Volcanos, Tunnels, Ikea!

Quite a few interesting days here in Napoli. Marito and I are one step closer to getting our house out in town, to celebrate we dined at a Chinese Restaurant! Wasn’t the best Chinese food by far, but it wasn’t pasta! It was good to get some vegetables that weren’t drenched in olive oil too. After dinner we walked out to our car and a guy tells us that he watched our car, so we need to pay him! Uhhhh?? Excuse me? Did you just create a job? Sorry, but we only have 10 Euros on us and you aint getting that. The guy proceeded to direct traffic for us to let us out even though we didn’t pay him. After a little bit of research we learned that they are called “White Caps” and they really do watch your cars, just don’t pay them before you go in, only after and 50 cents to 1 Euro is enough. It’s a lot cheaper than buying a new windshield or car!

The sand is so silky, and it sticks everywhere!

After dinner marito and I went to the beach to watch the sunset. It was really nice to dip my feet into the Mediterranean Sea, as the sun was going down. It was really windy on the water and there were a lot of waves. Definitely not as calm as I had expected it to be;  I can get used to watching sunsets, since I  never wake up in time for sunrises.

The next day, was spent exploring Decathlon with our friends. We were in search of new swim goggles, shin guards and soccer cleats for the kids. Maritos’ quest was to find the golf section, and boy was he disappointed! Just some practice balls, tees, and a couple of shirts. Out of this gigantic store the golf section had to have been the smallest! But other than golf, if you need sporting goods, this is the place to go!

We then caught a movie at Reel Times 2, the movie theater on Support Site. Adult movies are only $4, kids 6-12 are $2 and under six is free! You don’t get that in the states! Popcorn, soda and candy are very reasonably priced, which was tempting but dinner was just a couple hours away. The movies have a couple AFN commercials and one movie trailer. But before it starts to pass time waiting they show TV shows from the AFN  channels. We watched Power Rangers before Madagascar 3 started =]

With hungry kids with us we checked out the restaurant on base, Bambusa. The restaurant is only open for dinner service, and watch out! Some nights they have karaoke! The menu has a good variety, including steaks and pastas. After our large meal, a workout was due.

Since the gym was calling our names in the morning, we went to Support Site and worked out for an hour. Forum Fitness is just like Fit Zone. The dance room is much larger and when we went, it was full of people doing Zumba. The classes are free, which is awesome, and there are a lot of people who attend. I would shy away from a class that only has five people because I like to blend into the crowd. Fit Forum has an outdoor pool, which Capo gym does not have, but for the most part the gyms are very similar. After an hour of cardio and weights we head out and get ready to tackle the next fun thing on our agenda. IKEA!

The kids hop in the car, and the group of us made way to IKEA. Our friends were looking for kitchen islands because they asked for it in their negotiations. They can have custom ones made or buy one already put together. Marito and I were looking for new living room furniture, rugs, bedroom and maybe an office set. It’s always fun to walk around and get inspired by the designs put together by this massive store.

Heading back to the hotel, we all enjoyed a hamburger and hot dog compliments of the Hotel Agora Cookout. It ended up pouring down rain, which was so nice because it hasn’t rained since we got here and long before then. After dinner the guys wanted to go out, so the wives stayed back and the guys had fun- 5 am fun! Actually mine was back at 2:30 but the other husband stumbled in at 5. I know I gave my marito the stink eye, I can only imagine the eye he received!

Morning calls and I meet up with the other wife and the kids, we make friendship bracelets and enjoy the cool, crisp air. After wasting the morning away I sent the kids to go jump on my marito and then their daddy to wake their butts up! We don’t care you’re hung over, we had plans for today!

Now with it starting to sprinkle we contemplate changing our plans. Do we go to Pompeii like we originally planned, do we go to the mall and shop, or do we hike Mt. Vesuvius in the rain?

Mt. Vesuvius it is!! Marito and I lead the way, with our GPS coordinates plugged in we will be there in no time! We drive and drive, get off the Autostrade and make our way onto cobble stone. After a good ten minutes or so we pull over. Someone (not saying me!) fat fingered directions to Downtown Napoli! Fortunate for us, our friends had the right directions so we followed them.

Mt. Vesuvius is 27 miles from Lago Patria, but an hour drive! Our poor manual transmission was climbing up such steep and slippery slopes, with traffic. I am so thankful that my marito knows how to drive it because I sure would have stalled out 12 times or more! We finally get to the parking lot, and bought our tickets. Mind you, it is still drizzling out, and it’s much chillier up top plus extra wind! The climb to the summit is 840 meters, but this steep incline that winds back and forth I swear it feels like a 5k, and it didn’t help that the rain turned into sleet! The kids were troopers, and the guys raced the last 50 meters. Once you make it to the top however, the hike is over and the burn in your calves is well worth the trip.

You can walk around ¾ of the volcanic rim, staring into the crater on one side, or over the city on the other side. The top of the volcano is closed, so you can’t see lava flowing around inside, but you do see steam escaping and sometimes you can see ash swirling out. With the rain stopped, we got an awesome view of the massive city below. You can make out where the city of Pompeii stood, and clearly see paths where lava flowed from the eruptions. After 100+ pictures, and the guys doing their part to pulg in the volcano, it was time to go down. We spent around 3 hours hiking up, observing and hiking back down. Already making plans to do it again when the weather is nicer.

Yesterday started bright and early. Meeting again with our friends and a few more, we made our way back into the city to explore Naples Underground.

 

 

 

Naples Underground is a tour under the city where they had dug out limestone to create a water way under the houses. This allowed every house to have well water access, and it was an extremely advance system back in the day. The tunnels were later used as refuge during World War II, fitting thousands of people under the city during attacks. They created bathrooms close to the steps because when people ran for cover they would almost crap their pants! After the war people threw their trash down the wells into the underground, so for years the city would have tourist help clean up during the tour. I asked if I could dig for some tiles, but left empty handed.

After the tour we ate at Brandi’s the original Pizzaria! We were serenaded but a man and his guitar, and all of us sang with him when he sang “That’s Amore!”

All in all it has been a VERY exciting week. Time for some down time!