Napoli - A Weather Dependent City

I'm sorry to say that I wasn't blow away by Napoli. Although, to be fair, it was pouring rain the first day that we were there and I was walking around in ballet flats that seemed to absorb every drop of water. It's probably 100% true that Napoli should be seen in the sunshine. It was smelly, dirty, and just an overall chaotic mess. But, I always try to be positive, and there were definitely some must-sees and must-dos in the city! Food related, of course...

Pizza at Da Michele 
Just. Go. Don't ask questions. Be prepared to wait, we went early thinking we wouldn't have to wait long (around 8:30pm) but we had number 23 and he was still calling out single digits when he gave us that number. The wait is worth it though, and I even confirmed with the Italian couple beside us (born and raised in Napoli) that it really is the best in the city.

Dreamweaver...

Sfogliatella
There seems to be some debate about which is truly the typical Napoletano dessert, because there is the sfogliatella riccia, and the sfogliatella frolla. Admitedly, I only tried the riccia because I had it on good authority from a native Napoletano that riccia is the way to go. Then during some research about the two I found someone's explanation about why riccia wins to be the most logical: perchè si sfoglia. That kind of means the same as you flip through it, which makes sense because the sfogliatella riccia is made up of layers and layers of paper thin pastry. The frolla on the other hand is more bun-like.

Cristo Velato
I'm happy I stumbled across this must-see. I couldn't believe that such an impressive statue would be in a chapel that is so hard to find, and that we would have to pay €7 to enter, but it was worth it. It's a statue of Christ covered in a transparent veil carved out of the same block of marble. It sounds simple, but seeing it close-up is incredible; there's such detail to the carving. Also, it's a great little hidden escape from the Napoli chaos!

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Mi dispiace dire che alle fine, non mi è piaciuta tanto la città di Napoli. Però, devo dire che c'era la pioggia il primo giorno e avevo le ballerine che tenevano ogni goccio di acqua. È vero 100% che Napoli dev'essere visto sotto il sole. Era una città sporca che puzzava. Proprio un casino. Ma come sempre, provo ad essere positiva! Ci sono veramente delle cose che si deve vedere o fare li, e sicuramente hanno qualcosa da fare con il cibo...

Pizza da Michele
Andate. Basta. Abbiamo aspettato, anche se siamo arrivate 'presto' alle 20.30 ma c'erano ancora 20 gruppi aspettando davanti a noi. Alla fine l'attesa non è niente perchè si mangia così bene. Ho confermato anche con i ragazzi italiani accanto a noi (napolitani dalla nascita) che lì fanno veramente la pizza più buona della città.

Sogno di questa pizza... 

Sfogliatella
Sembra che c'è un po' di discordo sul quale tipo di sfogliatella è veramente il dolce napolitano perchè ce ne sono due: sfogliatella riccia e sfogliatella frolla. Devo dire che ho provato solo quella di riccia perchè uno napolitano mi ha detto che si deve mangiare solo la sfogliatella riccia. Va beh. Poi, mentre facevo un po' di ricerca, ho trovato una frase che secondo me spiega nel modo migliore perchè riccia vince: perchè si sfoglia. Non spiego questo come ho già fatto in inglese perchè sicuramente se leggete in italiano avete già capito!! ;)

Cristo Velato
Sono troppo contenta che ho scoperto questa statua, perchè senza vederlo non riuscivo a capire come potrebbe essere possibile mettere una statua così importante in una capella così dificile a trovare e dove si deve pagare €7 per entrare. Però vale la pena vederla. È una statua di Cristo, coperta con una vela trasparente fatto dallo stesso blocco della statua. Sembra semplice, ma vederla vicino e meravigliso perchè c'è un livello di dettaglio che non si riesce a descrivere. È anche un modo di passare qualche minuto senza la caos di Napoli!

San Giovanni Rotondo

Nope, I didn't go to see Padre Pio. Sorry. I went to visit my family!! But every single person who found out I was going to San Giovanni Rotondo asked me if I was going for Padre Pio. You can guess what this town is famous for.

