Journal 4

Today we are off to Capri! We took the hotel shuttle bus to the Naples port to catch one of the boats for the 45 minute ride across the Mediterranean to the tiny island. On the bus ride in we met two couples. The first couple was from Australia, and were on a month long vacation in Italy and then on to Greece. They were going to catch the train to Rome for the day. The second couple was on their way into the center of town for some shopping. They were from Virginia, and were just beginning a three-year stay in Naples. She worked for the government at the military base and he was a stay home husband. He joked that his job was to find the perfect place to rent, and also to check out the cool places to take the wife to when she got off work. Both Stacey and the other husband raised their eyebrows and looked at us with this look of whatever! I have taken the boat over to Capri twice before, and after having to use the handy little "bag" on my first trip I learned to take my dramamine prior to departure. It was smooth sailing this time and Stacey stood outside with me on the back deck so we could get the fresh air...just in case! It was nice looking back at Naples fading in the distance as we got farther out. To our right, was Mt. Vesuvius that sits just off the coast. Every time I see it I have to put my finger up on the right side of the mountain and trace what would have been the line up to where the top of the mountain should be, and down the left side of the mountain to connect the line to the other side. A guide showed us how to do it on my first trip to Pompeii and it still amazes me to see how much was blown off when it erupted in 79 AD. We took a gondola ride up to the main town and set out to check on hotels for a possible overnighter later on in the summer. Shopping on Capri has been compaired to shopping on Rodeo Drive. Every designer name you can think of has a little shop here. But I was really looking for the one or two shops I have heard of that make the hand made sandals before your eyes. We saw a beautiful hotel with a second floor balcony that overlooked one of the main streets and ate lunch there. We ordered pasta and both were great, but Stacey's gnoccho (potato dumpling) was the best! As I have learned to say, delizioso. After lunch we walked back through the hotel lobby to the pool area! It was amazing! In-between the hotel and pool area was another eating area that was totally shaded with a canopy of lemon trees. They had hundreds of large lemons hanging from every tree over the entire area! Beyond that was the pool. It sat higher up on a five foot terrace. But the side wall that was between the pool and the canopy eating area was made of thick plexiglass, and you could see into the side of the pool. It would be a very nice place to stay...someday. On to look for the sandal man and more sites. We made our way to an overlook area taking pictures along the way of cascading flowers along walls, in huge planter, and growing in what seemed like hundreds of yard of overhead canopies of buglavari and wisteria flowers. The overlook was spectacular!! Took lots of pictures of the famous coastline and of the many boats floating off the coast. The boats ranged from LARGE yachts, to tiny rowboats. The water was crystal clear and the rocks on the bottom were as clear as if there were no water at all. We checked out one more hotel with what has to be one of the best views on the island and headed back to catch the 3:00 o' clock ferry back to Naples. While Stacey went to get tickets for the ferry, I went to buy some water for the ride back and the cash register just happened to by next to the Gelato, so I thought, "Why not?" I got two dips so I could share with Stacey. But, he took to long buying the tickets and it was melting, so I had to eat the whole thing by myself. Stacey did remember to ask me a couple of hours later, "Hey, did I see you over there eating some Gelato when I was buying the tickets?" I informed him that I had to eat his share because it was melting on my hands and I didn't want to be sticky. He gave me a half smile and said, "Thanks for thinking of me." I did give him the water I had purchased. The ride back was great. We got to sit on top of the ferry, along with the rest of the Japanese that seem to be the majority. Two older women sat a foot across from us and sitting straight up, SLEPT LIKE BABIES THE ENTIRE WAY BACK! They had their purses and bags strapped tighly around their necks, through their arms and around their legs, so nothing would disappear while they were dozing. I had to sneak a quick picture of them. They were really cute. When we got back to Naples, the hotel bus picked us up, then made another stop outside the train station to pick up anyone else needing a ride back. I noticed a begger working the entire street the whole 15 minutes we sat there. He had no problem walking up to cars and sticking his hands inside for a handout. I would watch him scope out prospective easy targets. Everyone who was pulling a suitcase, meaning a tourist with money, was approached. Anyone stuck in traffice with their window rolled down, or people unlocking their cars and loading up children or packages. The thing that bothered me the most was he was dressed in very nice clean clothes, which didn't appear to be old or hurt. He was also puffing on cigarettes the entire time. There are beggers everywhere in Naples, but I think this guy makes a good living working that corner. Back at the hotel, we decided to stay in our room after our workout and just ordered up a sandwich. We watched the USA and Italy soccer match on TV. Whenever the Italian team would score or do something good we could hear someone blow a very loud horn out their hotel doorway. After the match, which ended in a tie, Stacey being the competitor that he is, promptly walked to the sliding glass door, and yelled out as loud as he could, "Why don't you blow your horn now?!!" I was mortifiied and told him to shut the door, close the drape, and hope that nobody knows who yelled that because we won't be leaving here alive tomorrow! He just laughed and said, "Let 'em play us in baseball next!" He went to bed proud as a peacock to be an American that night.

