Buona sera signorina

Wow! Time is flying by entirely too quickly! Of course, we scramble to get the last minute things done. One more night at our favorite restaurant, one more trip to Amalfi, one more trip to my beloved shoe markets, and so on and so forth. I think, oftentimes, it is the anticipation that kills us more so than experiencing the actual goodbye. For my those who know me well, I am not a sentimental person whatsoever but once I finally become attached it is impossible to detach.

One new thing I discovered today was a cheese store in the next town over. I was kicking myself for not bringing my camera because the amount of yumminess in that store was too much to fathom. After spending a good amount of time there I purchased pecorino cheese infused with walnuts and another type of cheese (is it pathetic that I don’t know what it was?!) with pistachio. Also, flattened mozzarella bundles with prosciutto and arugula in the middle. Amazingness. You can be sure that I will be returning there with Ben and taking photos!

This blog entry is full of videos to watch in spare time. The first is our “Farewell” video. We did a fun photo shoot on Monday with our favorite American photographer. We wanted to do a last family photo shoot in downtown Napoli to capture our memories. She did an excellent job of combining a few of our photos from that day with photos she’s taken of everyday life here in Naples:

http://youtu.be/lvCXwlkzq5o

We are truly so sad not to have the opportunity to photograph with her anymore! Her prices are ridiculously low and she is incredibly talented. She did my maternity photos, Camille’s newborn pictures, our Xmas pics from 2011, pasta baby pictures for Camille, pumpkin patch photos, and then these, arrivederci pictures. She has lived here for 7 years and is also leaving this year, in the summer.

This video is the queen of the house, babbling as always and so full of personality. This video captures just a glimpse of her talkative, sweet nature at 19 months:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kVCDSTCV-BY&feature=youtu.be

Last but not least, this is not my video but it is hilarious nonetheless! It is a typical scene in which any time you get stuck in these narrow alleyways, it takes forever to maneuver your car around. Although I’d have to say the driver is not too smart. Not 7:24 into it where a motorcyclist has an actual leg of prosciutto on his motorcycle!  I will surely miss the Neapolitan craziness!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=n4U1PV4xg4E

That's amore!

Listening to the sounds of churchbells ringing and watching as little Italian ladies hang their clothes out to dry on their windowsills…seeing elderly Italian men congregate outside cafes or walk down cobblestone alleyways leisurely with their hands clasped behind their backs…we smile proudly at them as they admire our Camille and may even stop to pinch her chubby little cheek. We love taking part in these Italian ways of living and savor the last few weeks we have left to enjoy them. In light of the fact that we will be leaving so very soon, 27 days from today to be exact, I have convinced my husband to shed his Saturday couch potato ways and explore something new with me every weekend. Whether it be by going to a town we have already visited and finding something “new” to enjoy or by going to a new place, there are countless things we have yet to experience here.

     We began a few weeks ago while my mom, aunt, and uncle were visiting. The base was offering a tour to the town of Taurasi in the province of Avellino. A winery tour, lunch, and transportation were included at the cost of $80 per person. I felt that it was a bit overpriced considering that we could drive ourselves to Taurasi so we decided to set off on our own adventure. Having no idea as to which winery we could visit or where we could have lunch, we were determined to just wing it. I might add that it is winter and considering the much of Italy ironically shuts down (apparently, people decide to take a three month vacation in the off season) not to mention the fact that we went on a Sunday, the odds were not in our favor. The drive was incredibly scenic as we drove through hill towns to reach Taurasi. It truly felt as though we were in Tuscany. We joked about the fact that although we passed countless houses and farms, not a person was to be seen anywhere. We drove by a winery that looked quite large and decided to stop and see if it was open. Unfortunately, after ringing the bell several times and even calling the number on the advertisement in front (hoping I could communicate in my broken Italian) we realized it was closed and needed to move on. We drove onwards and stumbled upon a tiny Italian winery. To this day I have no idea as to what it was even called! There was almost no signage and it was obviously a family run business. We walked into a small room with several wine barrels and silver tanks. The woman spoke to me in rapid Italian and I tried to make out what I could and translate for the group. Her brother was quite the joker and told me about how he has three daughters, a wife, and a mother in law he lives with which drives him to work at the winery, in other words, drives him to drink. We sampled both their table wine and typical, more expensive aged aglianico wine which is indicative of the region. We’ve learned that the wines are aged for a minimum of three years, one of which are actually in the wood barrels. I was impressed to learn that I am a huge fan of Taurasi’s (these days I’m not much of a red drinker). After our brief “wine tasting” we stumbled upon yet another gem, the restaurant “Ristorante da Pino”. Again considering that so much appeared to be closed in the town , we expected to have trouble finding a good restaurant. Comically enough, we were the only ones lunching in this restaurant and were pleasantly surprised to learn that our hostess, waitress, and co-owner of the restaurant who was basically a one woman show had previously lived in Australia for 13 years and was fluent in English. She was extremely charming and knowledgeable, teaching us about the wines and food of Taurasi. Not to mention, at 22 euro a person for wine, antipasti, first course, main course, dessert, and coffee, it was a steal. We went home that day with our bellies full and two new bottles of wine at 14 euro a pop. $80 a person for a day of wine tasting and lunch?! We’ll do it ourselves, thank you very much!