Back to my family. Here we are!

Zio Arnaldo, Francesca, Riccardo, Zia Maria Pia, and me tucked away in the back (ed io nascosta in dietro).

No. Non sono andata a trovare Padra Pio. Sono andata a trovare la mia famiglia! Però, ogni persona a cui ho detto che vado a San Giovanni Rotondo mi ha chiesto se era per vedere Padre Pio. Si vede che la città di San Giovanni Rotondo è famosa per una cosa in particolare.

Ma torniamo alla famiglia. Eccoci! (Guardate sopra).

Bari

Easter vacation started out with an early flight down south. We left gray and rainy Milano to search out sunny skies by the ocean. So far, I'm doing okay with my new year's resolution to find the seaside at least every six weeks. Proof:

Bari is a beautiful little town. The historic centre leaves you totally disoriented, but I've come to learn that I love getting lost in new places - it really is the best way to see the sights. I have to admit, one thing that blew my mind was seeing standalone stores such as Louis Vuitton in this town. Honestly, in my mind I pictured Bari as just a small town in southern Italy, so seeing LV there was like seeing LV in Nanaimo. Odd.

We checked out some churches, and had to find a specific church where Russians go to pray to San Nicola (yep, that's jolly old Saint Nic to us). Here he is below making total eye contact with me (colourful statue) and also sharing his message of peace (man).

Bari was full of Russians who make the trip to pray to him. Signs are written in Italian and Russian, instead of the Italian and English that I've become so used to.

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Le vacanze di pasqua hanno cominciato con un volo al sud nella mattina presto. Siamo partite dalla pioggia e la grigia di Milano per trovare un po' di sole al mare. Fino ad adesso, più o meno ce la faccio con la mia 'new year's resolution' di andare al mare al meno ogni sei settimane. Vedete:

Bari è una città bellissima. Il centro storico ti fa perdere, ma come ho imparato, mi piace troppo perdermi nelle città nuove - è veramente il modo migliore per vedere una città. Per dire la verità, una cosa stranissima per me era vedere un negozio come Louis Vuitton qui a Bari. Veramente, ho imaginato questa città come solo una città piccolina del sud Italia, e quindi vedere un negozio come LV è stato come vedere un negozio di LV a Nanaimo. Troppo strano.

Abbiamo visto un paio di chiese, e dovevamo trovare una chiesa specifica dove vanno i russi per pregare a San Nicola (si, per noi si chiama 'jolly old Saint Nic). Eccolo sotto guardandomi negli occhi, e poi anche facendo il segno di pace (peace man).

Bari era pieno dei russi che viaggiano per pregare a lui. I segni sono scritti in italiano e russo, invece di italiano e inglese a cui sono abituata adesso.

A Tale of Six Cities

Sometimes, I amaze myself with my ability to steal creatively adapt titles that other people have already thought of. I also amaze myself with how good I am at being intriguing, although some might just call this false advertising. This post won't talk about six cities.

Sorry.

But, it will get you amped up to read the upcoming six posts! At school in Italy, we have a little thing called Easter Break. Two weeks. Because we all need two weeks to really focus on achieving a proper chocolate coma. Seeing as I plan to be a super successful fashion buyer, this might be my last chance at a holiday for quite a while. So, we took off down south! Coming soon, I will tell you about Bari, San Giovanni Rotondo, Napoli, Roma, Bologna, and Palermo.

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A volte, mi stupisco con la mia abilità di rubare cambiare con creatività i titoli che gli altri hanno gia creato. Mi stupisco anche con quanto sono brava ad essere misteriosa, anche se altri direbbero che questo sia solo la pubblicità falsa. Questo post non parlerà di sei città.

Mi dispiace.

Anzi, questo post vi farà felice di leggere i prossimi sei post! A scuola in Italia, abbiamo una piccola vacanza per la pasqua. Due settimane. Ovviamente abbiamo bisogno di due settimane per avere un vero 'chocolate coma' (scusate, questa frase dev'essere scritta in inglese). Siccome fra poco sarò una super brava fashion buyer, questa vacanza potrebbe essere la mia ultima per un po' di tempo. Quindi, siamo andate al sud! Fra poco, vi racconterò di Bari, San Giovanni Rotondo, Napoli, Roma, Bologna, e Palermo.

