Pompeii and Shopping

I cannot believe a month has already flown by since we left the states. So far, so good. I haven't been taken aback with culture shock, nor have I been very homesick, or lonely but that doesn't mean other people in my shoes aren't! This morning, marito wanted to have a nice relaxing day because "we have been going 500% since we got here." Which we have been, I don't like being bored.

Last weekend, for Labor Day we chilled out and did laundry. Originally we have been doing laundry in the hotel for 2 euros to do one small wash and 2 euros for a dryer. Little did we know about the laundry mat on base! On the Ground floor of Navy Lodge, beside the Mini Nex there is a very nice size laundry mat. We were able to do three loads of laundry at the same time for $3.75. That's 75 cents for each washing machine, and 50 cents for 20 minutes on 3 dryers. Beats paying the hotel 12 euro for three loads of laundry! There are tables provided to fold your clothes, which is awesome. Yep, I'm that girl that will throw her fresh launder clothes in a bag to wrinkle up,

Next on our list was to hit the Commissary. Looking for a change of pace we bought Ribeye steaks, baked beans, and potatoes (the Italian Idaho kind!). That night we feasted like kings.

The Kids went back to school, and marito took his E-6 Exam the day after. The new exam is 175 questions and majority of them focus on job specifics. Which I think is a good thing, instead of broad Navy knowledge. Marito feels different. He says if he doesn't know his job by E-6 he shouldn't be an E-5, buuuuut he wasn't complaining about feeling good after the test.

Friday our friend, the Secret Squirrel, picked up his wife from the airport. We are all happy she is here. Secret Squirrel has been the 5th wheel for almost a month now! We celebrated with a free Hotel BBQ and of course a shot of Limoncello.

Now Limoncello is a dessert drink, but you definitely DO NOT SHOOT IT! I mean you can, but I prefer to sip it. It's ingredients pretty much include: Lemon, sugar and Everclear. I make a face every sip I take! To further welcome Secret Squirrel's wife we made a trip out to Pompeii on Saturday!

From where we live, and all of the military bases, Pompeii is on the opposite side of the volcano. The drive isn't too bad and the town of Pompeii is nice. I read that you can expect to pay 5 Euros an hour for parking, but we found street parking and paid 4 Euros for 4 hours!

It's 11 Euros for adults to enter Pompeii. Everyone says to enter on the opposite side of the Amphitheater, but we didn't know which side was which! Of course, we entered on the Amphitheater side, but oh well (apparently there is more interesting stuff on this side). As soon as we walked in, a gentleman offered to give us a guided tour- everything I've read said that guided tours cost 100-120 Euros regardless of how many people you have in your group. Audio tours are 6.50 but we skipped all of it and just walked around on our own. By the way, use the bathroom at the entrance, there are not a lot of Water Closets through out the ruins.

Prior to the devastating eruption of Mt. Vesuvius that engulfed Pompeii, there was an earthquake that hit the town on then 20,000 people. When the Volcano blew its top, there were roughly 2,000 people still there, all of which were taken off guard that day.

Pompeii is definitely interesting. Probably more so with an audio guide. I had some fun with my camera, taking artsy fartsy pictures, only for it to die halfway through! The guys on the other hand, had their own fun playing Gladiators and Planking in difficult areas.

If you do go to Pompeii (which I recommend!) there is a cafeteria by the City Center that serves pizza slices (large slices at that) and soda, for a tourist price, but it is really good pizza. I enjoyed every bite!

We headed back home and took the toll road (The Tange) and it was my first time on it. It is a quick way to cut by Downtown Naples and Pozzuoli. You can see the skyline on Napoli, and enjoy the city lifestyle of Pozzuoli along the bay.

Since today was our day of rest, we hung out at the hotel, slept in, and finally after marito got enough rest we went to Campania Mall!

Every girl loves shopping! This mall is the largest mall in the area (I believe), with 180 stores, it's enough to keep you busy. It's about 15 minutes away from the Support Site, so not too far. I have been determined to buy some new shoes here in Italy because every woman I see is wearing some sort of heel! Whether it is a wedge, boot, or stiletto there is a heel. I am an Old Navy Flip Flop kind of gal, but I do love a nice heal. So I go straight to Bata which is similar to a DSW in the states. I browse through the wedges and find myself among the boots. Fall is almost here. I find a pair of brown ankle cut boots that I adore, and for 40 Euros it's not a bad deal. From what I'm told, once the season gets here the prices will go up! So YAY! I am Fall ready!

There is a restaurant called Old Wild West, that serves good ole Hamburgers, Steaks, and Chicken, upstairs in the mall. The decor is actually very themey but probably better put together than some Theme Restaurants in The States. The prices aren't bad either.

After lunch, marito and I go to Zara Home which is a higher end home decor store, on the same lines as Crate and Barrow and Pottery Barn. I bought a couple of pieces to help decorate our new home (which we don't have yet). Can you tell I'm excited? Then we went looking for shoes for marito.

Looked at some Pumas, which he sorta liked but found ourselves checking out some Ferrari shoes. Don't worry, he put them down after seeing the 115 Euro price tag! Marito is still warming up to the European fashion. He refuses to wear skinny jeans, and that, I am ok with. We called it a day, no shoes for marito this time.

Tomorrow our Express Shipment is being delivered and I get the luxury of doing inventory on my Pampered Chef products for an upcoming vendor event at the NOSC Welcome Coffee. I'll let y'all know how that goes!