Oh my gracious. What a weekend. And the one weekend that I forget my camera in Naples is the one where I went on my most beautiful trip yet!!! But at least it’s close enough and cheap enough to go back- it’s not like I can just go back to Paris because I forgot my camera..
Okay, so, I went home with Enza (aka Zuzu…my roommate). It was excellent. It’s not very often in a lifetime that you get to go to the home of a local in a different culture for a weekend- but if you ever get the chance, it’s one of the coolest weekends you’ll ever have. You don’t have to worry about where or how to get food, but you’re guaranteed excellent meals. You don’t have to worry about where to go or what to see, but you’re guaranteed to see new things- and not the tourist things. You get to see how similar and how differently people across the world live. It was fantastic.
Enza lives in a small town not far from the Amalfi coast (in the shadow of Vesuvius). We were picked up from the train station by her brother, who also studies in Naples but was also home for Easter, for the first of many exciting car rides. (I still can’t believe how people can stand driving over here. As a passenger, not having to worry about my car and not being afraid of a quick death, the car rides are exciting and for the most part enjoyable, but you could not pay me 100 euro to drive here.)
Our first stop was at their family shop so I could be introduced to their mom, then I got to see most of their town by running errands- it was nice. They knew every other person we passed on the street or in a car, and each was greeted with a little honk (Italians are not in the least bit shy of using their car horns). That night, we had one of my favorite meals that I’ve had over here so far- it was simply fresh ricotta (completely different from ricotta in the states), spread on fresh bread, with a side of fresh, diced, salted, and oiled tomatoes, and fresh hunks of mozzarella (their mozzarella is from buffalo’s milk instead of cow’s, and it approximately one million times better). It was a very fresh meal. Zuzu also fried some potatoes and onions, which were very good. For dessert, I had my first piece of Pastiera (a cake made with oats, which reminded me of pumpkin pie, that is a cake that every Italian home must have during the Easter weekend so that they can force visitors to eat it when they stop by- consumption is willingly done so..it was excellent), with many pieces to follow throughout the weekend.
After dinner, I fell asleep on the couch (jealous Dan?), and Zuzu woke me up and made me go to bed. In the morning, we got up early, had breakfast, and hurried to the train station to pick up Zuzu’s and Ludovica’s boyfriends, and met up with Mariangela (another girl I live with) and her boyfriend. Then we embarked on another exciting car ride to Ravello- a town on the Amalfi Coast, where Ludovica (and another girl I live with) lives and where her parents own a hotel. (This car ride was even more exciting due to the hairpin turns and dangerously thin roads lined with a mountain wall on one side and a drop-off on the other, getting thinner and thinner as you get higher into the mountains. It was beautiful- as long as I focused on the view and not my stomach).
We met up with Ludo in Ravello and walked around the extremely beautiful city with the most incredible view I’ve ever seen (I can’t believe people actually live there!!!!). We went to the Gardens of Villa Cimbrone (gardens of a villa that have been turned into a tourist attraction with an incredible look-out point, tons and tons and tons of beautiful flowers, many statues, and lots of cool little things to see- it was amazing). Ludo knew the owners so we got in for half price. Afterwards, we went to Villa Amore to eat lunch, where Ludo also knew the owners, but I’m not exactly sure what that got us. This lunch was honestly unforgettable. The weather was beautiful (72 degrees and sunny); we sat on a terrace at an elegantly set table, shaded by vines with flowers blossoming on them, high up on a cliff, with a breeze off the sea and a fantastic view of the ocean, surrounded by cool Italian buildings, drinking wine and eating: 1st course- heaping (which is an understatement) plates of homemade pasta noodles in a light marinara sauce with fresh clams and mussels (still in shell). Main- a huge platter of fried, various sea foods- calamari, jumbo shrimp, octopus, alice(little fish), etc. Afterwards, I had my first taste of limoncello (alcohol made with lemons, which the area is famous for), which I did not like (tasted like a mix between Pine Sol and vodka).
After we parted ways with the terrace, we walked around Ravello more (I was not the only tourist in the group! Even though all of the people I was there with live only a dozen miles away, they had only been up that way either a couple times or zero times…the roads to Amalfi aren’t things you want to use often. So they were all taking pictures and gawking at the views as well.) Ludo showed us the great ceramics shops that the area is known for, as well as all the spots where the teenagers go to kiss…
After Ravello, we hopped back in the cars and drove to Amalfi, where we didn’t spend much time. We climbed the 80 steep steps to the church where the Apostle Andrew is buried, but we didn’t want to pay to get into the church, so we climbed back down the steps, took a short walk, then left Amalfi because we had plans to go to the next small town for the famous cake shop- Sal de Riso. It was superb. I got Torta Foresta Nera (black forest cake) with lots of chocolate and some cherries.
After our cake and a round of coffees, we headed back. We had some difficulties getting back to the train station because the soccer team of Enza’s town had won their match that afternoon, which meant that they got to move up from the C division to the B division, and there was a ridiculous amount of celebrating in the streets, making it hard to drive anywhere. We got caught at the border of the town, where the road at been blocked off for all of the celebrating, which had to take place at the border of the town so that it could be shoved in the faces of the neighboring town, who are not the biggest fans of Enza’s town. We saw some very angry people on our side (the neighboring town), and it looked like there was going to be a Green Street Hooligans throw down, which is too common. I asked Enza’s brother if he would be out there celebrating if he didn’t have to chauffer us around, and he told me that he doesn’t even like soccer any more because of how dangerous it has gotten to be a fan.