Last weekend we went to Rome, Orvieto, and Frascati for a much needed romantic weekend without Camille for the first time to celebrate our three year anniversary. I’m still in awe that these three years have flown by! More to come on that trip in another entry.

I had heard of a cute town in a neighboring region to where we live from my friend Kelly. The town, Caiazzo in the province of Caserta, offered us a short getaway this morning. Once again we felt as though we were miles and miles away from the noisy streets of Napoli as we drove through the green countryside, passing vineyards, farms, and orchards. We approached the sleepy town of Caiazzo and parked in a lot with beautiful views of the region. In the distance, snow capped mountains loomed above us and the sights were breathtaking. Quite honestly, I cannot begin to count how many breathtaking views we’ve seen since we arrived in Europe three years ago!

 There is not much to do in Caiazzo. No castles, museums, or famous duomos. It is simply a locals’ town, yet it is beautiful, old, and offer’s gorgeous views. Italian living at it’s best. An ancient olive press sits at the center of the town, surrounded by small cafes and old Italian men having their daily morning chat. We had a cappuccino in one of the cafes and meandered through the town. I found it charming that these signs served as the signage for the majority of shops and services on the main road.

 I watched as the townspeople greeted us and each other with “Buon giornos” left and right but found it charming, yet again, that they all seemed to know each other. Such is the beauty of an Italian town. Quiet does not exist even in the quietest of areas as anywhere where an Italian woman is present is a place where chatter will inevitably be heard!

    Camille greeted everyone we approached with either a “hi” or a “tow-tow” (ciao, ciao). I love that children do not discriminate! J We stopped at a pasticceria (Italian bakeries and also Ben’s favorite places to be in) and came across a pastry called a Chiaccere. I had never seen one before but they are essentially Italian versions of churros. Camille enjoyed hers while Ben enjoyed something yummy and blueberry filled. I just took pictures and snuck pieces of Camille’s while she wasn’t looking.

 

On our way home we passed Umbrella Pine trees, my absolute favorite trees here. They are ridiculously tall and beautiful. Almost reminding me of a tall, elegant old Italian lady. I will miss seeing them line the freeways as I navigate my way through towns and dodge crazy drivers left and right.

Tomorrow we join our good friends for their farewell at an Agriturismo and are really looking forward to the huge Italian family style lunch with so many of our friends and the “family” we’ve formed here.

In a few short months Ben can go back to his lazy Saturdays. For now, we plan to live each weekend to the fullest and experience all that la dolce vita has to offer to us! As for now, we are off to collect wine for our “wine shipment” to be collected on Monday. A little remnant of “La Dolce Vita” to appreciate when we have returned to the United States for good. 

79 bottles and counting! 

The Newest Feldman Neapolitan Experience: Olives and Naples Mutts- written in Nov, 10

So much has occurred in the past month that I don't know where to begin! We've moved, visited Germany for the first time, welcomed Mom and Dad Feldman to Italy, tried to get settled in our new home (and are almost there!), and most recently- went olive picking, and invited a new guest into our home...

Meet Luigi Feldman, 9 lbs of energy and love!

I expected to go downtown for lunch on Saturday (mmm, sushi) not expecting to come home with a dog! Much less, a stray. Ben has been persistent over the past year and a half with his requests for a dog. For those of you that know Athena, then you know that she requires an absolutely ridiculous amount of attention and is more of a human than a dog. She certainly wants nothing to do with other dogs and only likes to play with people. I thank Ben for spoiling her. Hehehe. Anyway, we went to our new favorite sushi restaurant, Kukai, and decided to go for a walk near Piazza Plebiscito afterward. It is always a flurry of activity near Via Toledo downtown and a great people watching experience. We were walking back towards the direction of the car when we spot a strawberry colored creature behind a bench, greeting another dog. The first thing that comes out of Ben's mouth? If that is a mini Golden Retriever, I'm taking it home! I had made the mistake of telling Ben about a miniature Golden Retriever that I had seen walking through downtown and he's been adamant on finding one for us ever since. This was no mini GR but he sure was cute. It's really hard to describe what kind of a dog he might be- we think there is definitely some dachsund, but he has chihuahua ears, and his body looks like he might have some Corgi. Luigi is the epitome of a "Naples mutt." Once Ben followed him all over the street and had him in his arms I knew it was love at first sight and there was no going back! We had watched as he approached shops and street vendors only to be shooed away. He went up to other dogs and was told to take off because they were not allowed to play with him. Every time we see one of the hundreds of innocent stray dogs on the side of the road as roadkill, or walking around the streets scrounging for water or food, or being yelled at by street vendors to get lost, it breaks our hearts. This was definitely one that Ben was not going to let get away. And apparently I'm a softie because no matter how determined I was to be a one dog family, I had to give in! Two accidents in the backseat on the way home, a full preventative flea and tick bath (Luigi is the cleanest stray I have ever seen, no dirt and certainly no fleas or ticks), and some new gear later, Luigi officially became a Feldman. :)

On the other hand, if dogs could talk I have a strange feeling that Athena would have told us to leave Luigi in the streets. The queen wants to be as far away from him as possible and tries to attack HIM every time he attempts to play with her. We have already become accustomed to the sound of her growling and snapping at him over the past few days. As you can see in this picture, she wants no part of it.

We took Luigi to the vet today for his full exam. The vet scanned him and confirmed that he has no microchip, no diseases, and is an extremely healthy 8 month old. If it weren't for his strange habits, I would question whether he is really a stray. He likes to find corners in the house to sleep in and "take shelter." I've found him hiding napping behind the couch, next to our large potted plants, and underneath tables. He also yelped bloody murder today- I'm not kidding when I say you could probably have heard his cries well into the parking lot-when the vet gave him his vaccines and told us he thinks the dog must have been harmed because he is very fearful of anything remotely close to painful :( Taking in an extra animal is more work, especially when you travel often, but we are incredibly happy to have rescued one dog from the dirty Neapolitan streets. He is now clean, well-fed, and attached at the hip to Ben. Ben is happy to have "a man's dog."

As for the rest of our weekend, we had the opportunity to go on a day trip to an olive grove and olive oil factory! We went to a small Italian town just outside of Benevento to a private olive orchard with our friends, Chad and Amber. The scenery was beautiful- the trees were filled with olives and the color of fall was everywhere. Here are a few pictures from our trip:


Ben decided to sample an olive fresh from the tree and decided that our guide, Maria, was right. Olives in this form are not tasty! They must be cured and salted if you choose to eat them or they have a mighty strong aftertaste!

Olive picking is no longer manual labor! They have fancy schmancy machines that you rake through the trees.

The process of olive oil production:

Ben was holding my Vitamin Water bottle and jokingly asked the worker if he could have some olive oil. The guy filled it up with fresh olive oil, free of charge!

After a long, yet interesting, day of learning about olives and olive oil we took our two bottles of delicious olive oil and made our way home to our doggie crew. This was definitely an eventful weekend in the Feldman household!

La Dolce Vita

As I lay in bed early this morning, a sense of panic grips me with the realization that we have just over a month left in Italy. It’s incredibly ironic that if you had approached me just over a year ago, I would tell you that I couldn’t wait to get out of here. What can I say, these day trips to Positano grow on you!

Ben and I counted the number of countries we’ve been to in the past three years and counted 16. Crazily enough, I know that we must have forgotten one or two in there, and this doesn’t include different trips to various cities within these countries. I guess you could say that our little Camille is a world traveler. I don’t even flinch when we’re getting ready to take her on a flight anymore. That is, a short, two hour flight. Ask me again when I’ve just taken her on a journey from Virginia to San Francisco which would be 8 hours +. Sadly, it feels like we’re not much closer to family in California since it will still be a production to get there. Either way, we will still be in the US and I know that once I am over the reverse culture shock, it will feel wonderful. Camille will get to know her cousins during our frequent trips and Ben’s (hopefully, not lengthy, deployments). On the other hand, the bright side is that we will be closer to Ben's sweet parents and family on the East Coast and are very much looking forward to quality time with them! Boston is only a 2-3 hour trip by plane!