Journal 3

Today we headed for Naples, but not before breakfast in the dining room. For the first time we sat in the back, next to the sliding glass doors that look out onto the golf course. The European Ladies Tour was having a tournament, so there was a host of activity. It was fun to watch the ladies gearing up and heading out from the clubhouse. Of course, I was watching to see what they were wearing, noticing that Izod shirts and slim fitting knee length shorts were the preferred fashion look. White, pink, and green if you needed a little more detail. We ended up being distracted, and having a great time, watching three Italian workers build a plant stand in between us and the golf course, in a small green belt area. There were a few other plant stands, so it was easy to tell what the end result was going to be. One man, started off by carrying in the bricks, one by one. The bricks looked to be a least four inches thick and a square foot in diameter. This took him some time to carry them from one place to another, and he was in no hurry. After he carried in about five bricks, he brought in a five gallon bucket of water with a big, fat, brush. He then dipped the brush into the water and flicked it onto each side of all the bricks, and onto the flat two foot, by two foot concrete platform that the bricks were to be laid on. He then took what looked like a very well used mallet, and skillfully chipped around each brick, and then breaking them into exactly the size he needed them to be. He did all of this while continuously puffing on a cigarette. Earlier, I had wondered why he didn't use a wheel barrel to carry in the bricks when the second worker answered that question. He was using the only wheel barrel to carry in the two bags of cement. When he arrived the discussion started, and in typical Italian style, arms were waving and gestures were used to help explain what ever they were discussing. It was hard to tell if they were talking about the plan to build the two foot high, two foot wide plant stand, or if they were talking about the World Cup Soccer games going on, that seems to have consumed the Italians like the Super Bowl consumes the Americans. The first worker then took the five gallon bucket of water and poured it into the wheel barrel and began mixing the cement. A third worker then showed up along with what looked like "The Boss" because he was in a suit and tie. Very typical attire for Italian men. The term "Business Casual" is unthinkable for any respectable Italian. Again, a very vigorous discussion took place between the three workers and the man in the suit. The third man must have been the supervisor because after the discussion he disappeared again, along with the man in the suit. Back to Mario and Tony, which is the names that I feel suited them perfectly, who were eyeballing the bricks, the platform, the wet cement, and a few more of the female golfers walking by, and finally started to build the plant stand. Mario, the first worker, shoveled the cement onto the platform in what looked like just big globes, and with no thought of much he was putting down. But in the end, he knew exactly what he was doing, because Tony used a trowel and smoothed out the piles into the perfect thickness that was needed, from edge to edge. In between his artistic strokes, he never missed a beat puffing on his cigarette. Mario finally placed the first brick down, eyeballed it with the help of his small level, tapped it into place and stepped back with Tony to admire their progress. I would have loved to stay and watch the pair build the rest of the plant stand, but the drive to Naples was ahead of us, so we left. I walked away smiling, think they didn't make a mess of their workplace, no extension cords were used, no skill saws, or blueprints were needed. No noisy machinery to disturb the golfers, or in my mind the peace and quiet of my Italian countryside. It was a small, insignificant event in the everyday lives of Mario and Tony, yet I will remember them always. With a small suitcase and our Ipod plugged into the car radio, we were off to Naples. Stacey pointed out various points of interest along the way that we must come back to explore. I love the fact that he has a photographic memory and every story or town that he has heard of triggers an adventure for us. The photographic memory also comes in handy when getting around the countryside. The last thirty minutes to the hotel was one of Stacey's typical shortcuts that he likes to take and was off the beaten path to say the least! We took so many turns, went down dirt roads, and had to pick our way around a road crew that was digging up something ancient I'm sure, to finally pull into our hotel. I was pleased with "The View." The hotel sits on a golf course, which I might add at this point are few and far between in Italy, but Stacey has managed to find two places for us to stay that just happen to be on a golf course. The Naples Soccer team also uses this place to home base their soccer practices, and a soccer field sits along side the gof course. In fact, the manager of the soccer team and his wife live here almost year round. During the season, the players show up on Wednesdays, practice for a few days and then play on Sundays. We checked into our room which looked directly out to the pool and beyond that the Mediterranean Sea. It was wonderful! We ate a light lunch down in the main lobby area by the fireplace, which Stacey said they have burning in the winter. We were in the center of a very large, comfortable room, with lots of chairs and couches. The bar was off to one side, and on the other side of the room, sat a pool table that Stacey said keeps the soccer players busy when they are not practicing. Out the huge glass sliding doors, that spread the entire back wall, is a covered patio with padded wicker chairs and couches that sit in groupings around small coffee tables. Beyond that, a nicely manicured lawn, the spacious pool, flowered covered cabanas, and then the golf course that runs right up to the edge of the beach. Before Stacey left for a meeting, he showed me how to log onto the internet with the only two computers available in the lobby. I had a short thiry minutes to learn the Italian keyboard, which is different from the American ones, read my emails, and try to send a couple back home before time ran out. I went back up to our room, opened the sliding glass doors, let the breeze float in, moved the little table and chair next to the open door, and worked on my computer for the next three hours while listening to the waves. The time flew by and before I knew it Stacey was back. We changed into our workout clothes, went upstairs to the workout room that consisted of two treadmills, an FX machine and one stationary bike. They did have fresh towels, cold water and scales that seemed lighter than mine back home. What more did we need? We came back down after an hour and sat out on our small balcony to cool down. Showered, and then moved to the covered patio for a drink before dinner. The bartender and Stacey were on friendly terms, as Stacey was with almost everyone who worked at the hotel. Stacey even told me we needed to avoid the American businessman, who is there more than Stacey is, and drives everyone crazy with his "I can one up your story every time attitude." Along with the drinks, the bartender brought out a bowel of these huge green olives that were delicious, peanuts, and two different kinds of chips to munch on. Please, no more!!! We just got off the treadmill!! We then went to dinner and had a wonderful pasta plate with three different kinds of bread, in the never empty bread basket. I was stuffed, but when the waiter mentioned Gelato, I had to accept. Before we left to go upstairs and call it a night, we got our complementary glass of Lemonchello!!

