Journey into the Boot: The Many Faces of Napoli

Sunday, August 14th

No alarms today. For starters, I went to sleep late because last night, my oldest boy got engaged and I wanted to hear all about it. He called me at 1:30 am, Italy time, to share that Emily said "yes." I am beyond happy for him because Emily is perfect for him. Definitely a match made in heaven. I am not losing a son, I have gained a new daughter.

Even after going to sleep that late, I woke up at 7:30 am. My internal alarm clock is more exact than the outer one. We had breakfast at the hotel, which was also included to my surprise because when I booked it the breakfast was optional and I decided not to take it because we are only having continental breakfast so I didn't feel it was worth the additional 60 euros. Hotel Vesuvio gets five stars in my book.

After breakfast, guide in hand, we decided to venture into Napoli, never anticipating that we were going to walk ten and a half miles, as our phone indicated by the end of the day. Our walk began at Castel Nuovo, which was right across our hotel and therefore I've photographed plenty.

Our first stop was the Piazza Del Plebiscito. Apparently at night it's very popular but on this Sunday morning, it was deserted. We noticed a church at the end of the square. We approached it, entered and perfect timing, mass had just begun. It was the Church of San Francesco di Paola. An amazing work of art, with its Pantheon-inspired dome, broad colonnades and neoclassical huge interior. It could easily accommodate over one thousand persons, but unfortunately, we were only fifteen persons attending mass. It was quite a contrast from the previous day, when the tiny church in Pietrelcina was packed with more than one hundred persons.

After mass, we continued our walk up Via Toledo. We passed the Royal Palace and Teatro di San Carlo, built in 1737. We entered Galleria Umberto I, a shopping mall that is over a century old. Since it was Sunday, most of the stores were closed. The Italians are still pretty strict when it comes to traditions and old customs. Most places close from 1 to 4 pm for the mandatory "siesta" and most stores don't open on Sundays.

We then came upon the Spanish Quarter. It was packed with people. The streets are unbelievably narrow and the buildings were all four to five stories high.

A lot of the stores were closed, but you could easily see that in this neighborhood, the streets are always lively. The stores that were open were practically selling in the middle of the street. There were meat and fish stalls, produce and fruit stands, street food vendors and much more. This was by far the liveliest face of Naples.

We continued our walk through a few more piazzas (Carita, Sette Settembre, Dante, Bellini, Cavour) and ended at the Archaeological Museum. After having visited Pompeii, this was the crown because this museum houses most of the art and decorations that were discovered in the excavations of Pompeii. We would not have appreciated it as much, had we not visited Pompeii. This helped to put everything into perspective. And it made us realize that this culture was truly amazing. They had quite a collection of fine art and artifacts.

They have an entire section, labeled Gabinetto Segreto (the Secret Room) which is dedicated to all the pornographic statues and art pieces that were found. It gave us a clear glimpse to the perversion that was Pompeii. The sizable assortment of erotic frescoes and frisky statues, once decorated bedrooms, brothels, meeting rooms and even living rooms for the entertainment of the guests. The acts of sodomy that were clearly illustrated in these pieces were pretty horrific and left nothing to the imagination.

In addition to the Pompeii collection, there is also an impressive set of gigantic statues, known as the Farnese collection, which were excavated from Rome. They were discovered in the 1500s when Alessandro Farnese was building his palace in Campo dei Fiori. He found quite a treasure.

After witnessing these vast assortment of art, our stomachs were growling. We made our way to a street caffe and had some pasta. I ordered lasagna for the first time and was surprised that their lasagna is quite different than the one we eat in Miami. This lasagna was made with penne pasta and had no meat. It was delicious, though, no complaints.

After lunch, we decided that after viewing so much pornography we needed to be purified. We took a detour from Via Toledo towards the Duomo. This street, known as Spaccanapoli, has a different formal name every few blocks, and it must contain at least three to four churches per block. We didn't take into consideration that most churches are closed from 1 to 4 or 5, even on Sundays, so we passed church after church after church and they were all closed. It was sad to see them on the outside because they looked dirty, their walls filled with graffiti and in total decay. The only ones that looked slightly in better shape and I would have really liked to see them on the inside were la Chiesa di Gesu Nuovo and la Chiesa di Santa Chiara.