Over the past few days we have been househunting in Virginia Beach. It’s amazing what technology can do these days, we conducted a FaceTime (for all of of you non-mac users this is similar to Skype) call with a potential landlord at her beautiful home overlooking a lake. She was able to give us a “tour” of her home in real time! We had originally planned to wait until we got to VA to do our search but after looking online, speaking with realtors, and consulting with friends in the area we’ve realized it may be to our benefit to have something lined up by the time we get there. Dragging a jetlagged toddler through numerous houses for rent in addition to testdriving new cars doesn’t seem like our cup of tea. It’s been exciting looking at  potential homes! Base housing, though a good size at 1,600 sq ft, does not come with any additional add-ins and getting away from these white walls and white tile floors will be great. We’re now down to two favorite properties, both within a ten minute drive to Ben’s work. I’ve always reasoned that the shorter the commute, the more time we will have him home with us, so I’ll take it.

Meanwhile, it’s been a bit different here. The movers packed up our furniture, put it on the crates, and sent it off across the world. I relished even the time I was able to converse with our movers because I know the experience will be quite different on the other end! There’s nothing like the feeling of conversing with a culture that is so excited to be using what knowledge they have of the English language. They are so proud of themselves when they can express themselves in English and I love practicing with them. They are also so welcoming of pets and babies- each morning when Camille would wake they would greet her with huge smiles and play with her for a minute before resuming work. To Camille it doesn’t matter if you speak Italian, English, or Japanese. This little diva just loves the attention. Even Luigi was like royalty, as he pranced through the house nosing about everyone’s business while they packed. The movers would always stop to pet him and play with him.

What have I learned from my time in Italy? I’ve learned how to be a wife, a mother, and overcome cultural obstacles. I’ve learned a new language (no, I’m by no means fluent but I can communicate properly) and how to live a more simply when it comes to everyday life. Who needs modern conveniences when you can travel through Europe and learn about numerous different cultures?  And take advantage of shoe markets. ;p I’ll take leather boots at 30 euro anyday over 7-11 or gasp, even Whole Foods, anyday!

I’ve learned how to love a culture that I found so difficult to relate to in the beginning. And to find joy in my interactions with them. Even now, I jump at the opportunity to leave “Little America” and go out in town as often as possible to be around them. I’ve learned how to drive when I primarily refused to. Yes, it does feel like a video game sometimes- how to get from point A to point B without hitting anyone, anybody, or getting lost- but I’ve done it. And above all, I’ve learned how to put stresses of a job aside and focus completely on the one most important priority in my life: my family. While I’m incredibly sad to leave our friends, American and Italian, behind, I know its time to start the next chapter in our lives and move on. I’m going to make the most of the time we have left – every day of it- and embrace what’s in store for us in the future.

The first year that we were here you could say I probably went to Ikea about 10 times in search of furnishing our #1 home and #2 home here. Since then I have not gone anywhere near the place. This morning I will be going with a friend to help him find furniture for his next three years here. While I am able to look back fondly at the memories Ben and I have created during our time here, someone is about to create his. 

Viva Italia!

I know, I know I should be using my child’s treasured naptime to be writing one of three papers that I have due this month or working on my internship duties but seeing as though we are now 7 months out of Ben’s Navy PRD (projected rotation date) I should probably work on adding more entries to our blog!

What can I say, the past year or so has been incredibly hectic! Our little bambina, Camille Rose, entered the world on June 12 or 2011 and since then we have been spending our time learning how to be parents, working (in Ben’s case completing!) on our Master’s Degrees,  and travelling wherever and whenever possible.

We counted the countries that we’ve visited since the little peanut, who is no longer so little ;( , has graced us with her presence and it has been incredible. In her first year of life this kid has been to the following places:

-Budapest, Hungary (3 months old)

-US- Boston and San Francisco (3 months old)

-Nice, France (5 months old)

-Chania, Greece (5 months old)

-Stuttgart, Germany (5 months old)

-US- San Fran and San Diego (6 months old)

-Amsterdam, Holland (8 months old)

-Krakow, Poland (11 months old)

-Manila, Philippines (12 months old)

-followed by a trip back to the States (SF and Boston at 12 months) before returning to Italy.

Can you believe it?! She has travelled to more places than most people I know at one year old!

Looking back at our time in Italy I’ve realized there are phases people often experience, at least many of those who are in similar situations as Ben and myself.

The first 6-7 months is the “Honeymoon” phase. Newcomers are thrilled to be living in Europe and all that it has to offer. You walk around town, delighting in the Italian being spoken around you. You feel excited to be picking up Italian words and conversations here and there. You eat prosciutto by the package(you’ll have to ask Ben how many times I caught him polishing off an entire package of it. When he’s quiet in the kitchen I know he’s up to no good!). You try as many varieties of pizza as possible. You relish at how easy it is to hop on a plane and be in Paris in two hours. Most of all, you want to soak up every ounce of culture and opportunity that this new life has to offer.