Journal 2

Ok, my day started off with more sleep under my belt, and a hope filled quest to follow up on my husband's comment last night of, "What's our game plan on finding out what our options are for our living arrangements?" After breakfast of some sweet juice that left me curious of the fruit that it came from, and some not so sweet, but perfectly looking croissants, Stacey dropped me off at the Sheraton Rome down the highway to check out what the rooms looked like there, and what the prices might be. He was off the Naples for the day. So, I was house shopping in Rome, on my own, without my cell phone, a map, a guide, or my mom! But, chin up, I could do this! So I waited for an hour and a half, after I was told the in-house reservationists would be there in a few minutes. I sat very patiently, knowing all about "Italian Work Hours" and not getting the least bit upset. After all, I had no appointment, and anyway, I was having a great time people watching, and taking mental notes of what everyone was wearing, lest I not make the mistake of looking like a tourist! A very rushed, and very short Italian, of which I cannot remember his name, passed me off to his newest employee, Carlos, who had only been working at the hotel for one month. He very graciously showed me the choices of rooms that ranged from a very nice $600.00 a night suite, to a $300.00 a night junior suite, to which on the way to the lowly standard double room, he asked me what my price range was. When I prompltly replied, "$125.00 per night," Carlos's English either stopped prior to learning his numbers or he had a brain freeze, because he stopped abruptly and looked at me wide-eyed and asked, "$125.oo per night?" The tour was quickly over with all the niceties that Carlos could muster. He did say that he would work a miraculous deal of $185.00 per night for the lowly double standard room on the executive floor. I'm sure the Pope himself would have been satisfied with the standard room deal that I had just made, but it was still over my budget! After a quick walk around the beautiful pool area, that I was not going to get to use, I was back in a taxi picturing the hedge outside our room. I was calculating my next move when I was brought back to my senses with my wild ride. I said two Hail Mary's and one Our Father prayer, gripped the seat, and hung on for dear life! I managaed my first official money exchange in Euro with the taxi driver, bid him a quick ciao, and found my footing again with my feet planted firmly on the ground. Now, back at my hotel, I went to the front desk and asked to make an appointment with the in-house reservationists. Alexia was very sweet on the phone, and asked if there was a problem with our room. No except that I am a spoiled brat and want a view, thank you very much! Of course, I didn't say that, I just told her I wanted to know what our options were. It was 11:30 A.M. and Alexia made an appointment for 3:00 P.M. Great! I just had time to get my two hours of tanning I had allotted for the day. A quick change into my two piece bathing suit, that cleverly covered me up like a one piece, that took many hours to find prior to coming to the land of "non one piece bathing suit loving women," my glasses, my novel, and I was off to the pool. Through a light breeze, I could smell the sweet flowers that covered the cute cabana area on the other side of the pool, and as I melted into the wicker lounge chair, I pretended I was sunbathing at my Tuscan Villa. Back to reality, and the quest for a room with view! A quick shower and I was off to meet Alexia, and to my surprise, her boss, a very short and very round Italian, named Antonio. They both were very sweet and tried very hard to impress me with thier hotel. In the newer part of our hotel, which in reality is an entire new building down the road, was a "ROOM WITH A VIEW" and all the niceties I was hoping for. Of course it turned out to be a $500.00 per night room! Well, no problem! I was