When we finally got through to the train station, we dropped the boyfriends off, stopped at a friend’s house (with more pasteria), and headed back to the house. That night we had a big dinner with steak, artichokes (Mom, she taught me how to eat artichokes!), and pizza pasta (no joke, Dan! It’s really called pizza pasta! Completely different from yours, though- this is a huge hunk of pasta (spaghetti, also with some small hunks of meat), that has been coated with eggs and fried in a pan).
After dinner, we watched a movie about the previous pope- Pope Karol, which was very interesting, and I’m sure would have been even more interesting had I watched it in English. This was Enza’s favorite pope- she said he was “the pope of the people.”
I got to sleep in the next morning. When I woke up, I showered, ate breakfast, and read the Great Gatsby while I waited for the others. Rosario dropped Zuzu and I off at church, where we had to stand in the back for the whole service because everyone in the town was there, and there were only seats for about half of the people. During the service, I accidently and illegally took communion. I asked Zuzu if I cross my arms in front of my chest when I go up so he knows that I’m not Catholic and she told me no, I just need to say “Amen” when I’m up. As I was saying “A-” he stuck the cracker in my mouth… oops.
After church, we proceeded to stop at every home in the town to wish everyone “Auguri” (an expression for all special occasions) and “Happy Easter.” (Stopping at every house is an exaggeration, but we spent at least 2 hours making visits- which is really cool and something that we miss out on in America by having personal space between houses… I was really glad I got to experience that.) We also stopped at the cemetery to pay our respects to Zuzu’s father, who died of cancer last year, and to some grandparents and friends.
Following the visits was another car ride to the other side of the Amalfi coast where Zuzu’s aunt lives in beautiful home, high up on one of the Amalfi coast cliffs. Directly below the wall of windows in the living room and dining room is their own personal beach, with perfect, turquoise water. They had one of the most beautiful views that I’ve seen yet; I couldn’t believe it. There we ate a never-ending Easter meal of 1st- homemade pasta in marinara, 2nd- hunks of beef and a platter of breaded and fried eggplant, Main- lamb, 1st dessert- the giant chocolate eggs that are everywhere here for Easter (we had 8 eggs, each at least as big as my head, with only 8 people and 2 halves to eat them…one of the halves took care of several people’s shares, however), 2nd dessert- bowl of fruit, 3rd dessert- sliced strawberries in a glass with whipped cream, 4th dessert- 2 types of pastiera, 1 thicker with some dried fruit in it, the other typical, with a woven crust on top. All followed by coffee, and later some liquor that I didn’t try off of Zuzu’s suggestion since I didn’t like the limoncello.
While all the grown-ups did their talking about all the problems of Italy, I very happily played with the cheap little toys that came in the giant, hollow, chocolate eggs with Zuzu’s cousin’s children (boy-6, girl-4). In fact, I spent most of the day with them. As soon as I walked in and was introduced, Zuzu’s cousin told his kids that I only speak English, and immediately the little boy said to me- “Hello. What is your name?” in English! It was incredible. He actually was very good at English, but preferred not to speak it. I mostly hung out with the little girl, who didn’t want to speak at all, but we drew pictures together and told each other the names of what we drew in English and Italian.
Later that afternoon, Rosario and Zuzu drove me back to the train station, said their goodbyes, and put me on the train back towards Naples. On the ride back, I sat with a couple from London that was visiting Naples for the week (because Britain only has 3 work days out of 10 consecutive days due to Easter and the Royal Wedding- they gave me the statistic of how many people left London for the week…it was impressive, but I can’t remember how many it was) and we talked the whole way about where they had been in Naples and what I had done since coming to Europe. I also gave them suggestions about what they should still see in Naples. (Look at me! The local, giving advice!)
I was happy to get back to Naples, but I very much enjoyed my weekend. You couldn’t escape the smell of fresh flowers anywhere along the coast, and it was too beautiful to be true. I don’t even want to go to Palma Majorca next weekend- now that I know that such a place as the Amalfi coast exists, I only want to go back there (poor Odysseus, I feel you).
When I returned, Elisabetta, Pia, Irene, and I had dinner in the family room, watching a famous Italian TV program (which I found very cheesy, but they seemed to like), and I went to bed early.
I’m not really sure what I did today- it was very relaxing. We were supposed to go to a barbeque for Easter up in Vomero today, but Elisabetta wasn’t feeling very well, so we stayed in, which was fine with me. After lunch, I watched The Passion, which was more intense than I remembered, and it and it’s after affects took up my afternoon. Then, I spent some time emailing, facebooking, skyping, etc.; I ate dinner; and here we are. I actually will do my homework tomorrow, at least some of it, I promise. There, now that I’ve promised it, I have to. Bleehhh. I was supposed to go to Positano tomorrow with my Belgian friend, but she hasn’t been feeling well and it’s supposed to rain tomorrow, so I guess the coast and I will just have to be reunited a different time.
Mmkay, well, that is all. I’m not sure how interesting my next few days will be, so I’m not making any promises about an imminent post.
Bye!
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