Welcome to Napoli

​As I write this post, we’ve lived in Naples for just over 3 months.   It’s been quite an experience! When we first arrived, our sponsor picked us up at the airport with our luggage, took us to dinner at a local Italian restaurant, and dropped us off at the Navy Lodge on base.  The food was delicious, but we didn’t see much with it being so dark out.  
 
A few days after arriving, we received the news that we were to live off base.  Thankfully, someone from Ramses’ work kindly let us borrow his car, while we were in the process of vehicle shopping.  The car was a Godsend! You see, we sold our vehicles before moving here. We heard that the driving is crazy, gas is incredibly expensive, and the roads are very narrow.  We had a Honda Odyssey minivan and a Toyota Tundra truck, both large vehicles.  We didn’t want our nice vehicles getting scratched up and wanted to easily be able to maneuver around the city and park.  With the borrowed car, we were able to drive all over the different areas of the city....and we drove ALL around!!  This really helped us to narrow down where we wanted to live and where we didn’t want to live.

The Driving
Naples is a big, bustling, gritty city. The Italians in Naples drive differently than they do in the majority of the country.  Let me paint the picture for you......Italian motor scooters called Vespas are everywhere, lanes don’t exist, stop signs are not to be stopped at, stop lights are usually a suggestion, and in order to get where you need to go you need to be calmly aggressive. I know, being calmly aggressive sounds like an Oxymoron, but it’s exactly how you have to be.  When we first moved here, it scared the living crap out of me to drive.....now, I’m a pro and I love it!!  Nearly every car on the highway will pull to the right lane if you come up behind them and want to pass.  This is because if you don’t pull to the right lane, they’ll flash their lights and honk at you until you do.  It’s so insane!  Hahaha I used to refuse to drive downtown and even drove to a parking garage and took a bus to get downtown because I was so afraid of the driving, but now I’m no longer afraid. I just relax, take my time, but am aggressive.  The only time I truly worry is when I have to walk with the kids on a road where everyone is driving crazy and it’s busy.  Neapolitans will drive up on the curb to pass someone that is slow, so I have to bring my “A” game at all times. Not only that, I can’t even touch my phone while driving to call or text....I need to keep my wits about me.  Also, Vespas can carry whole families on them and I rarely see children in car seats.  Somehow it works.  I’m not sure what the statistics are, but I rarely see accidents here like I did in the states.  

The House Hunt 
The house hunt was extremely stressful.  We explained at the very beginning to our realtor that we were looking for a gated Parco (neighborhood) with a 4-bedroom villa.  Villas in Napoli are either attached or detached.  We also wanted a yard, even if it was small, and we wanted to live in a Parco with Americans and Italians. We went through at least 5 realtors because each realtor showed us different properties. It seemed as though certain realtors had contracts with certain landlords, so they each had a different inventory.  Also, there are only so many clickers for gated neighborhoods and the keys are unlike keys in the states.  They resemble a sort of skeleton key.  I’m willing to bet those are not cheap to get copies of, so landlords stick with a realtor or two to show their properties due to the logistics of access.  I hated having to use more than one realtor, being a realtor myself and appreciating loyalty, but if we wanted to find a home-we had to.  The realtors were all very nice to us, picked us up at the front gate of the base, and took us to each property.  
 
We came upon the perfect villa.  We had to go a bit above our price range....but in order to live in a gated Parco, in a 4 bedroom villa, with a yard, with Americans and Italians in the neighborhood....we had to.  We chose to live in Pozzuoli.  Pozzuoli is a city inside the city of Napoli.  Pozzuoli has a port area and another area called the Lungomare with ancient Roman ruins, restaurants, bars, gelaterias, coffee shops.  We really wanted to live in an area that was close to things to do and in Pozzuoli we found it.  Now, here’s the kicker....we live on a super volcano.  Isn’t that crazy??  We live on Campi Flegrei, also known as the Phlegraean Fields, also known as the Solfatara. It’s a volcano that’s underground inside of a volcanic crater (known as a caldera).  We can see the sulfurous fumes from our front door, and smell a gentle hint of sulfur in the evenings and after rain. There are also small earthquakes now and again that some people feel and some people don’t. You may think we’re crazy, but we love the Parco, love the area, and truly don’t mind the volcano.  People say the sulfur staves off mosquitos, but my husband is still getting eaten alive when he’s outside, so I say that’s either false or we don’t live close enough.  Locals also say it's an aphrodisiac. LOL

 It’s difficult not to live near a volcano in this area....between Mt. Vesuvius and Campi Flegrei, options are limited.  I know this is crazy, but I truly believe that one day, long after I move from here, I’ll smell the scent of a volcano and it’ll bring me back to this time and this place and my memories here. 
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Our Villa

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Our view, with the Solfatara. It's hard to see exactly where the volcano is in this picture. I'll be sure to post another when the sulfur is more visible.

