Planes, trains, and automobiles

Since it was so difficult to end our “vacation” in Prague, we decided to extend it in Sorrento! It was our friend Bill’s birthday and his wife had invited us to spend the day with them on the coast to celebrate! Ben and I booked a hotel the night prior so that we could spend our last “vacation” night in Sorrento.

We arrived home from Prague on a Friday, woke up on a Saturday, and took off. Ben and I  soon realized that Italy’s star ratings are quite different from the Czech Republic’s ratings when we checked into the hotel, Hotel Caravel. Note: do not stay in this hotel! It was dingy, felt dirty, a good thirty minute walk from the main area, and completely took away from the experience of being in Sorrento. Thanks for nothing, Hotels.com! guess travelling takes more of a toll on us than we’d thought because we felt exhausted after a few hours of walking through Sorrento! We took a cab back to the hotel for a much needed nap. I’m not going to go into too much detail but let’s just say that quite a few ants met their maker that afternoon and the hotel had to put us in another room because the whole situation was disgusting.

That evening we had another unfavorable experience when we were starving (don’t ask me why we always wait until the breaking point when we are both hungry and grouchy to find a restaurant) and sat down at what appeared to be a very popular restaurant. We were happy with our bruschetta but hugely disappointed with our entrees. Poor Ben ordered seafood and even though it was fishy, stomached it because he was so hungry! After dinner we looked at each other and said “Are you still hungry? Yes..are you still hungry? Yes.” So on the story goes of two dinners! We hightailed it out of there are found another, delicious Italian restaurant and stuffed ourselves with good food this time. Wow, I’m realizing that a major part of my blogs is about food. We are food lovers but I swear we’re not pigs! J

We had a great time with our friends, Bill and Jo-anne the next day, as we were with them during their very first visit to Sorrento! Jo-anne is British and an absolute blast to be with (her husband is American but also fun to be with, of course!) We enjoyed spending the day walking through Sorrento, having bellinis, and listening to her argue with another table about England and the World Cup. Our time with them was certainly the highlight of our trip to Sorrento since we sat in three hours of traffic getting home.

I know I’ve already mentioned the driving quite a bit, but it gets better and better as we seem to be confronted with compromising situations. The first situation we experienced was when an Italian guy tried to run us off the road, excuse me, the freeway, and then proceeded to pull over and try to fight Ben because Ben had brake tapped him. The second was on our way home from Sorrento. After sitting in stop and go traffic on our way home, the traffic finally ended and the roads merged into a two lane road. A driver in front of us tried to snake his way into our lane, and an irate Ben did not want to let him in. So the guy basically pushes us out into the road because he refuses to take no for an answer. My dear hubby lays on his horn for a good 2 minutes, no joke, and then surprise, surprise, the dude stops his car in the middle of a the two lane road, and walks up to our car trying to fight my husband. After all, it is Ben’s fault that this guy could not wait his turn to get on the road. Needless to say, I had to hold Ben back to make sure he did not get out of the car and do any damage and quite frankly, I am pretty much over the driving here. Soooo…I decided to take public transportation last week.

I went to see a friend in a beach town next to us for coffee and was so pleased with myself that there were no hiccups during my journey on the metro! The next day I decided to be even more daring and visit Jo-anne in a town further away. I did my research online and realized that I could take the following: Linea 1 from our metro stop to Linea 5 at a stop 5 stops away which would take me to her. I get off at the supposed connecting station, “Montesanto” realizing that there are no signs for Linea 5 anywhere! I went over to one of the station workers to ask him how to get to Linea 5 and he asks me “Dove andare” (Where are you going?) and I tell him “Monterusciello”.  The old man says “Cumana” which is a rail line that I certainly did not think I would be taking.  Then he points outside the building. I take myself down the road to the “Funicolare” refer to the “funicoli, funicola blog” and am confused as it does not appear to house any actual railroad lines, just the funicolare. I go for a coffee to get it together, keep in mind that I am quite calm because thankfully I know enough Italian to get by and figure out how to get home, and ask the next person how to get to Linea 5. What does he say? Dove andare? I tell him Monterusciello and then he tells me Circumvesuviana (?!!), which is another railroad line. AAAAAAA!! To make a long story very short, I rode the bus, the Metropolitana, the Cumana, and the Circumvesuviana last Tuesday. It was quite an interesting experience but at least I can tell you how to get around Naples via the public transportation system now!

Other than the glitches I have experienced over the past few weeks, everything has been calm and we are settling in well. We have been enjoying time with friends, old and new, and making the most of living in Posillipo. I plan to post more pictures of our actual apartment since we’ve been putting up more pictures and doing our best to make it “home.” We enjoy walks to an area called Parco Virgiliano, the Naples version of Balboa Park I think (minus museums, of course) interacting with the locals, and experiencing our town. I told my mom the other day that taking the bus by our house is quite the trip as you hold on for dear life on the bumpy streets, no one pays for their tickets, and it is like monkey bars. One moment someone is literally centimeters behind you holding on to the overhead rail, then they move their hands so they are basically on top of you, and then the next thing you know their other hand is in front of you and they are working their way off the bus. No “excuse me’s” necessary. The other day I took the bus with my friends to the market down the street and it was great to realize how close we are. It’s the simple things, you know? Your patience is surely tested. Even now, Athena and I have been waiting for Ben at his work for 4 hours on the 4^th of July (he is on duty today and doesn’t want to be here as much as we don’t) and she’s giving me dirty looks. Even the dog is learning patience!

I have done some reflecting on our lives at this point in time and it boggles my mind as to how much has changed. Priorities have changed, attitudes have changed, sense of security has changed, and to sum it up, what matters most to us in life has changed. We’ve done so much within the past few months that looking at our lives pre move is like viewing it through a looking glass. The wedding itself feels like years ago! While we are enjoying our new lives in Napoli, we miss our friends and family back home so very much. Thinking about my trip home in December feels like I’m going to a different world- and it’s only 16 hours away! Ben and I get so caught up with life and settling in that we do not take the time to catch up with friends and family to tell them how much we miss and appreciate them as much as we should. I’m sure that is the way it is vice versa, as it is hard for people to take the time to call us when they are busy with their own lives. It means alot and we would love to hear from you!

We are looking forward to our very first visitor! My mom’s trip will begin with her arrival on Wednesday and I CAN’T wait! We will be hosting a steady influx of visitors until the end of the year. I booked my flight home- December 9 through January 17, yay!- and it’s amazing to think that we have already been here for over three months! Even though it feels like we’ve been here forever, the time does seem to fly!

Stay tuned for pictures from Mama Gonzalez’s trip, we are going to keep her very busy!