not willing to lose my room with a view again, and I reminded Antonio that we were going to be long term guest, American guest. (That should be worth something!) Antonio was all smiles and was not going to lose his long term guest to the other, NICER hotel down the street, and was going to do some math and get back to me. I think I heard the figure I needed to hear, but I don't want to jinx myself by saying it out loud. After my tour was competed, I was just about to send out my first emails in the little email closet, area that was set up for guest, when Stacey appeared. He was back earlier than expected from Naples. I filled him in on my days investigations and we went straight to look at the room with a view. The view was not of the Tuscan countryside, but of the golf course and it sent shivers up Stacey's spine, and my hopes raised for a conference call back to the boss for an adjustment to the living budget! We will make a decision after we get the final numbers from Antonio. You see, we have to be in the Rome area for at least the first three months because Stacey travels so much from one area to the next and Rome is right in the middle. Later this Fall, we may move up to the Umbria region, (next to Tuscany) because his work may focus more, day to day, in that area. So, after our first hard day in Italy, we changed our clothes and went to the fitness room to do our "work out!" Our vow is to stay in shape while we are here in the land of good eats! Well, to first get into shape and then to stay in shape while we are here in the land of good eats! After our hour work out, what did we do? We went to eat of course! Stacey took me to one of his wonderful finds. It is a family owned place and I can't remember the name just now. It is only a short 10 minute drive from our hotel to the small town of Fumocino, which just happens to sit right on the Mediterranean Sea. We had to wait for a draw bridge to raise and lower, in order to let a few sailboats and working fishing boats to pass, then we crossed over the inlet waterway. After parking our car, I got out and was standing in front of this dilapidated home. I had to just stand there and stare in disbelief at the beautiful hydrangeas growing in a ten foot plot of dirt in front of a the home. Everyone grows things in Italy, no matter where they live. Next door sat the restaurant, and we were greeted by a very friendly young man named Max. Stacey and Max acted like old friends. The restaurant was nothing fancy, but had all the standard Italian protocal that I remembered about this amazing country. Not opening before 8:00 P.M., seating inside and out, candles on every table, linen tablecloths and napkins, fresh fish purchased that morning just off the boats coming in, and two little ladies doing all the cooking in the back. I looked around and smiled witnessing once again, a scene you could watch every night, in almost every Italian eatery. Couples holding hands during their four hour meal, children sitting with their parents for the first two hours of the mea,l then pulling two chairs together to make a bed for the next two hours of the meal, like it was standard bedtime procedure. Then the meal. It was fabulous!Stacey ordered all his favorites which included fancy little appetizers, pasta, and lobster. The wine had a great story that matched it's taste. Stacey asked for it by name, and I spent a wonderful twenty minutes learning how he had discovered it. He heard the story from one of the many bartender friends he has come to know from spending so many nights sitting in hotels. It was a wine made from grapes that are grown in a little area between Rome and Naples. At one time, a Roman Emperor had made a summer home in that area and loved the wine so much, that he built a road straight from Rome to the vineyard so he could get the wine easier. Now, that's a good reason to build a road! Before leaving, Max made sure we had one last glass of Lemonchello...on the house of course!