After this initial phase is “disillusionment.” People start to encounter all of the bumps along the road, both literally and figuratively speaking here, that accompany living in Naples. You know, your house floods and the workers say “domain, domani, “(tomorrow) because they are closed and no one is available to help you- true story for my dear husband. I was at a birthday celebration in Napa Valley while Ben was scooping out bucketfuls of water from our kitchen ;( , you start to get sick of people staring at you as you speak English, after several VERY close calls with getting into car wrecks, you just start to miss sushi and all of the other modern conveniences of the life that you have been accustomed to living until you moved to Italy seven months ago.  The one common misconception that friends and I have gotten SO sick of hearing are people who think we look out into the fields of Tuscany. Sorry , folks. There’s nothing but trash and prostitutes (and no, I’m not kidding, they operate at all hours of the day. Some sit under a little umbrella by the highway, some even use their breaktime or slow days to read- we see it often) here. In all fairness, Ben and I went from living in an absolutely stunning part of Naples, one does exist, Posillipo to the countryside of Gricignano so life is a little different here. Many who live on the base do not take the time to travel downtown and see the sights or leave the base at all. Thank God I’m not one of them! But truthfully speaking, it is very easy to start to feel homesick for family and frustration at the inefficiency in Italy.

I would say disillusionment lasts oh, about a year until you reach the “appreciation” phase. This is when you start to love Italy again. Instead of being annoyed at the fact that your plumber has spent more time on his cigarette break outside than actually fixing your sink, you find it amusing and smile.  Instead of feeing disgusted that a stranger is touching your baby affectionately with cigarette scented hands that have been God knows where, you start to feel proud that you live in a country that appreciates and loves children so much. You become proud of yourself for the conversational Italian that you have picked up over the years, knowing that you can get by without having to ask “parla inglese?”, not that that matters because they typically don’t anyway. You go out between the hours of one and five pm and instead of feeling annoyed that the shops are all closed you find yourself admiring that people take this time to spend with their families; that family and quality of life is more important than making money to them.

Each time that Ben and I travel home our hearts feel so heavy saying goodbye before leaving. We take full advantage of the modern conveniences of twenty four hour stores, Target, and all of the varieties of food offered in the US. We know that we will miss our families so much and dread the feelings of “disconnection” that we feel in Naples. Before we left this time we had contemplated returning for the holidays. Now that we have returned to Naples and gotten back into our routine we realize that it was a silly idea. We are fortunate enough to have a series of visitors from September to November. With loved ones coming to us, we know that we need to take full advantage of our time left in Europe. Now thinking of returning to the US I panic, thinking, what are we going to do with ourselves without travelling? How crazy is that? I guess you could say that I am a bit in frantic mode, trying to squeeze every ounce of travel and adventure in before we depart in March. I was caught of guard when a potential job that Ben may be taking talked to him about the possibility of moving in October. I panicked saying, “No way! We are not ready yet!.”

I know that when we move back to the US, whether it be Norfolk, Virginia or San Diego, California, we will be thrilled to be there. We will relish the fact that our families are so much closer and that we can make up for lost time with them. We can join them for holidays and focus on only three hours of a time difference instead of nine. We can spend more time going back and forth visiting family at a much cheaper cost and Camille can get to know her cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandparents better. So for now we will look forward to planning our final Europeans trips and entertaining our visitors, showing them all that we have loved experiencing here. We will spend more time travelling throughout this country and seeing more and more beautiful regions in Italy and appreciating Italian life.

We have an Italian babysitter and have instructed her to speak primarily to Camille in Italian. We want to be able to somewhat immerse Camille in this culture and though she won’t be able to fully appreciate it at least she will have a story to tell. When children go around the room to talk about where they were born most will undoubtedly list a city in America but our little Camille can proudly say, “Naples, Italy.” ;)

 Camille loves bread- a true Italiana!

 Spending a family day downtown, Castel Nuovo

 Camille and her beloved Italian babysitter, Anna. After two months of being away this summer Camille went right into her arms! 

There's No Place Like Home!

 My New Year's Resolution is to be more organized- starting with our blog! Considering that I haven't updated it in about 4 months now would probably be a good time to start!

I arrived safely in Naples on Friday after a glorious 8 weeks in the US. It was an extremely bittersweet departure. I was thrilled to be reunited with Ben and our furry children but devastated to leave my family, friends, and the comforts of home. Especially during a time that I am extremely hormonal, eek!

22 weeks pregnant. Baby's getting bigger! 

