Speedos and hair styles

My morning began amidst a flurry of madness when I went downstairs to have my hair done. There is a salon in our piazza, quite popular among the little old Italian ladies as well as younger clientele. For this reason, there is never any shortage of seeing women from all walks of life sitting outside smoking and gossiping over their cappucinos.

The salon is probably no larger than 800 square feet and you can only imagine the chaos. I've become resigned to the fact that no matter where I go, the second I open my mouth I will always encounter staring. I forgot that today is the last day the salon will be open because it will be closed for three weeks for holiday (did you know that the standard is 42 days off per year for Italians, excluding their own personal vacation and sick days?! Lucky, lucky people), thus it was even more packed than usual. So, I walk in and literally don't know what to do with myself. There are probably about 8 chairs, all occupied, and no one at the main desk. I stand there for about 10 minutes until someone acknowledges my presence and gestures for me to sit for awhile. I hadn't realized that everyone who comes into a salon greets everyone (loudly, I might add) so it's no wonder why they stared at me this time, probably thinking about my rudeness, before they even realized I was American. After I was finally seated, it was a great experience for me to do some staring of my own. I watched as about 20 people came and left, greeting each other loudly and yelling to each other from each end of the room in conversation, commenting on each other's hair styles, and waving their hands in the air. I can't tell you how strange it it to watch as they kiss each other's cheeks and greet one another at one moment, and then roll their eyes at each other and yell frantically the next with hand gestures. I've come to realize that they are all gestures of affection and definitely part of the culture. In the past I had compared getting my hair done with going to the spa, as it typically gives you the time to read a magazine and just have some time to yourself. I have now thrown that idea out the window. It is now a "community" experience and quite entertaining at that. I left the salon with a haircut, enough hairspray in my hair to realize I probably shouldn't go near any flames in the near future, and a new perspective of what it means to get your hair done.

Speaking of spas, I visited two Italian "spas" last weekend. They were both located in an area called Lucrino, easily accessible by the train, and overlook a lake. Both kind of reminded me of summer camps with thermal spas and saunas/steam rooms. The second was much nicer than the first as it sprawled out over a massive piece of land, offered about 5 pools, sauna, steam room, gym, and mani/pedi services, all for only 25 euro per day! The only creepy part was the mud pool, aka swamp looking thing where people were literally going in and giving themselves mud masks and swimming with the fish. We went with our friends for the day and were amused to see a few men (in speedos, which is the standard here of course) head to toe in mud and laying in the sun. They looked like sea creatures! I tried to get a few pictures, hopefully you can see him:

I actually even attempted to go in, realizing that there's got to be a benefit to this "mud treatment" but once I saw the swampy looking fish that was it for me.

We were surprised to learn that you are required to wear swim caps in all pools (go figure) so I also had my first opportunity to wear a swim cap:
Interesting.

We've had quite a bit of activity over the past month. My mom's visit came and went- she has decided to do a guest blog to write about her perspective of Naples' through a visitor's eyes, which I love-and we have lots to tell about that. Ben and I finally purchased our terrace furniture and can now entertain and enjoy the incredible views (which, as you know is the reason why we moved in here to begin with!) just in time for the beautiful, cooler weather that has come our way. We have learned to appreciate the idiosyncrasies of our new city, instead of criticize, and take full advantage of sightseeing and embracing our home. While stuck in traffic last week, we decided to make a list of the top ten Neapolitan favorites. Please know that none of these are meant to be offensive or derogatory in any way, they are just observations we've made:)
Favorite things to do, in no specific order:
1. Stare.
2. Wear purple, head to toe. Royal purple is THE color of the year in Naples. Fat, skinny, tall, short, it's all purple here
3. Sunbathe. I give up-I've realized that no matter how dark I get I will absolutely never be as tan as Neapolitans in the summertime. It's like a job for some, they do it every single day. Sunbathing on the rocks is a popular pasttime.
4. Tailgate with pizza. I think you'd have to see our piazza on a Fri/Sat/Sun night to believe it. It's like an American football game swapping the burgers for pizza, and minus the football.
5. Light fireworks. 2 AM is not an exception, enough said. The other day when we were at the Royal Palace in Caserta they were being lit in town at 3 pm. Who can even see fireworks at 3 pm?
6.Move at their own pace in all aspects of life besides driving. Then they absolutely have to get there first and as fast as possible, most likely to move at their own pace in whatever they're doing
7.Be first in line at any cost.
8. Use the phrases "Allora" (our version of hmm.. or um..) and "Va bene" (okay or it's okay) as often as possible
9. PDA. Mom said she was going to count the number of couples she saw making out in public. Unfortunately, we didn't drive by the areas where newspaper fully lines the car windows. Ahem.
10. Speak passionately, live life to the fullest, and embody a strong sense of community, always.