This street is also known for the array of stores that sell Presepi (Nativity Scenes). Unfortunately, once again because of the time or maybe because they simply don't open on Sundays, most of them were closed. We got to see glimpses of what they sell in a couple of them that were opened, and it's truly amazing. You can create an entire village because they have all types and sizes of figurines, some even move. Back in America we are big on Christmas tree ornaments. I usually buy at least one new one each year. In Napoli, they are big on the Nativity and they usually add a new piece to their presepe each year.

We continued our walk because I had read on my guide that the oldest and best Gelateria in all of Napoli was at the end of this street. Oh what a disappointment when we finally found "Polo Nord" and it was closed. Oh well, maybe not the best, but there are plenty of gelaterias all over Italy, so I could satisfy my "capriccio" later on.

We made our way to the edge of the water and walked back to our hotel through the Via Maritima. By the time we got back, we had logged 24,632 steps. I could definitely eat a gelato at night. We were so exhausted that we literally collapsed. That night we decided to eat at the hotel and it turned out that the restaurant was excellent with some magnificent views.

My feelings for Napoli are mixed. It's truly a city of many faces: lively, historical, dirty (lots of graffiti on the walls and smelly streets). You may encounter a beautiful, clean and painted building in the middle of two unpainted buildings.

It's also a city set in its traditions (the people collect Presepi but yet the churches are empty). It's not a town that calls me to return like Venice, Florence and Rome. And yet, I'm glad we retraced our steps and got to experience it for a day. And Mama Mary continued to accompany us, occasionally popping up where we least expected her.

Tomorrow, we decided to return to Florence, a city we visited nine years ago and we have many fond memories from that visit. So today we booked a train and it will take us just three hours to get there. I can't wait.

Buona notte!!!

Santa Maria, prega per noi!!!

Journey into the Boot: Two Extremes, from Pietrelcina to Pompeii

"Prayer is the best weapon we possess. It is the key that opens the heart of God." Padre Pio

Saturday, August 13th

Arrivederci Amalfi. Today we said good-bye to Amalfi. It's by far the prettiest coast I've been to. The views are incomparable. And the blue of the water and sky is like nothing I have ever seen before. The roads, though, that's another story. Renting a car was a complete waste because we literally parked it at the hotel and did not use it until we left. The traffic is worst than Miami's Palmetto during rush hour. In addition, they only have two narrow lanes which are shared by buses, cars, motorcycles, bicycles, pedestrians and parking. Yes, there is such little parking space that cars have no choice but to park in the road. So you can just imagine the chaos when two buses are attempting to pass each other either at a tunnel or next to parked cars. That is the main reason for the traffic jams. We took buses a couple of times to go to Positano and to go to Ravello. Every time we crossed another bus, it was a test of driving skills. The buses passed each other within an inch. I was truly amazed that I did not see a single accident. Mama Mary is truly a protector of the Italian people. No wonder they are so fervent and I would constantly notice the drivers doing the sign of the cross.

On this morning, we left early to attempt to avoid the traffic jams since we had no choice but to drive through the one and only road in order to leave the Amalfi Coast. It was a great idea as we only encountered one bus. And I was proud of myself because I behaved and didn't scream out loud, even though I had to close my eyes a few times. I did pray a rosary to Mama Mary and she didn't let me down.

Our first stop of the day was Pietrelcina, hometown of Padre Pio. I have become devout of Padre Pio in the last few years, through my Bible class sisters in Christ that introduced me to him. Padre Pio, just like Mother Teresa and St. John Paul II is a saint of our times. He lived in the twentieth century and died just 48 years ago. He was canonized by Pope John Paul II in 2002. I saw a documentary of his life just a few months ago, not knowing that I would have the opportunity to visit his hometown so shortly afterwards. I won't go into the details of his life, which is a beautiful story of service and humility. You can read about Padre Pio here: http://padrepiodevotions.org/a-short-biography/

We visited °La Chiesa della Sacra Famiglia° which is the church that Padre Pio felt called by God to open.