Neapolitan Margherita Pizza

The Food and Wine...Oh My!
Let’s be serious.....the food in Napoli is beyond incredible.  Pasta and Pizza is nothing like the states.  To be clearer, there are rarely restaurants in the states that serve truly fresh Italian pasta and pizza, but I’m sure they’re out there somewhere!  In Italia, most restaurants make their pasta sauce homemade with tomatoes, olive oil, basil, garlic...it’s SO fresh you can taste it in every bite.  Many restaurants even make their own noodles. The pizza in most places is made with a fresh made dough and sauce, the cheese they use is less than a few days old. You don’t feel terrible after you eat it. I actually feel great afterward as long as I don’t keep eating and eating and eating. That’s the trick!  Also, the food in Napoli is cheap.  There usually are not many tourists, so the prices are for a local clientele. We can usually eat out with our family of 5 and it’ll be €50-€60 for completely fresh food. Pizza runs between €3-€5 per pizza.

So, this is how the menu works.  There is antipasti, Primi, Secondi, and Dolce.  The antipasti is your typical list of Italian appetizers....our favorite is Bruschetta.  However, some the fancier restaurants offer a seafood antipasti, meat/veggie antipasti, or mixed (misto). If you order any of these, bring your appetite!!  It comes with A LOT of food! Only order the seafood antipasti if you're VERY adventurous with seafood.  We normally order the mixed (misto), if we order this type of appetizer. It comes with numerous dishes. For the seafood, we've had everything from an Octopus salad to raw oysters to breaded, fried little fish that look like breaded fishing bait.  When we order the mixed appetizers, they have also included eggplant parmesan, chicken, and fried dough balls. Really, these appetizers vary by the restaurant and what seafood is readily available, but it's extremely fresh.

 The primi course is a pasta course, followed by the secondi course, which is usually meat or fish.  Pasta tastes different at every restaurant and the menu varies at every restaurant, as well.  To make you aware, Italians like the meat to taste like meat and the fish to taste like fish.  They don’t put a lot of spices or marinades on the meats or fish.  They also don’t include a side dish.  The meal is completed with Dolce, which is dessert. Now, we don’t eat that much!  We usually order an appetizer for the table and either a primi or a secondi for each adult, then we all share our meals.  At some restaurants, if you order their best steak, they have been known to cook it right at the table in front of you.  The fish is generally served complete, with head on and eyeballs out. =) Also, fresh Italian bread is brought to the table before a meal. It’s plain bread, sliced, and has no garlic, herbs, oil or vinegar to dip it in. 

The pizza is brick oven fresh and at your table in less than 10 minutes after you order it.  Each pizza is meant for one person, but our family does share.  The pizza is not served sliced into pieces.   Most Italians tear off a slice of pizza, fold it in half, and eat.  
 
The wine is divine. We usually order a Vino Rosso della casa (house red wine) to the table. It either comes in a carafe or a bottle. They set the opened bottle of wine or carafe in the middle of the table and you serve yourself in most restaurants. It is unusual to be given a taste of the wine at the table and for everyone to be served. Although, it does happen sometimes at fancier restaurants. 

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Pizza Alla Diavola, AKA Devil's Pizza, AKA Napoli's version of Pepperoni pizza.

This is a Margherita Pizza with Buffalo Mozzerella

​I will dive further into the food, as well as coffee and gelato in a future blog post.  I’ve only brushed the surface of the basics.
 
So, we’re thriving well! There have been some good times and bad times, but we do love Napoli.  The prices for travel in Europe, once you’re on the continent, are incredibly cheap.  We plan to take every opportunity possible to travel and see as much as we possibly can while here. As I write this, we have no less than 8 trips planned before the New Year (we’re 4 months from the New Year).  I’ll happily forgo gifts, new shoes, and any extras that I used to splurge on in order to add more trips and see more of the world. My, how my life has changed.....I wouldn’t have it any other way.
 
Next Blog Post: Pompeii....Ancient History at our Feet & Hiking the Path of the Gods on the Amalfi Coast