In Napoli where love is king...

Before I moved to Italy, one of my favorite singers, Dean Martin lead me to believe that Naples was a beautiful and romantic city. He sings, "Write to me from Naples / I love you and Naples..." and "A girl went back to Napoli / Because she missed the scenery...". Sorry Deano! Naples is probably the dirtiest city that I have been to in Europe. Luckily, I wasn't expecting much, because my friends who had traveled to Naples warned me about it. But there is one thing about Naples that is beautiful-- the PIZZA! Mmmmmm. The pizza is enough of a reason to go traipsing around this dirty city. You can find good pizza most anywhere in Italy. But the pizza in Naples, the birthplace of pizza as they say, is just magical. There is nothing else like it.

We visited Naples on the same day we went to Pompeii. After spending half of the day in Pompeii, we hopped back on the Circumvesuviana train line (the commuter train that runs between Naples and Sorrento) and in 30 minutes we were in Napoli. We were hungry for lunch so we hurried on over to one of the famous pizzerias in Naples, Pizzeria Trianon. It was such a delicious lunch. I got the classic Margherita pizza, and Dallin got his old standby, Diavola, or as the Americans call it-- pepperoni. Within 5 minutes our pizzas were served to us, piping hot, fresh out of the wood-burning oven.

YUMMO!!!

After lunch, we went on a walking tour of Naples. It started off with a woman warning us to keep our belongings, particularly our camera, close to us because of the thieves. Lovely...

Typical neighborhood in the Spanish Quarter of Naples.

Me standing by Napoli's harbor, with Vesuvius in the background.

This was the only somewhat pretty area of Naples. This is the Church of San Francesco di Paola in Piazza del Plebiscito.

This is the Galleria Umberto I, a 100-year old shopping mall.

This statue of the Nile marks the center of Old Naples in the Spaccanapoli neighborhood. The cornucopia symbolizes the abundance of the city of Naples.

After finishing our walking tour, we headed back to Sorrento. We didn't want to be caught in the dark in Naples and run into the Mafia. Dallin could probably outrun the Mafia, but my pregnant lady waddle would have given me some troubles. 

The next day, which was the last day of our trip, we returned to Naples to visit the Archaeological Museum. This museum houses the original art and artifacts that were excavated from Pompeii.

This is the Toro Farnese. It is the tallest ancient marble group ever found, and the largest intact statue from antiquity. Michelangelo helped restore it.

An athlete.

After exploring the museum we worked up an appetite walking to our main attraction in Naples-- L'antica Pizzeria da Michele. It is here that we consumed what Dallin and I both agree was the best food we have ever tasted. Notice, I said, "food". This was not only the best pizza I have ever had, but the best thing I have ever eaten EVER! Legend has it that pizzeria was actually invented here at Antica Pizzeria da Michele. That's why it is the best.


It was crowded when we got there, so we got in line...

This was the crowd at 3 o'clock on a Sunday, so we knew it had to be good.

After about a 15 minute wait, we sat down...

Notice the picture of Julia Roberts on the glass by the pizza chef behind me. She ate here in the movie, Eat, Pray, Love.

Right next to the oven so we could see all of the action.


We ordered. There are two choices: Margherita (tomato sauce, mozzerella, and basil) or Marinara (just tomato sauce).

And then our lives were changed forever...

It is torture looking at this picture. I want another one of these so bad. The crust is so perfectly tender, the sauce is a perfect balance of tangy and sweet, the cheese is stretchy and salty, and the spiciness of fresh basil tops it all off. Mmmmmm mmmm. So yummy!

After the best meal ever, we headed to the main train station where we caught our bus to the airport. We then flew back to Venice on Easyjet and made our way back home. It was a great trip. The perfect way to celebrate the end of being just a twosome. This was our last hurrah before the arrival of our sweet baby girl, and then our lives really did change forever... :)

The City of Ash

I have always been intrigued by the tragic story of the city of Pompeii. Once a thriving port town of 20,000, Pompeii was frozen in time one day in A.D. 79 when Mount Vesuvius suddenly erupted. The city and surrounding areas were covered in ash, preserving many of the cities buildings, as well the remains of Vesuvius' victims.

