Leaving Italy

As I lay in our not as uncomfortable as I thought it would be loaner furniture bed, typing this post on my phone, I'm reflecting over the past three amazing, stressful, wonderful years here in Naples. That was a long run on sentence! I fly back to The Land Of The Free in two days, leaving the many wonderful friends I have made behind to live vicariously through while they finish their travels in Europe. I recall the heart break that was moving here, the excitement of getting here, the joys of exploring here, the anger of driving here, the happiness of having a baby here, and ultimately the strange sadness of leaving here. 

There is a saying "Naples is like a beautiful woman with dirty feet," you gotta get past those dirty feet to appreciate the beauty that is Napoli. But there is another saying I heard as my friends started to move away to their new duty stations; "You cry when to get here, and you cry when you leave." I can't tell you how many times I have said "I am so ready to go back to America." Ive said it SO many times. I am very anxious to start a new chapter with my little family in our new house and get back to work. With just two days left, I am very sad to be moving. Yes there are days like this past week where it has been ungodly hot and I crave for Central AC, but central AC will not cook me a fresh pizza in under 1 minute. Nor will it give me the joy that is walking through the markets and buying fresh Mozzarella di Buffala. I will be exstatic to have a normal heating system in The States, but I'm going to severely miss going to Germany for a long weekend to drink Gluhvein at the Christmas Markets. 

I've been to Venice three times this year. I won't be able to do that in America. I also won't be able to say "hey let's grab lunch on the Amalfi Coast" because Ya know, we can do that here in Naples. We can drive to Tuscany during the summer time just because we want to see sunflowers. Hell. We flew to Amsterdam this past April all because I wanted to see the Tulips. 

The night of our flight to Naples, three years ago, I wore a bracelet that my three best friends in Virginia got for me. I cried. Big, fat, sobbing ugly tears. I've never  moved from my zip code before. And here I am about to embark on this journey to live in Europe for three years. It was very daunting! 

I quickly turned to Facebook to talk to people who were stationed in Naples and met a family who was staying at the Hotel Agora just like we were. Three years later, that family has been our rock. The wife is my best friend, the husband is my husbands best friend. They are the peanut butter to our jelly. And if it wasn't for FB I probably wouldn't have ever connected with them. 

I've used the power of Facebook to reach out to many people. I've "adopted"families whose sponsors were just really bad sponsors. I've picked strangers up from the airport because their sponsor wasn't there. I've shared my knowledge with as many people as I could, hoping to give the best information as possible. I remember coming to Naples and not knowing a thing. And that was frightening. I did whatever I could to help out. I've met so many wonderful people just by not hiding in my house, getting out, going places and connecting with people who are in the same boat as me. 

I started to blog my experiences for friends and family back home to read, then I realized I was reaching out to other newcomers and turned it into a how to go about and do things in Europe. I have thoroughly enjoyed sharing my experiences online. I hope my blog stays relavent and continues to help many others. 

Looking back I wish I had taken more tours with MWR, USO, and Fleet And Family. When I got pregnant and then had my baby I didn't get out as much and I wish I had conquered more prior to. There are some fabulous tours out there and I encourage everyone to do them! 

I'm going to miss many things about living in Naples. And many things I won't miss at all. Here is my list of things I will absolutely miss:

Easy Jet- cheap flights to wherever. 

Pizza- not the same in America

Mozzarella do Buffala- not the same in America!    

TrenItalia- train to Rome for €10

Gas Station attendants pumping my gas-gotta go to Jersey to get that!

The Cherry trees blooming in March- cherry blossoms EVERYWHERE! 

Markets- buying shoes for 2€! And 10 lbs of veggies for 5€!

Sunflowers in the summer time

Sunsets on the water- I'm an east coast girl, we get sunrises on the water

Ravioli in Rome at our favorite Restaurant there

Ravioli at our favorite restaurant in the Amalfi Coast

Wine- cheap and great taste. Not looking forward to spending $50 on a decent bottle of italian wine (stock up!)

Cappucino- for €1.50! Can't get the same thing at Starbucks

Sales in January and August- 70% off entire stores

Kinder eggs for the kiddos

Pocket coffee

Rooftop drinks with our friends overlooking the Med Sea

Ceramic shopping in Vietri

Picking Seaglass from the Amalfi Beaches

Crete Ceramics- I LOVE her work and glad i purchased many pieces from her

Speeding- cops don't pull you over for speeding in Naples. I'm gonna have a hard time adjusting in the States.

Wineries

House wine- home made and delicious

Desserts

Italians- some of the nicest people! And they love kids! 

Demijohn hunting

And so many more.

I hope to make it back to Italy. I purposely left some stones unturned so I have reason to come back. 

Thank you to everyone who has made our time here outstanding. I will truly miss the comraderie that you find here, and hope the friendships I have made are strong enough to last a lifetime. These are memories I will never forget, but if I do, I can re-read them!