Holidays in Italy

Our first Christmas in Italy was a little tough. No Christmas music on the radio, no fighting traffic at the mall looking for last minute gifts, and not being able to spend time with our family and friends for the holidays was difficult but I think we made the best of it. We had Gingerbread House making contests and Santa was very good to the kids!

While living in Arizona we would usually go to Zoolights at some point during the holiday season or go look at the big neighborhood light displays. Many Italians decorate their homes with Christmas lights but nothing as extravagant as Americans will do. BUT, Italians love to showcase Santa Claus!
You can find a hanging Santa on just about every street you go down.

And while the Christmas lights in the neighborhood left much to be desired, we traveled to Salerno, Italy one night to check out their Christmas Market and light display. It was beautiful! It's set up in an area where there are a lot of little shops so there was the hustle and bustle of shopping going on around us as we walked.

As you can see, it's just a little bit crowded.

The capper to the holidays was New Years and this was a New Years like I have never seen. First  of all, Italians light fireworks and firecrackers NIGHTLY. I still don't know why they do it, but it's become common for us to fall asleep to the sound of "popping" outside our window.  So I knew that an occassion like New Years was sure to be a show of loud sounds and bright lights. The noise actually started early in the day with what sounded like M-80s outside our back door. By 10pm it sounded like bombs were going off around us and at midnight it was WWIII. This was the scene outside my bedroom window.

http://youtu.be/E7wp3Znz_04

Between the fireworks and the gunfire, the show lasted for at least an hour! Italian New Years festivities definitely put Americans' little paper horns and confetti poppers to shame!

The Mergellina

The base offered a free bus trip down to an area of Naples called the Mergellina. Once dropped off we were able to go to the aquarium, walk through the park, and down along the waterfront to the Castel dell'Ovo.

 

Castel dell'Ovo (in Italian, Egg Castle) is a castle located on the former island of Megaride, now a peninsula, on the gulf of Naples. The castle's name comes from a legend about the Roman poet Virgil, who had a reputation in medieval times as a great sorcerer, that he put a magical egg into the foundations to support the fortifications.

 

The sights on the waterfront. We took this trip at the end of November so it was a bit chilly. If you notice we all have on long sleeves. However, I guess since the sun was shining it was okay for some folks to be half naked!?

 And it appears that making out on the rocks in front of children is also quite acceptable.

Since it was around Thanksgiving time, Dante, my preschooler, told us that this ship was the Mayflower.

And it seems like everywhere you go in Naples the volcano is within sight.

Welcome To My Hood- The Remix

So in my last blog post I showed you the journey we took to get into our Italy home. These last few months that we've been here we've settled into a routine, gotten out and about in the neighborhood, and sometimes see the strangest things!
Three days a week Dante goes to preschool which fortunately is right down the street from our house. So unless it's raining we usually walk to school and these are some of the things that we see every day.

The little old lady that lives in this house doesn't speak a lick of English but she lets us pick oranges off her tree.

These guys are always up early with us.

We see these guys before and after school and they are always on the roof!

There are several different trucks that drive through the neighborhood yelling through a megaphone to tell people what they are selling. If you're interested then you just come outside and can make your purchase. These trucks typically have fruits and veggies or dry goods. This guy sells fagioli (beans)!

Just a short walk down this street and you come to the main road of Via Roma.

There are a lot of shops on  this street ranging from clothing, hardware, cafes, fruits and veggies, and you can also find the traveling salesman.

Coffee Shops are called Bars

                                             A little mini market with fresh bread out front

As much beauty as Italy has to offer there is also tons of graffiti. Everyone is professing their love!

This guy is right in front of our house

Don't you hate when you are stuck in traffic right around the corner from your house???

I'm really enjoying discovering new things in our neighborhood. The boys and I found a good pizza place that we've gone to for lunch a couple times as well as a candy store with fresh pastries and cookies. And whenever we need a taste of American living, the base is only a few minutes away.