pizza and only beer and sodas to drink.   I don't like beer.... but I thought I would oblige this time.   We ordered the margherita with basil and double mozzarela, all for 4 euros, about $5.  The pizza was unbelievalbe.   It was a 12" round circle of MAGIC!   Simple, simple, simple..... the BEST crust, thin like a tortilla, a little brick-oven burnt on the edges and the best pomodoro (tomato sauce) and just mounds (double mozarella) of fresh mozarella and some basil leaves strewn about.  OMG.... I can't say the word but it was _______________ (fill in the blank with something that happens to women when they get very excited).   Even the beer was good.... everything for less than $10.  Julia Roberts was filmed there when she made the movie:   Eat, Pray, Love, so you know it's got to be good.  Tonight, we try another recommendation:   Bellini's.  Everybody says it's pretty good, so we will try it.  Tomorrow, it will be typical, traditional neapolitan food at a restaurant nearby which has gotten rave reviews.
Sunday, November 24, 2013
Today was spectacular..... After breakfast we headed to Pompeii.... it had been raining but it had stopped.  everything was wet and soggy, but Pompeii, who cared?  After checking out all of the grounds, the via maxima, the store fronts the houses, the palaces, the baths, for women and for men separately, our guide showed us the brothel..... ayayay, they had picutres of the girls and the men would just pick the one they liked....   apparently, it was perfectly fine to have a wife and a prostitute on the side, since they were considered slaves and not people, so you could not possibly offend your wife..... ain't that convenient?   I would say something here but I don't want to offend my male relatives or good friends.....   AND, if it weren't enough, if a stranger came into town and the man did not know where the brothel was, a PENIS is painted on the main street with the direction of where the brothel is located!!!!   It's a real trip and I took pictures.   Sorry I don't know how to load them yet.  After Pompeii we went to lunch and it was really yummy.   For the "primo piato" we had spaghetti with pomodoro sauce, very delicious and for the "segunto piato", we had calamari and shrimp and salad.   The dessert was a coffee and vanilla gelato which was fabulous!   This is the EAT part of the novel, and I certainly PRAY for our safely, but the LOVE part does not interest me, and I'm sure it won't be a problem.    In other words, it ain't going to happen..... :)  After lunch, we headed for a 4-hour drive on the Amalfi coast with short visits to the towns.  OMG, I have never seen such beauty in my life!!!!    Every little town, perched on hills by the ocean, waves striking near the homes/hotels/etc.... was so beautiful....   it's hard to put it into words, you just have to come and see it for yourself.   Our driver, Ricardo, was so sweet, he took us to Ravello, which is a town where I had considered living for a while, and I'm so glad I didn't because it's way at the top of a hill and I don't know how the hell you would get out of there if you had to.......   but beautiful still.    Lots of stairs and hills to climb, so what?   I just felt I needed to be closer to getting to an airport, just n case.  We went to Sorrento,
Castelldelmare, and Amalfi.  All equally breathtaking.   I took lots of pictures.   When I am on my own, which will be this Saturday, Paco leaves for SDiego on Friday, I will DEFINITELY learn how to load the pictures.   We'll be heading for pizza at Bellini's as soon as I finish posting this.   It will be out of this world, I'm sure.    If it's sunny and dry tomorrow, as the weather report says, we will go to Capri and another island for the day.   I hope it is because it would be a shame to be here and not to go.  We leave Wednesday late morning for Rome, and we will stay for a couple of days before he leaves.   Then I stay a couple more days to meet some friends who live in Spoleto (a beautiful town east of Rome) and, on December 2, I head for Florence to the apartment I have rented.   It will be so nice not to have to carry around any "£$%&/( suitacases anymore.  So, I will park myself in Florence, find a language school and live like a normal Florentine citizen.  
Okay, now for the FASHION POLICE:  What's being worn here.....   lots and lots of bling bling, especially in boots, really cute, in short boots, mediun boots, and even longer boots.  I am definitely bringing a pair home.   LOTS of textured hose.... in all colors, and all kinds of designs, really pretty.   That short skirt with a lace underskirt I mentioned before is worn by (even) older ladies, like myself.   The knee socks over the knee are BIG, with high heels, and then you must bring one of the knee socks crunching around one of your ankles.   LOTS and lots of hats, berets, not just to keep you warm, but stylish.  Everybody seems to have a designer bag:   Vuitton, Coach, etc... but there are also lots of outlets with beautiful Italian designer clothes at HUGE discounts..... Carmen, are you reading this?   So, they are probably more affordable than buying them directly from the stores.   The men are VERY stylish and really GORGEOUS and the women are trying to keep up with them, but, in my opinion, falling a little bit short......   long way to go, ladies, I hate to say.
Well, we'll see what happens tomorrow.   If it's sunny, we'll go to Capri, if it's not, I don't know, but we can certainly walk around and just chill......    On Tuesday, I'm trying to get us to Sorrento by train or by hydroplane, water speedboat).   Let's see if the weather cooperates.
Well, so long for now.   Keep on reading, if you're interested.   This is becoming my journal, so I will definitely keep writing, even if there's not much to talk about.    Ciao a tutti mios amiccos e amiccas in the US.   Go to madametina.it  if you're interested in the apartment I rented in Florence.   It's two bedrooms so it's begging for company...... well???????