This was my first time taking a train outside of Rome so I had no idea what I was doing. When you get to Termini and head to the side where the outgoing trains are things get a little crazy. It is line after line of trains. And I have no idea how you are supposed to tell which one is yours. So, me being me, I walked up to a man that worked there to ask him where I was supposed to catch my train. He said a number (in Italian, of course) and pointed me in the right direction. I jumped on my train, still not 100% sure that it was the right train. Half way through the trip I asked one of the men walking down the isle in uniform if the train was in fact the one I needed and he said yes, told me that it was the third stop, but didn’t clarify if it was the third one including the one we just made or if it was three after so I was still a little confused. I called Titi (pronounced Thi-thi) to ask her how I would know I was there and she told me to just ask. About half an hour later I asked a woman where we were and she said “Aversa”. Thank the Lord for that cause I would have completely missed my stop if it wasn’t for that woman. As I sat in the train station waiting to be picked up I couldn’t help but think about how nice it was to not have anything to do but relax.
This trip was full of “firsts” so please don’t get tired of hearing me say, “It was my first time…” With that being said, this was my first time being on a base of any kind. I had to fill out a request for permission to stay on base. It was granted (duh) but it wasn’t permanent and we had to come back the next day to get one to last for the whole week I was there. After that was taken care of I entered the base and we headed to her flat. It was really odd being on base because it was like being in America but it looked like Italy. Everyone spoke English, and dollars were the only currency accepted. It was so interesting. Jeff and Titi called it “La Piccola America” which means Little America.
They lived in one of the furthest apartment complexes on base and it was still less than a 10-minute walk from the NEX, located at the other end. I walked in and immediately felt like I was back home. One of the first things that I noticed was their bookshelf that was jam-packed with books from top to bottom. On the third shelf from the top, in the very center of the shelf was a word made out of a piece of wood in the shape of a fish. The word was “JESUS” and it looked so familiar that it was almost bone chilling. I picked it up and asked Lourdes where she had gotten it and she said “You’re grandpa gave it to me. He made it.” From that point on I knew I was at home. And the kids solidified that feeling by how absolutely sweet and attentive they were to me.
We all sat down to eat dinner, chili with white rice. I thought that my family was the only ones that put chili over rice but I guess not. It was so good. She kept saying “sorry that its not more flavorful but blah blah blah” and all I was thinking was “are you kidding me? This is amazing! I have no idea how long it’s been since I’ve had chili and this just made my day.” We also had this bomb salad that had lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, lemon juice, salt, and corn in it. Amazing.
Day Two (3-13)
Today was hella chill. I had no real plans for the day so I just went around with Titi. We took Sophie to school and picked her back up. Then we took the other kids to piano lessons. While they were doing that Titi, Sophie and I went to Jambo, a mall that is all the hype in Aversa. We got some gelato there and headed back to get the kids. As soon as we were inside the base, Titi dropped me off at the commissary so that I could go to the movies. I went to see Jumper, pretty good movie, and it only cost me $3. It was amazing. Nothing is that cheap in Rome. This happened to be the first time that I had seen a movie in italy and it was also the first time that I had seen a movie by myself. It wasn’t bad but I will say that I prefer going with other people. When I got home it was about the same time as Izzy and Vicky who had been at soccer practice. The three of us had gemelli noodles with meat sauce for dinner. So scrumptious.
Day Three (3/14)
Today we went to Napoli. Titi, Sophie and I drove to JFC. This is the NATO base where Titi’s husband, Jeff, works. I was not permitted on this base. I waited outside the base while Titi parked the car. The three of us caught a train to downtown Napoli. We walked around a few streets, stopped in some cute shops, bought 4 pairs of shoes and a purse. The first thing that we went to see was the Duomo.
The Duomo is a church and there is a Duomo in almost every city. They are all very different and by no means are they affiliated with each other. After the Duomo we went to what is called the Spaccanapoli. The literal translation for that is Napoli’s bellybutton. It’s a street that goes straight through the middle of Napoli and you can see from one end of the street clear to the other. Then we went to a piazza that had a building that looked like a mixture of the pantheon and the collonade of St. Peter’s. It was interesting but nothing too grand.
We walked to the edge of the shore and on the way we saw this graffiti. It made me smile.
This was the Cesar statue.
Sophie and Titi.
After the shore we headed to the Galleria Umberto Primo, which is a mall but more importantly it is a beautiful structure.
This is a side view of the dome of Galleria Umberto Primo. The gray building on the right is the opera house. I was told that this is the nicest opera house in all of Europe.
Front of the Umberto Primo.
Inside the Umberto Primo.