By now the cat's out of the bag that we are expecting our first child, a baby girl (!) due on June 11, 2011. We are incredibly excited and cannot wait to welcome this baby girl into our lives. I've had the pleasure of seeing her onscreen about 5 times already and each time it never fails to amaze me how fast she is growing! Or moving- during all of her ultrasounds we watch as she kicks furiously.  Even as I type this she is kicking me. If this is an indication of what her personality is going to be like Ben and I are surely in for an adventure, and we can't wait! Read my other blog post to be updated shortly, Feldman Baby on Board, if you are interested in hearing about how we learned about her upcoming arrival and how the pregnancy is going.

Back to our trip. After spending 8 1/2 months in Europe Ben and I were ready to go home. Let's take a look back at 2010 first. While we love living abroad and having the opportunity to travel, we had gone through so much change in 2010! 2010 started out with a bang as the 2009 holidays sped by and we finished the last minute details for our wedding. Our wedding was absolutely, 100% perfect and everything we have ever dreamed about. It was so beautiful and the love exuded to us by our family and friends was amazing. It was truly the picture perfect wedding! The wedding sped by and we departed for our two week honeymoon in Asia after. Yet another place Ben and I could only have dreamed about and we both agree that it was the most magical place we have ever been to. We returned to San Diego and immediately began the process of packing up our home for the move to Italy. The movers came and went and we were ready to say goodbye to our families and friends. February 26 was D Day, and it came, and went. We had learned that the Navy personnel in charge of my government paperwork and Visa had lost the application documents in transit and had no idea where they were. This put off our departure by another month and while we were happy to have the opportunity to be with friends and family for another month we were literally without a home. We were taken in by our sweet friends, Jen and Sean over the time being. Once the Navy got their act together, we left for Napoli and began our newly married life together. We arrived in Naples with no expectations whatsoever and did our best to get acquainted with our new home as quickly as possible. While in Italy, we got through the culture shock slowly and focused on the wonderful trips we were able to embark on throughout the year: Rome in April, Florence and Tuscany in May, Prague in June, Prague again in July (my trip with Mom), Barcelona in August, Germany in October, Assisi, Siena, and Tuscany again in November, and Belgium in November. How lucky are we?! We found our apartment in Posillipo and fell in love with our view and proximity to the hustle and bustle of downtown Italian living. We were not so in love with our 100 stairs or the 20 minute crazy drive to the freeway but it is what it is, right? Wrong. Unfortunately we had to decide that those 100 stairs and the crazy daily commute for Ben would not work for the next 2 1/2 years that we had left. After unpacking and settling into our Italian home, we packed up our things once again and moved back to mini-America, aka the US military base. We were elated to now have 1,800 sq feet of space, closets, a huge kitchen, and zero stairs! Now we could settle in to living on base and a new routine smoothly, right? Wrong. One week after moving to base we learned that I was pregnant! We were very, very happy and blessed just very, very surprised. :) We spent the next 2 months unpacking our things but to this day still have one room filled with boxes and our walk in closet has yet to be organized. This was the morning sickness' fault, no joke :) It gives me another project and while it sounds weird, I'm actually looking forward to working on it! During those final three months before the holidays, we celebrated a fun Pre-Thanksgiving dinner at our home with friends, went to Tuscany and Belgium, AND ta-daaaa, acquired Luigi our official Naples stray literally picked up  from the streets of Chiaia downtown. So, although I went on a tangent, that is a synopsis of how we spent 2010 leading up to our trip back to the US in December. Whew! I think it is understandable that Ben and I were overwhelmed (though happily overwhelmed) and were in major need of a trip home to regroup and exhale from the events of the year.

I was basically dancing throughout the days leading to my departure to the US and can honestly say it was one 15 hour trip I was overjoyed to take. Those who know me well know that I can't stand flying (even though I married a pilot, go figure) but even the turbulence didn't scare me. I stayed awake during the entire flight and groggy as I was upon arriving in SF as my mom put it, I practically kissed the ground. The reel they play on tv screens depicting scenes from the US' sights and welcoming you to the US? Yes, I got teary eyed at those. Me with my hormones + groggy from travelling and lack of sleep + arriving in San Francisco + being surrounded by non-military oriented citizens speaking English = an emotional wreck. As ridiculous as it sounds, it was probably my favorite day of 2010 besides my wedding day. The best part was that I came out of customs and was greeted by my mom and sister with a bouquet of flowers. It really couldn't get any better than that!

I spent the first few days catching up with my family and my close friends. I was able to spend time with my nieces and nephews who I am very, very close to and could not believe how much they've grown! Especially my favorite baby boy in the whole, entire world, my godson/nephew Tristan who is now almost two and practically talking! I was able to see my best friends and announce my pregnancy. I cannot begin to describe how special it was to celebrate the upcoming arrival of our baby with my dearest friends who have known me for the past 13 years. This is the first baby in the group! In fact, while I was at home, I was able to bring my Mom and best friends to two of the baby's ultrasounds so that they could share the excitement with me and see her on the big screen. It was truly amazing.

