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Published: January 11th 2010
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Merry Christmas to all!
We know it’s a bit late but as is pretty much commonplace now we only have internet when we can get to the nearest town.
We traveled to Naples via bus from Apulia; it was a 4 hour journey highlighted by huge rolling hills of green pasture and giant wind turbines spinning slowly in the breeze. As we approached Napoli we were right on schedule, then just as we entered the city we were caught in the everyday gridlock traffic common to the center of Naples, and it sure didn’t help that it was Christmas Eve. We felt a little sorry for the driver as he attempted to maneuver the gigantic bus as scooters and cars were constantly darting in front of him.
Finally, arriving at the bus station about 40 minutes behind schedule we were eager to meet up with Serena. Fortunately, Serena was waiting for us at the place we decided to meet and we had no encounters with the infamous pickpockets of Naples. Valentina, Serena’s sister was waiting in the car for us, we indulged in some nice conversation with her as Serena expertly navigated thought the dance
of cars on the hour long trip back to her parents home. Once there, we had the pleasure of meeting Serena’s parents and her youngest sister Allegra, they were very welcoming and happy to have us for Christmas. That night, Christmas Eve, we traveled to the center of the city and explored the streets with Serena and her sisters as they did their last minute Christmas shopping. In certain areas of the center each street held only vendors of specific merchandise, for example all the book stores were on one street and the musical instruments were being sold on another. Naples is famous for the Preceppi, a greatly expanded nativity scene in miniature. Some people have hundreds of figures, including everything from street musicians to butchers and even little shops, benches and street lamps all lit up and blinking. There was one whole street that only sold these handmade figures, there must have been a million pieces to choose from on this one street. They were not cheap either; the nicest ones could go for 40 Euros.
While in Naples we were treated to some delicious traditional Napolese and Sicilian dishes. Let us start with the dolce(sweets). Sfogliatelle
is the traditional Napolese donut filled with a sweet ricotta, babba is a liquor soaked spongy cake, and estruffoli is a type of pasta that is fried, sweetened and topped with colorful sprinkles which took Serena’s mother hours to prepare. A few other delights we were treated to: friarelli- a napolese green vegetable that is sautéed with salt and butter, gatto- potato, eggs, cream and cheese “pie” oh so rich and delicious, pizza di scarola- a type of pizza pie filled with olives, onions, eggplant, and several other veggies, danubio- cheese filled pastries that are fried to perfection, spaghetti with local clams and a red sauce, the best pizza in the world- a traditional margherita pizza with buffalo mozzarella, and one of our favorites caponata- a marinated dish with eggplant, olives, onions, oil that is typically served as an antipasta, a Sicilian specialty.
To say the least we were well fed and treated with the greatest hospitality which Italians are well known for. We were not allowed to help clean, which was a tough one for us to get used to, and were repeatedly yelled at by Serena’s mother Teresa. They were so very sweet and we had
some great comical conversations during and after dinner as Serena and her sisters translated to her father for us. Being so far from our families was very difficult for the both of us, but we still had a very warm wonderful Christmas with our Italian familia.
A few other highlights of the week were going out for drinks with Serena and her friends, enjoying the beautiful views of the Napoli Bay as we traversed high into the hills and went on walks through the city, taking a walk down to a huge pier over a kilometer long nearby the house, watching movies in English and some in Italian at the house with the fam, holding on to eachother as we weaved in and out of traffic during our adventures through the city, and of course a bit of rest and relaxation. It was quite the change from the trullo, a warm house, warm beds, inside toilets, very luxurious in fact compared to what we were used to.
Sadly our time in Naples came to an end. Instead of taking a train straight to our next farm we decided to join Serena on her ferry ride to
Palermo and check out her home town. As a final gracious present, Serena’s parents treated us to the cabin with 4 beds for the 11 hour ferry ride to Palermo and wouldn’t let us pay a penny for it even though we insisted on helping with the cost. As a thank you for their unending hospitality and generosity we went to a local florist and bought Serena’s parents a beautiful orchid and some vine-like plant with a nice vase. We wanted to give them something that they could remember us by and even though it was such a small gesture Serena’s mother was thrilled to the point where she began to cry and insist it was too much. It was the least we could do.
We were taken to the ferry by Serena's father and got one last experience of real Napolese driving, one hand on the horn the other on the flashers. So fun! We boarded the ferry, had a great time riding across the Mediterranean on our 10 hour trip. Watched a movie in our cabin got a good 4 hours of sleep as we were swayed back and forth by the huge waves. We arrived
safely in Palermo before the sun rose and got a cab to Serena's house. We slept most of the day, got refreshed, went out to Serena's favorite bar to get an apperativo and had an early night. The next day we caught a bus to Paterno where we were to start another adventure, at La Casa delle Acque. Ciao all!
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Barb
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So nice to see you happy
I'm so glad you were able to be with a wonderful family for Christmas, for we missed you so. Counting the days for your return, but anxious to hear about your continuing journey! Love you!