Next to the church, there is a museum with a lot of things that belonged to Padre Pio: the chalice and other memorabilia that he used when he was a priest, pictures of his parents and siblings, personal items of clothing, some with blood stains from the stigmata, the wounds of Christ, which Padre Pio suffered on his own body, a copy of the pain that Jesus suffered during His Passion and Crucifixion.

Afterwards we made our way into the town, which is tiny. Of course, as it usually happens, it has been commercialized and there were a lot of stores selling religious items of medals, rosaries, and other things with the picture of Padre Pio on them. I joined the pilgrims and tourists, and bought a few items for myself and to give away. We then found "La Chiesa di Santa Maria degli Angeli." This is where Padre Pio worshipped and found spiritual refuge. This was also where he carried his pastoral ministry from 1910 to 1916, the first years of his priesthood. He celebrated his first mass here on August 14, 1910. Actually, tomorrow, the town will celebrate the 106th anniversary of his first mass. The church holds a small relic of Padre Pio.

We were fortunate that we arrived when mass was being given. I was impressed at the amount of people that were packed in such a little church. And it was Saturday, this was not the regular Sunday mass. I can only imagine how packed it will be tomorrow.

After the mass we walked to the house where Padre Pio was born, which is tiny. It was easy to see from what a humble family he came, but what they lacked in material riches they more than made up in spiritual gifts. We also got to visit the tiny church where he was baptized.

I felt so blessed of this opportunity to have walked where he walked and to have been where he lived. And in spite of all the stores selling Padre Pio's souvenirs, I could tell that this town was very devout and very proud of their Saint.

On our way back to the car, we got lost. The town is tiny, it has only two main roads, and we got lost. Thank God we found someone that spoke English and she directed us towards the Church of the Sacred Family where we had parked. On our way there we bought a couple of panini, water and Pringles to eat on our way to Pompeii.

Today was a day of extremes. In the morning, we visited a town that was religious through its very pores. And in the afternoon, we visited the ruins of a town that was pagan to the extreme. Nevertheless, Pompeii has a fascinating history and it's an archeologist's dream. I'm glad we made the detour and took the time to walk through the ancient ruins of this civilization. This town was built 600 years before Christ and destroyed by the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius less than 50 years after the death of Christ. I could compare it to Sodom and Gomorrah because the people that lived there worshipped idols and pagan gods. There were about 30 brothels in the town, indicating that prostitution was a very popular occupation, and from the items that have been discovered, it's obvious that pornography and sodomy were very popular. But looking beyond this, I was amazed at the detailed construction and the organized structure that was already in place more than 2,000 years ago. And to think that everything is so well preserved, that the volcano did not destruct these valuable treasures, on the contrary, the ash served to preserve everything and it looks like a town eerily frozen in time. Even the Pompeiians that died in the destruction, were captured in their last moments and you can see plaster casts of the victims: adults, children and dogs.

We walked for a couple of hours through the dusty streets and under the heated sun, trying to follow Rick Steve's detailed guide but getting lost a few times because since the town is still being excavated at the present time, a lot of streets and whole sections are closed off. But we got to see enough to get a good idea of what life was like in what must have been a once-thriving Roman town.

From Pompeii we drove to Naples, returned the car because it's simply not worth it to have a car in such a busy city and we grabbed a taxi to the hotel. This detour was planned just a few days back so we were very lucky to find a room in a very nice hotel by the water. The only availability was a double room with a city view, but I really didn't care since I was not planning to spend that much time in the hotel and I only booked two nights. But we were upgraded to a king size room with a balcony that offered both a city and a water view.