Jen and Jacqueline come to visit me from San Diego! 

I took full advantage of the US amenities and things I had always taken for granted before- going to Starbucks for my favorite mocha, going to grocery stores, going to the movies, even going to Target (!), were now huge luxuries for me. I was in heaven. In fact, the first time I walked into Safeway, I walked through every aisle in awe. If there is anything that Ben and I can take from living overseas it is to not only treasure the relationships we have with our family and friends that we miss with all of our hearts each and every day but to realize that as Americans, we have so much to be grateful for. I know it may appear materialistic to be grateful for things like food options, shopping, etc, but I honestly think that no one ever stops to think about the big picture- the ease and efficiency of life in the US, not to mention the friendliness and questions asked by complete strangers "How is your day going?" - until you have been away from it. I found myself transforming into the person I was before I left, someone who finds joy in all of the events of daily US life: going to Starbucks, picking up my little nieces and nephews from school, having dinner with my family, driving on non-chaotic freeways, having conversations with strangers in stores (I wanted to talk to everyone!), all of the little things I had never thought about before. It was as if the moodiness I had been feeling over the past months had disappeared right along with the morning sickness and a huge weight was lifted from my shoulders. I couldn't wait until Ben arrived so that we could share it together!

Ben arrived about two weeks later and we loved spending Christmas with my family. We had a family dinner (family, as in 20 people consisting of my immediate family!) 4 nights in a row and enjoyed every second of it! We drove through San Francisco feeling like tourists and "sightseeing," went throughout the neighborhood marvelling at Christmas lights, did our Christmas shopping, and at the end of the trip, had a 3D ultrasound performed where we learned that our baby was officially a girl! His time in San Francisco was chock full of special moments.

We were able to go back to Boston for New Year's and did it all over again! We spent time with Ben's family, enjoyed being with his friends, and had a wonderful baby shower that almost felt like a reunion with people that had been able to attend our wedding earlier on in 2010! Ben's sister, Eve, put together an adorable compilation of Ben and my baby pictures that we were able to watch and display for our guests.We also drove throughout Boston like tourists and felt like we were in a winter wonderland as we loved the snow on the ground and didn't even mind the cold! I extended my trip to Boston by a few days so that Ben and I could be together for a bit longer before he was off to Florida for Navy related training and then on his way back to Naples.

Like father, like son! 

A wonderful Boston baby shower with family and close friends! Ben's family hosted the shower at the ideal venue and Eve compiled an adorable slideshow of our baby pictures. It was perfect!  

I returned to San Francisco and was showered by my family and closest friends at our baby shower! Complete with a craft table where my friends could "decorate" onesies for our baby, baby games like determining which baby food was which (it was fun, but not a fan of baby food!) little centerpieces filled with beautiful flowers, handmade invitations, favors, and a cake, and wonderful gifts, my sisters and best friends, Lydia and Vanessa truly went above and beyond to make sure it was an unforgettable experience. I am so blessed to have my amazing sisters and best friends in my life. :)

The cake- made by Sofia! 

A whole new series of onesies for Baby, designed by all of our guests! 

Lydia spent so much time putting together arrangements and decorations, Vanessa spent all of the time putting them up and decorating the house and my beautiful sisters spent time cooking and putting the shower together. I'm a lucky girl! 

Our baby shower guests 

My beautiful sisters 

My best friends and hostesses 

 The remaining few weeks (which completely flew by, where does time go?!) were spent organizing baby items for our Navy shipment. One of the great benefits that the Navy offers is to pack up your baby related items from a location in the US and ship it overseas to your duty station and unload it for you. I was thrilled to hear about this from my friend Jennifer and arranged it right away. Ana and Tono's garage was filled with tons and tons of baby items (and some household items, shhhh) and I'm sure it was a huge relief for them when the movers came to pick everything up! It was a flurry of activity getting everything put together combined with spending as much time as possible with my family and doing girls' nights with my friends. My mom rearranged her schedule completely and put aside each day to spend much needed quality time with me. It was a very special bonding time for us as soon there will be a little peanut added to our mother daughter mix!