The view of our BIG FAT HEDGE! It's not to exciting is it?

Stacey's office! His brand new Alfa Ramero. When we picked the car up it only had 34 miles on it, after two weeks of driving to work and back he now has over 2,000 miles on it! Ouch! Good thing the six month's lease is unlimited miles.

Journal 1

We arrived at our hotel early afternoon. Crashed for an hour before dragging ourselves out of bed to catch a taxi to pick up our rental car. It wasn't to far away, just down the road to the NICER hotel. A smile appeared on Stacey's face to find out his rental car was a brand new Alfa Ramero with only 34 miles on it! Stacey was happy with "his office" for the next six months, seeing how he was going to be spending long hours in his car. But when it came to "my office" I was not so lucky. The saying, "You get what you pay for," certainly pertained to our home for the next six months. I didn't think I was spoiled, but then again, maybe I am when it comes to traveling around Italy in the way I have become accustomed too. I was having to really give myself a big pep talk about our living conditions! From our room we had a great view out our back door onto a beautiful golf course...that is to say, if the building had been two stories high and we happened to be on the second floor, because that way we would have been able to see over the BIG FAT HEDGE that blocked our view! Not to worry, I had a fallback plan. Not only was I looking forward to the view out my new Italian villa, I was also looking forward to sitting outside my villa to soak up some of the those Tuscan evenings, sipping on the wine Stacey and I had just purchased at some quant winery that we had discovered on one of our many adventures that I had dreamed up in my head. Ok, so I wasn't going to be in the Tuscan countryside everyday, or even look at it off in the distance out my window, but if I walked out our front door, down the hallway, down the stairs, across the parking lot, up the stairs, around the building with the rooms that had a view of the pool with cute little sitting areas just outside their doors, uhum, across the lawn to the pool, around the pool to the the cute little cabana covered in the sweetest smelling flowers, to those cozy wicker chairs, I could just about make it work! I could sit there, close my eyes and smell the flowers and pretend I was in some Tuscan country home and the flowers were growing up the side of my villa! That wouldn't be so bad, and I could just about make myself believe it, because after all, I WAS in Italy! But NO, that wasn't happening either! I think every soccer loving Italian within a mile radius squeezes into that cute little cabana area covered with the sweet smelling flowers, because of the TV installed into the upper corner, tuned into the World Cup Soccer games! So much for my months of dreaming, planning, and envisioning my country estate with the "room with a view" of a Tuscan vineyard that rolled up and over a picturesque horizon, or my lesser preferred view from my downtown Rome apartment, looking out at the postcard view of the rooftop restaurants scattered across Rome! Wow is me at this point!!

Ashley Who?

Ashley is a friend of mine from home. She is also a wife, stepmom, teacher, daughter, sister, and a computer wiz who has, ever so gently, found a way for me to stay in touch with everyone back home by creating this blog. Now it is up to me to post my journal entrys and pictures, along with everything else we will discover on our "Italian Get-A-Way." I know Ashley will be behind me all the way, coaching me, teaching me, and hopefully along with everyone else sharing this wonderful experience with me!