On our third day in Southern Italy, we visited Pompeii. Walking around Pompeii was like stepping back in time, and through our explorations we gained an amazing perspective of the Ancient Roman life.

Each day the streets of Pompeii were flooded with water in order to wash them. Raised stepping stones like these allowed pedestrians to cross the street without getting their sandals wet. The gaps between the stones were wide enough to allow chariots to pass through.

These plaster casts of Pompeiians were so fascinating to me. While excavating Pompeii, archaeologists would discover hollow mounds. The archaeologists would pour plaster into these mounds to create a cast. The plaster would take on the shape of the ash-covered victims, filling in the gaps between their skeletons and revealing the victims' shapes during the last moment of their lives. It was eerie to see these people frozen forever in their dying moments.

Me examining the plaster casts.

This is one of the rooms in Pompeii's public baths, called the tepidarium. Bathers would undress, stretch, and warm up in this room. The small statues divided the clients' lockers. I was amazed at how well preserved the stucco work was.

This area was similar to our fast food restaurants we have today. Pompeiians could come here to get a quick bite to eat. The holes acted as thermoses and used to keep soup warm and wine cool. I decided to get behind the counter to take a picture because I love to cook.

Pompeii is absolutely huge! We only checked out the highlights but there are tons of unmarked ruins, like these that used to be old apartments and residences.

This aqueduct arch had a hidden water tank on top in order to give the residents in the neighborhood adequate water pressure.

Baby was kicking.

More random ruins.

Strolling the streets as the Ancient Romans did. I really had to watch my step on these cobbled roads. One little slip would strain my pelvic muscles and really hurt! I felt bad for the pregnant women of Pompeii.

These grooves in the road are from the chariots.

This was Pompeii's forum, the commercial, religious, and political center of the city. This is the least-preserved part of the city. Normally, you can see the ominous Mount Vesuvius smoldering behind me, but on this day, it was covered up by clouds.

The Amalfi Coast

On the second day of our Southern Italy trip, we explored the Amalfi Coast-- specifically the towns of Positano and Amalfi. We started off our day with a yummy breakfast at our hotel then we walked down to the bus station. We were kind of bummed because the weather in Sorrento was rainy and pretty crappy that day. We were debating going home early because the weather was forecast to be bad the rest of the weekend too. But we stuck it out, and we were glad we did! The weather forecast was inaccurate and we didn't see rain the rest of the weekend.

We hopped on the bus that travels along the Amalfi Coast. What a crazy ride! We were traveling on these narrow winding roads on the edge of the cliff all the way down the coast. I really had to put some faith in our bus driver!

We first arrived in beautiful Positano.

It was a beautiful town, however because we were there in February, it was quite dead! I am pretty sure we were the only tourists there. All of the hotels were closed and under maintenance. We walked through town down to the beach and then walked along the beach to this old fort that was a lookout point to spot Turkish pirates coming Positano's way.

The lookout point.

Pretty tiled dome of the cathedral in Positano

We then searched for a restaurant to eat lunch at. It was like trying to find a needle in a haystack! We walked all over town and every single restaurant we came to was closed! We finally found one and got some yummy pasta with a view of the sea. After lunch, we walked back to the bus stop and hopped  back on the bus to continue our journey down the Amalfi Coast.

Ya, this a two lane road.

We got off the bus next at the town of Amalfi. While Positano felt very resort-y, Amalfi felt more like a real town and actually lived-in. We got some gelato and then took a stroll through town.

Amalfi

Dally standing on weird concrete things.

Me being sassy and pregnant.

gelati!

The Amalfi Duomo

Main street Amalfi

After exploring Amalfi we hopped back on the bus and returned to Sorrento. It was a lovely day exploring the Amalfi coast!