Our last Asian meal together :( 

Good-byes were extremely difficult and I dreaded each day leading up to my departure, but being home allowed me to recharge my batteries, so to speak, and begin a fresh start in Naples. All of the frustrations I had felt before I left were not as significant to me anymore as I know that my return to Italy signifies a new chapter in our lives. One where we can truly begin the "nesting process" and prepare our home and ourselves for the arrival of our baby. We have so much to look forward to- a trip to Paris (a delayed anniversary trip) this upcoming weekend, a trip to Portugal for President's Day, and our plans to explore different parts of Italy as my pregnancy progresses and it becomes more difficult to fly. My mom and company arrive at the end of April (thank God for this, since Ben will be in the States doing flight training and I would have panicked being on my own so late in the pregnancy game!) She returns in June to help with the early newborn stages and sleepless nights (again, Mom to the rescue!) and Ben's family comes in July to meet the baby! My sister and family come in early August to explore Napoli and then Ben and I plan to return to the States in early September to introduce the baby and spend time recharging our batteries once again! :) So much to look forward to and we are thrilled.

This weekend we were able to look at things with a sense of humor again vs. the rolling of our eyes that we might have done before. First off, I was greeted by absolutely gorgeous weather which never fails to improve my mood! It was wonderful to spend quality time with Ben and the dogs again and get settled back into our home. Here are a couple of shots of "daily life" that made us laugh:

Who needs a truck when you can strap your furniture to the top of your Fiat? 

Some people take the "boots with the fur" concept to a whole new level! 

This one not only had the leopard leggings, but the leopard shoes to match! 

An unlikely pair of friends

And taaadaaaa...Ben's new car/aka skateboard on wheels. He drives this beauty to work every day! All of our guests will have the opportunity to ride in it. If they're lucky:

*Stay tuned, I'm finally posting blogs that I had written way before Christmas! Just have to add the pics and they're up!

Cucinando di Vera: Ben's First Italian Cooking Class

Tonight Ben participated in his first Italian cooking class. I took pictures to document that yes, my husband, actually does cook (and he's good at it too :) ).

After questioning why we were paying close to $80 for an Italian "meal," Ben learned shortly that you are paying for the experience. During our time here, I have attended "Cooking with Vera", an Italian cooking session hosted by an ex-pat out of her home. What do you get when you go to a cooking class at Vera's house? A first course (actually several first courses), a main course, a side dish, a dessert, and unlimited wine. Not to mention bringing home extras which are good for another entire meal.

Ben had the duty of peeling and chopping the garlic (what he does best in my kitchen :) ) and sauteeing spinach, while I basically did everything else Vera asked me to do. The room is set up with different tables, so that everyone casually talks while the chop, saute, mix, you name it. Vera simply yells for attention when she is explaining a technique or tips on perfecting the recipe. It is a fun time because you not only get to congregate with other people and chat while you're cooking, but everyone has the opportunity to sit down at the end and enjoy the full meal and fruits of our labor.

It is a running joke between the regulars at Vera's to watch her Italian assistant, Donna, who does everything requested of her but rolls her eyes and grumbles at every opportunity possible. Not to mention takes smoke breaks every ten minutes. At night time Vera hires someone to watch everyone's cars in the grassy lot next to her house, to ensure that there are no break ins or incidents of theft. Keep in mind that this is not an unsafe area, just part of what they do to avoid sketchy situations in Naples! Hey, at least we prepare for the worst!

On the menu tonight: grilled portobello mushrooms with garlic and parsley dressing, spinach and ricotta pizza, spinach and egg pastry (very similar to quiche), Neapolitan lasagna, saltimbocca, and Italian chocolate mousse for dessert. We left with our bellies very full- Ben made sure to stuff our plastic take home containers with food "for the baby" (I'd be lucky if I had the opportunity to sniff the food before it goes off to work with him tomorrow)- and a full understanding of the Italian cooking experience in someone's home. What I will have are the food smells which remain on my clothes and my hair. Cooking in a Neapolitan kitchen may quite possibly give cooking in a Filipino kitchen a run for the money.

Two of the ladies talked about how they will be giving American cooking lessons to Italian ladies from their Church. A few of the Italian ladies' favorites? Enchiladas and banana bread! I guess technically enchiladas are not American but hey, it's definitely different from anything in the Italian cuisine!

My friend Kelly and I are always cooking buddies. We also made our first turkey together at my home over Thanksgiving!

To top off our night? We were minding our own business when we approached the base, got pulled over by the Carabinieri across the street, were asked several times in a row by the Carabinieri for our "documenti", were in the process of handing them over, and were asked, "American?" Umm...yes, and we just pointed to the base three times and tried to play dumb because we had absolutely no idea why we were pulled over...but were waved off saying "Okay, no problem," with a little wave, big smiles, and a honk goodbye as they drove by us. We are still scratching our heads over that one.

All three of us, Ben, baby, and I, will be sleeping well tonight!