Itanglish

Hi all! Here's some exciting news. For those of you who have always wanted to learn a second language, now's your chance. From today on I will be writing my posts in English and Italian. Mostly because I don't think that my posts are funny enough, so I'd like you all to be able to laugh at the mistakes I make in Italian. Except that the majority of my readers don't speak Italian, so I obviously didn't think that one out.

I'm already regretting this decision...

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Ciao tutti! Buone notizie! Per voi che avete voluto sempre imparare un'altra lingua, è ora di farlo. Da adesso, scriverò tutti i miei post in inglese e italiano. Piu tanto perche non penso che i miei posts siano gia abbastanza divertente, e vorrei che tutti voi potete ridere a tutti gli sbagli che faccio in italiano. Però, siccome la maggioranza dei miei lettori non parla italiano, non ne ho pensato bene ovviamente!

Già vorrei cambiare idea...

Barcelona

So here's a funny story. I've been to Spain twice now, in less than three months, but I still haven't been to SPAIN Spain. Confused? Well, my first trip was to Tenerife, part of the Canary Islands. So many people told me that it wasn't really Spain that I thought I should return to Spain to be able to properly judge it. Upon arriving in Barcelona, my friend informs me that Barcelona is also not really Spain, it's actually Catalonia.

Ok, Spain. I get the hint. You don't want me.

But that's fine. I was happy to escape the rainy Vancouver-like weather in Milano to enjoy a weekend of sunshine in Barcelona, with two friends that I actually met over Christmas in the other non-Spain.

We were only in the city for less than 36 hours, so luckily Teresa (who lives there) was able to pack those hours full of activities. Here are some highlights:

The market: We started our morning here, and were pretty much in awe of the fruit and veggies here. The colours were incredible. The only thing I can think to compare it to (in terms of visual) is the Granville Island market, in HD. So much variety, and so inexpensive!!! For my photography friends, if you find yourself in Barcelona then make sure to go to the market first thing in the morning to beat the crowds and take tons of beautiful photos.

Starbucks: I know. I'm ashamed. But when you've lived above a Starbucks for 3.5 years and then you move to a country without a single one, it's a bit of a culture shock. I bought a Starbucks latte. The good news is that in the end I didn't really enjoy it. But try me again in October when the Pumpkin Spice latte is out...

€3.50 mojitos.

The beach: What. Is. Up. We walked on the beach, in the sand, in t-shirts and bare feet. The day could not have been any more beautiful. Oh wait, it was! Later that night we went back to the beach to go to the bars! Life is pretty good when you can spend all day and night on the beach if you want.

€3.50 mojitos.

Street performers: The music coming from these artists is incredible. We stopped to watch one group in particular because they were so amusing (and we had to take in some sunshine!). Here are both videos, but watch the old guy on the left in particular. When he wasn't playing, he looked like a grumpy old man, but when he got started on that trumpet he was having a great time!

Shoes, Glorious Shoes!

A Shoe Museum.

I know, right? Some of you had to read that first line 3 times because it seemed too good to be true. But, I'm happy to report that just a short and cheap train ride from Milano, is a museum dedicated to footwear. Even better, entrance is free!

The magic happens in a little town called Vigevano, where every shop closes between 1:30 and 4:30pm,  there's a castle in the middle of the city, and there's a merry-go-round in the town square for no apparent reason other than for pure daily enjoyment.

The museum is small, but packs in a lot of different shoes, from those that are hundreds of years old, to more modern ones made in town; from the smallest shoe in the world, to a size 59 shoe! I'm no guide, so instead I'm just going to share some photos with you for your viewing pleasure!

An "Italy" boot, a shoe with a built in stocking, the smallest shoe, and a size 59 shoe.

Just general shoe-beauty.

And just general shoe-awesomeness.