After walking through the Umberto, we headed to the fonicolare (picture above). We took the fonicolare up and down a hill to catch the metro again to go back to JFC. Sophie had to pee so Titi called Jeff to come get her and take her. He came to the front gate and told all of us to come in. We had to go through this checkpoint thing and after they buzzed us in he pointed to the three of us and said we were with him so they didn’t even bother looking at our IDs. My permission thing said that I was no allowed on that base but I guess it doesn’t matter when the man tells them you’re with him. Funny thing power is.
This is the base that I was not allowed on.
As we drove back home this is what I got to see. If you look at the upper half of the picture you will see mountain ranges. Beautiful. If you look at the lower half you will see trash. No, you did not miss read. That is trash. Napoli is on a trash strike so they aren’t picking it up and it is piling everywhere. It’s so gross. Glad I didn’t see any up close and personal. Fa schifo.
We got back home and had frozen pizzas for dinner. Now, for all of you still dwelling in America, frozen pizza might not sound like all that exciting but when you live in italy and all you ever have is super thin pizza made fresh on a brick or wood oven you start to long for the pizza of America with the thick crust and solid cheese. I don’t dislike the pizza here and I’m not complaining about how fresh it is but I’m also not complaining about having the privilege of having a frozen pizza. After eating I went to the movies again to see 10,000 BC with Izzy. Pretty good movie. Main character was super cute.
Day Four (3/15)
We went to Carney Park today, a park located inside a volcano crater.
Christian was camping with the cub scouts last night. When we met up with him he was shooting a BB gun to earn a belt loop. While he was doing that, Vicky and Izzy were at tryouts for softball. I swear, I have never met kids who were so involved, always doing something. Titi went to watch the girls tryout and I took Sophie to the moon bounce. I saw Winnie the Pooh and got a picture. It reminded me of my best friend and I pretended that I was actually taking a picture with him (miss you Pooh Bear).
Afterwards the kids went rock climbing. This is them:
A few other things happened at Carney Park. 1) Mr. Steve told me that I looked like I was 16 and Mr. Jamie said I looked like I was 14. Yea for me. I also bought Pocahontas for $10, deal of the day.
When we were finished, we went home to clean up and go to church. I have to be very honest, it made me very happy to see a mass in English. In addition, I got super excited because the church on base uses the same hymn books that we use back at Guardian Angels.
For dinner we went to a pizzaria, Captain Morgan, and got three things of ½ a meter of pizza, 5 suppli, 2 crochette, and 2 of something that tasted like salty bread. After dinner, Jeff and I went to see Sweeney Todd and it was amazing. I am so happy that I got to see it. I have to buy that movie when it comes out on DVD in addition to getting the soundtrack. I loved every minute of all the weird things that went down.
Day Five (3/16)
Today I woke up and went to the Campania mall with Jeff, Izzy and Vicky. They were on strict orders to not let me buy shoes, so I didn’t. Instead I had gelato at what I was told is the best gelato shop in all of Europe. And by george I believe it just may be. When we got back to base, I went to see 27 Dresses with Lourdes. I had the distinct pleasure of seeing that movie before I left and I had no complaints about seeing it again. When we got back home she started cooking and I started playing with the kids. We had tri-tip on the grill for dinner with potato wedges covered in thyme and olive oil in the oven and zucchini covered in olive oil cooked on stovetop. It was amazing.
After dinner we dyed Easter eggs. I think we did 2 dozen. They’re gonna be eating hardboiled eggs for a little while.
They told Sophie that she had to go to bed and she started to cry. She has got to be the cutest child in the world because even when she cries she’s cute. Who does that?
When the kids were in bed, we watched the Talented Mr. Ripley. A good portion of it was filmed off the shore of Sicily and in Napoli. They even had a scene in the Umberto Primo. I was like, “Hey, I’ve been there!” Jeff and Titi looked at me with a face that read “Yea, we know, we took you there.”
Day Six (3/18)
I went back to the Campania mall with Titi and bought three really cute outfits. It was fun but we had to rush back to Succivo to pick up Sohpie at school and then get to the house for when the kids got back home. Izzy and Titi left for trumpet lessons and I stayed home to make sure the kids did their homework. It was like pulling teeth to get Christian to take care of his homework. After Titi got back, Izzy and I rode the bikes around for a little bit. Then she traded with Vicky and she and I raced bikes. This was my first time being on a bike in about 7 years and I beat the crap out of her 3 times racing. Needless to say, it was the highlight of my day. For dinner we had lasagna and salad. I never realized how much I missed salads until I was having them every night, funny how that works. When everyone was asleep I got on the phone and played the Sims. I didn’t go to bed until about 3:30 AM.
Day Seven (3/18)
Today was my last day and we didn’t do much. I went to Capodichino (another base in the area) with Titi so that she could meet up with her student advisor. We went back home and packed. We left to go to the train station. Jeff had sent Titi an email with the map he drew up on it. She always gets lost so she has all these maps in the glove box that take her from point A to point B. Pretty funny.
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