Paradise in Positano

This past weekend we took another day trip to Positano on the Amalfi Coast.  It was absolutely beautiful and we enjoyed our time there.  The seafood is fresh and delicious and there are many fun shops along the steep and hilly streets.  This is a town we will be back to many times.  Here are a few pictures from our day in Positano...

 Lily's lunch request was calamari and anchovies - Brave girl!

 "Bella"

 We walked from the beach all the way to the top of the hill-over 500 steps!

 These 2 love the beach

 Lunch on the beach

Views from Ravello

Some of our favorites from Ravello (Amalfi Coast)

We are lucky to have the Amalfi Coast so close to Naples.  It is a great Saturday or Sunday getaway and only an hour and a half away!  We hope to be back frequently.

Driving in southern Italy

So, driving around in Naples has to be one of the craziest experiences ever.  The first day Trevor drove me around, I was in shock with the lack of rules like no stopping at stop signs, running red lights left and right, yielding or not yielding, extreme fast and slow speeds, 2 lane roads made into 4 or 5 lane roads, passing whenever and wherever, drifting into 2 lanes and staying there, very narrow roads, mopeds zooming by from the left and right and in front from the other lane, and just pure chaos.  Since the first day, I have had to jump right in and go for it while getting used to driving a manual car as well.  I can tell you that after a week of driving in the chaos, I am somewhat used to it now and am not so shocked at all of the craziness.  It is still an absolutely crazy driving experience but "when in Rome..."

School Days

This was a big week!  Lily had her first day of kindergarten and Harrison had his first day of preschool...at an Italian bilingual school.  Lily is the only American in her class although she has managed to meet the other 2 students who speak some English.  Harrison may be the only American in his class.  The kids have adjusted just fine.  They will be speaking Italian before too long.  I think I am having a harder time letting my little ones grow up.  It makes me both sad to let them go and happy for this incredible experience they are having. 

                   First day of school!

H and I had a gelato/granita date after his first day at preschool.  He is such a big boy these days.  

We found an Italian Lightning McQueen.  

2 days of school down.  We will see how the first full week goes next week.  Wish us luck! 

 

We will be back!

For Labor Day weekend we decided to head up to Cinque Terre for a few days for a little R and R.  It was a great trip and we can't wait to go back.  Cinque Terre is absolutely beautiful.  We explored 4 out of the 5 towns taking trains and boats from town to town. We stayed in the northern most town called Monterosso.  We rented a great apartment that was only a 5 minute walk to the beach/restaurants and shopping.  We played on the beach, ate anchovies, foccacia and pesto.  One night, Lily ordered a plate of fried calamari for her dinner.  Harrison stuck to the plain pasta, although everyone tried the anchovies and loved them.

On the way up, we stopped in Pisa for the classic Leaning Tower photographs.  The kids had fun!

On our way back to Naples, we stopped in a cute town called Lucca.  This town is surrounded by a stone wall that was built in the 1400's.  We rented bikes and biked along the top of the wall.  It was a great way to see the town and get a feel for the area.

Next post...pictures from Cinque Terre.

One month In...

We have been in Italy for one month so far.  It has been a month full of ups and downs as well as lots of adventure.  We have been living in TLA(Temporary housing) on the Navy support site base until our house is ready for us to move in.  We are not sure how much longer we will be here, but we do know that if we aren't out by day 60(we are at day 46 so far) then we will have to move out and find a new temporary place to live.  Hoping it doesn't come to that but we are on Italian time now.  It has also been 3 months since we left California and have been living out of suitcases and in other people's homes and hotels.  We are definitely ready to see our Household goods and move into our new home!

One of the first trips we took was to the Caserta Palace which is a very close drive to the base.  It was beautiful and the kids had a great time walking around the grounds and checking out the fish in the ponds.  Here are a few pictures from that trip.

 A girl and her castle

 "Look at the fish!"

 We walked form the castle(way in the distance) all the way to the top...it was a long, hot walk. 

 I hope they always love each other this much!