I think this is the only picture from the trip that we took with the two of us together, so I had to post it!

Southern Italy and Lovely Sorrento

Dallin and I had been wanting to go to Southern Italy for a while. We finally decided we couldn't delay our plans any longer, because our baby girl was going to arrive soon and we didn't know when we would have another chance to make the trip. So we bought Easyjet tickets for President's Day weekend.

On day 1 we flew from Venice to the Naples airport. From Naples we took the Circumvesuviana train to Sorrento, a lovely town on a peninsula on the Bay of Naples. We decided to make Sorrento our home base for exploring this region of Italy. When we arrived in Sorrento we walked to our bed and breakfast, Casa Dominova and settled in. Casa Dominova was great! The room was clean and comfortable; the location was very central; the breakfast was very substantial; the owners were friendly, and the price was right. You can't ask for anything more for just 35 euro a night!

After settling in we got some lunch and then explored the town of Sorrento.

Piazza Tasso, the main square in Sorrento.

Under this pavillion is where the Sorrento Men's Club meets. No women or cell phones allowed, just Italian men chatting and playing cards.

View from Sorrento of the smoldering Mount Vesuvius across the Bay of Naples.

Sorrento's marina.

We unfortunately didn't take many pictures of Sorrento because we just explored it on our first day and then the rest of the days we only saw it in the morning and the night, coming to and from our daily adventures. But Sorrento served as a great home base for us, with many quaint squares, shops and restaurants. It kind of reminded me of an Italian Danville by the sea.

Valentines in Germany

Dal and I in front of the resort.

The weekend before Valentine's day this year, our battalion had a couples retreat at the Edelweiss Resort in Garmisch, Germany. Edelweiss is a resort reserved for members of the military and their families located at the foot of the beautiful Bavarian alps. This was our first time going to Edelweiss and I hope we will be able to come back in the future. The resort is lovely, with all of the amenities of a nice American hotel. This was very refreshing because European hotel standards are not nearly as high as those in America. With American-style restaurants at the resort, as well, the weekend in Edelweiss was a little like coming home to the USA for a short bit.

On the retreat, we attended some classes by the chaplain, ate some good food, explored the little town of Garmisch, I got a lovely prenatal massage at the spa, and we relaxed and enjoyed the beautiful views of the mountains.

Din din.

The Alps.

Walking to downtown Garmisch.

A freezing cold stream.

It was pretty cold. And we were moving pretty slow  because I was so afraid of slipping and falling

We stopped at a little cafe to get some hot chocolate and apple studels! Yum!

Downtown Garmisch.

Catch Up

Here is another post trying to catch up on my life, because as always, I am behind! Yep, this is about Christmas. Yep it's now May 1st. Deal with it.

Christmas Break was obviously awesome. The flight was long. Being pregnant made it harder, but it was worth it to be able to spend two weeks with our families. Here are some highlights:

Dal went hunting with his dad and shot some ducks!

Vince and Diana planned a big Christmas surprise for the Rosdahl family. They took everyone to San Francisco to see the musical, How the Grinch Stole Christmas. And what better way to get all 16 of us there than to take a stretch Hummer limo!

Ridin' in style.

The play was awesome! Thanks Vince and Diana!

The Rosdahls and the Neals (even Grandma and Grandpa Neal) visited the Oakland Temple to perform Baptisms for the dead.

With, of course, a trip to Fenton's to follow.

See Jane Snap took some family photos. 

Me and Dal.

The Neals on Christmas morning.

We constructed a beautiful gingerbread house!

Jude and I played the leads in the Rosdahl Nativity play.

We opened lots of awesome presents at the Rosdahl's...

and the Neal's.

We had an epic "Just Dance" competition.

Dal and I went to the city with Dillon and Skye for dinner and a play. We saw Bring it On, the musical! It was a fun show to watch!

And of course, we had plenty of time to just relax. It was a wonderful Christmas break in Danville!