Day 7 - Historic City Center, Sorbillo, Davidsons, and Be Boo's

Today we went to the Historic City Center in Naples. We walked down Spacca Napoli (the street that divides old and new Naples). We walked up "Christmas Alley" (a street with a market full of nativity scenes). We visited a few Catholic Cathedrals and Mom and Dad went to the museum to see the marble sculpture of "The Veil of Christ."

Next, for lunch, we ate at Sorbillo. Sorbillo is probably the most famous pizzeria in Naples. It is definitely a good one! Here's a video about how to eat the pizza here:



And here's a few pictures from Sorbillo:


Just in case people might think we live here, we took a picture like this:


The pizzas are so big that they flow over the plates:




Next, we went to the Davidsons' house since they were unable to make it to the team dinner on Monday night. Mom got to hold Lily, and meet Paul and MacKenzie.





On the way back to the apartment, we stopped at a popular teenage hangout (cause we are cool people) called Be Boo's. They have a wide variety of pastries that are beyond delicious. Mmm... Good stuff!!!



The pastries:


The workers:




I know that the last picture makes it look as though this place is not very popular, but that's not the case. While we are very cool people, we are old....so we were there a lot earlier (9pm) than their usual crowd shows up (10pm - 2am).

On the way home from Be Boo's, we stopped several times to try to get some good night photos. My camera is not capable of taking good night pictures, but I was able to get this one for my friend, Serena!

Day 6 - Amalfi Coast

We woke up early and drove almost 2 hours and visited several cities along the Amalfi Coast. This area of Italy is incredibly beautiful and picturesque. Jason and I really enjoy seeing this area. Unfortunately, this was not such a wonderful trip for me, because I caught some sort of cold the day before, and felt awful for most of the day. Nonetheless, the Amalfi Coast is gorgeous and definitely worth a visit. Here's a few pictures:

Day 5 - Pozzuoli and Dinner at Patrizia's

Since we didn't return back to the house until around 2am after visiting Rome, we slept in the next morning. We set no alarms. When we woke up, we went around the town and visited Pozzuoli, which is the place where Paul landed in Italy.

That night, we were invited to eat dinner at Patrizia and Sergio's house. What a fun night! Here are a few pictures:

Patrizia and Assunta, making the gnocchi:


The table before we all sat down to eat:


From left to right: Mom, Assunta, me, Jason, Peppe, Dad, Patrizia:

(Sergio was taking the picture.)

The gnocchi was incredible! We loved it. The next course was a dish of eggplant, a dish of zucchini, and some sausage and roast. All very delicious! Then we had gelato and strawberries for dessert. Mmmm... So good. Jason and I were both able to understand and speak the entire night. Very encouraging to both of us!

Day 4 - Rome

What a day! We started the day by driving to Rome at 7am. We arrived shortly after 10am. After waiting and driving for about 30 minutes, we finally found a parking spot. We hopped on the metro, headed for the Vatican. Here's a few pictures:









And my most favorite part of the Vatican Museum:

The exit!!!

Next, we headed to St. Peter's Basilica. Here's a few pictures:









The rest of the day is pretty much a blur for me. I was ready to be back in Naples before we ever left the Vatican. We had several metro trips around the city, LOTS of walking, and some pizza (if you can call it that). The rest of the afternoon, I was thanking God for calling me to Naples.

Around 7:30pm, we finally started heading back home. I was entirely ready to be in my bed sleeping. However, about 30 kilometers from our city, our rental car broke down. My thoughts: Are you kidding me??? After several calls to the car rental service center and the rental car office, we were told that a tow truck was on the way to pick us up. We were all very excited about the adventure ahead:







Well...most of us were. I was not amused in the least. But, I will say that the tow ride was the highlight of the day. When the tow truck arrived (around 10:30pm), the car was loaded onto the tow truck (with us inside) and the driver drove us to his shop, which happened to be back in the opposite direction from Naples. When we finally got to the shop, there was some major confusion between us, the tow service, and the car rental people as to what we were supposed to do to get home.

We called our supervisor (even though at this point it was midnight) to let him know what was going on and to see if he knew of any other options than taking a taxi. Even though it was past midnight, and he had already gone to bed, Charlie got dressed and drove all the way out of the city to pick us up and get us home. What an incredible blessing to work for and with a man like that. We are truly blessed!

Please pray for God's blessing to rest on Charlie and his entire family because they are incredible, each and every one!!!

Day 3 - Pompei, Paestum, and Dinner with the Team

Wow! We had a really busy day today! First, we went to Pompei to see the ruins. Here's a few pictures:

The first thing you see as you enter the area:


Mom and me in front of...something.


Old pottery and molds of bodies found in the volcanic residue:


Mom's and Dad's heads and some...other things in Pompei:


Next, we drove to Vietri Sul Mare, which is a city on the Amalfi Coast line and ate at a little restaurant. We ordered a half meter pizza:


Mmmm...it was delicious! So much fun, too. After lunch, we drove to Paestum. In Paestum, there were some Greek ruins. Here's a few pictures of what we saw:

An old, round, theater-looking thingy (this is it's technical name):


Not sure what this is/was either:


An old Greek temple:


Me and Mom in front of an old Greek temple:


When we finished seeing everything we wanted to see in Paestum, we traveled (via the scenic route) back home. We rested for about a half an hour before going over to our supervisors' house for dinner. Good times!!!

The Team:


Other part of the team not seen in the first picture:


Shannon and Kala??? How did you manage to stay out of both of these pictures??? Well, you can kind of see Kala's arm in the first one. O-well. Sorry guys.

Shannon made Pasta Siciliana, a pork roast with potatoes, a tomato salad with sliced bread and this incredibly wonderful fruit torte:




Yes...it tasted just as good as it looks!!! Love it!

Tomorrow's agenda: Rome in a day...

Day 2 - Church, Castle St. Elmo, and the San Martino Museum

Today, my parents had their first experience in an Italian evangelical church service. However, the pastor did not preach this morning. One of the ladies in the congregation presented a message for the church. And my parents actually understood what was being said...but only because the pastor asked one of the ladies who speaks English to translate for them.

After church, we went to a trattoria in our neighborhood for lunch. The only brave soul in the bunch was Dad. He ordered the Frutta di Mare Pasta (pasta with fruit of the sea).
Before:


After:


He choked down all 30 of the clams that came on the bed of noodles. But the funny part is why he did it. He felt like the waiters had a bet going on whether or not he would or could eat it. Too funny!

Next, we went to the castle and museum that are up the street from our apartment. From the top of the castle, there is an incredible view of the city:


My parents in front of Mt. Vesuvius:


In the museum, there is a monastery with many, many rooms and countless paintings.

A few of them:




Also, in the museum, there are a lot of...old things. (Clearly, this is very intriguing for me). :D


Large-scale Nativity Scene:


Small-scale Nativity Scene:


Mom looking at one of the largest Nativity Scenes:


Me and Mom: