Hello Family and Friends!
We awoke to a downpour of rain this morning. The sky looked hazy out across the Bay of Naples. Last night we witnessed the most spectacular display of lightening flashing across the Bay for several hours, and then the roaring thunder following.
The forecast for today is for 19 degrees with chance of rain, but we are going to make the best of it, anyway. I'm just hoping to make it through the day without getting my eyes poked out by somebody's umbrella prongs. It's up to you to keep yourself safe here you know. Same goes for crossing the road on a green light. I've already noticed - they use their horns continuously, just to let you know that idiocy of any kind will not be tolerated.
I got ready and went to see Rosa, who had our breakfast set out. Ron was soon coming. I felt bad, because the evening before (while observing the lightening show), I accidentally kicked over two empty wine glasses which Ron had placed on the floor. Of course they smashed to bits against the marble floor. We were both horrified. I said I'd apologize to Rosa when I saw her. But when I saw her, I just couldn't admit I did it, so I said, "Ron is so sorry he kicked over your wine glasses last night." Then I saw Ron coming up the stairs with a look of utter astonishment. I did feel a stab of guilt, and I realize I shouldn't have done this, but you had to be there. Rosa smiled and said she had lots of glasses.
Rosa sat with us for breakfast, and we enjoyed bread, cheese, meat, fruit and coffee. Rosa struggled to speak English and suddenly asked, "Do you speak French?" She said, "I find French easier to speak than English!" Sadly, we shook our heads, No. Although we come from a "bilingual country", we only know a few words and phrases in French. Rosa then called loudly down the stairs to her friend Franco to come up and help her out with "the English". He came to the table to speak with us and help us get our bearings for the day. Franco went to University in Naples for four years and is now Headmaster at a secondary institution in Naples. He drives in from the Salerno area (Paestum), where he grows lemons and loves the farming business. He brought Rosa a huge basket of lemons from his farm. Even though we had finished our breakfast, Rosa brought a large bowl of buffalo mozzarella cheese balls to the table. I asked where were the buffalo in Italy? Franco stated that there were around 30,000 buffalo in the Salerno area and only 7,000 people! I asked the cost of the mozzarella cheese balls here, and Franco stated they cost 12 euro for 1 kilo, which is around 20 balls of cheese, if you were to buy them at the store. So we finished up and went out into the street of Naples.
Dark, smelly, steamy, crowded, noisy, are words that come to mind when I think of these streets. Large areas of fresh fish on tables, large pieces of tripe hanging in windows with continuous dripping of water over it for moisture. In windows freshly skinned rabbits hung. On corners were vast arrays of fresh, colourful vegetables. Women were seen navigating cobblestone streets with spiky high heels. Scooters wove in and out, beeping constantly.
We emerged onto a sunny Piazza Gesu and entered a monstrous, ornate cathedral named Chiesa Dell'Immacolata Al Gesu Nuovo. We did a quick tour, came out, and noted two women engaged in a passionate display of affection, which caught us off guard.
Then we went onto to Basilica Di S. Chiara, a gothic cathedral recommended in tour books. These cathedrals are all majestic and glorious, and there is nothing like them at home.
Back outside we observed the same dark haired women we had seen at the train station. This time they wore sparkly shirts, long T-shirts, black tights, high heels and toted large, black leather purses, all the while passing out the plastic cup. One stood talking loudly on a mobile.
We decided it was time for coffee, so we stopped at Geco Caffe. Suddenly, it was cloudy, windy and chilly again. - but fortunately we never got rain while out today. Believe it or not, we left this cafe, and started down the street, only to see another cool looking cafe called Caffe Intra Moenia situated on a lovely patio surrounded by exotic plants such as jasmine and star flower. We also noted a few palm trees. We were breathing in the beauty of this patio, when suddenly the caffe was infiltrated with a tour group of 30 or so bored-looking individuals who crashed in and took every chair in sight. Sigh...
We then resumed our walk through tiny, dark, narrow streets and stopped at Antica Pizzeria & Friggitoria I Ducumani, which was a highly recommended pizzeria in Naples. This was a really fun experience. The entrance was not apparent, and Ron tried entering through the kitchen, walking right past the giant pizza oven, until a blond lady standing outside on a smoke break, saw us and motioned for us to follow her. She pointed to one tiny table left in the corner and waved us to it, then yelled at the waitress. The place was packed full of locals. The people at the table next to us tried to explain and recommend things on the menu. These are truly the greatest moments! There were lots of older people being served gigantic pizzas! How do they eat a pizza fourteen inches across? We started with some recommendations which I never did get the name of...and then shared a marguerita pizza with tomato sauce, mozzarella cheese, a few basil leaves and a ball of buffalo mozzarella placed in the centre. We left the pizzeria and stopped in the Basilica S. Paolo Maggiore built in 1626 right next door. How could we not stop in?
We walked around the narrow streets and ended up on yet another piazza called Santa Domenico Maggiore where we had some wine and sat in the sun for a few hours watching the world go by. It does seem like we stop alot, I know...It's quiet in the afternoons because most businesses and stores close between 2-4:00 pm, so things seem much calmer. We talked about travel and how fortunate we were to be in this gritty, dark - but fascinating city once again.
After, we decided to make our way down the Via Toledo street to Il Castel Nuovo, an ancient fortress by the water. On the way, we came upon the stunning Umberto Gallery, a beautiful, ornate structure with a glass roof which houses stores, shops and businesses. We toured the fortress and then found the Funiculare (a subway built on an incline), and which transported us all the way back up to the street where we needed to go. We headed over to a tiny store and bought some snacks for the evening.
Now, we're back at Rosa's leaning over our balcony, enveloped in the the view yet again. In the background, we can hear the roar of a concert at the Piazza Plebiscito, where Bruce Springsteen is performing live...
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