I've discovered that traveling without so much planning in advance is not so bad at all. Not knowing what to expect, is part of the adventure.

Tomorrow, we will explore Napoli. Tonight is for resting. We found a restaurant next to the hotel at the "via maritima" and we just sat there to do some "people watching." The pedestrian-only beach walk was packed with both tourists and locals alike. It's pretty easy to distinguish them. And I have discovered that in Italy, "anything goes." There are people very well dressed and there are people in rags. And the fashion allows anything and everything: mini-skirts and long skirts, heels and flats, shorts, capris and long pants, full color and printed pants, all types of tops, hats, hairdos, hair colors... Amazing. It was an amalgamation of color and texture. But one thing that called my attention is that most people are skinny. Definitely the walking because the food is not healthy at all. After I return to the States, I won't want to eat Italian food for at least a year.

Tomorrow, we will do like the Italians, "walk, walk, walk." I'm glad we spent yesterday "doing nothing" because for the next week, we will cover a lot of ground.

Padre Pio, prega per noi.

Journey into the Boot: La Dolce Far Niente

Friday, August 12th

When in Italy, you have to learn how to live like an Italian. And Italians have perfected "la dolce far niente" (the sweetness of doing nothing). So today, we decided to imitate them and we spent a very sweet day doing nothing. I must confess that at first I was feeling guilty. How could I stay in the hotel and do nothing? But last night I only slept five hours and I woke up exhausted. So Rafael basically forced me to stay in today. And I'm glad he did because I needed the break. We spent most of the day by the Mediterranean Sea just doing nothing while enjoying this amazing view:

We even imitated the Italians by taking a "siesta" (an afternoon nap).

When in Italy, you tend to eat like the Italians eat: antipasti, primi piatto, secondo piatto, dolce... And then you must take Alka Seltzer because you are ready to explode. I have definitely been eating too much. So today, I've gone easy on the food, which is not easy to do in Italy. I just limited myself to one dish per meal.

Last night, before dinner, we sat at Piazza Duomo in Amalfi to enjoy an aperitif, and to enjoy the many faces of Italy. There were the locals, who stand around the fountain just to gossip. There was the daily wedding taking place. Yes, we have witnessed a wedding every single day. In this case, the bride and groom were being photographed on the steps of the Amalfi Duomo, in the middle of a sea of Italians and tourists that were just there, sitting on the steps, enjoying the free show and doing nothing.

Italy is truly amazing. You sit at any piazza and you can enjoy a clash of history, colors, and people. On one side of the piazza, we had the beautiful Duomo with all its history.

Next to the Duomo, an apartment building with clothing hanging from the balconies.

In the bottom floor of the building, there was a toy/children's clothing store. The door was opened and the lady that probably owned it, was standing there greeting all the neighbors: the couple that came out with their little girl to enjoy an early evening stroll; the owner of the apoteca (pharmacy) from across the street who stopped to chat for a few minutes of his way home; the grandmother who was on her way to the alimentaria (grocery store) next door... In the thirty minutes we sat there "people watching," she didn't sell a single item, but she was a happy Italian lady just enjoying the art of living.

Of course, there were plenty of bars around the piazza, a couple of gelaterias, a pasticceria, a pizzeria, a ristorante and plenty of tourist shops selling all kinds of souvenirs. And the mood was jolly and relaxed. People were simply enjoying "la dolce far niente."

Saluti!!!

Io amo l'Italia. 💚❤️💚❤️💚❤️

Journey into the Boot: Ravello Incantato

 Thursday, August 11th

Ravello sits high over a hill. If the views in the entire Amalfi Coast are amazing, they are spectacular from Ravello. This tiny little town, which doesn't have the fame that Positano or Sorrento has, captured my heart. I felt it was enchanted and it put a spell on me.

There are only three main attractions in the town: the Duomo (of course) and two villas. We could have seen all three in half a day, but we just wanted to linger and spend the entire day there.

We first paid a visit to the beautiful Duomo. The patron saint of Ravello is St. Pantaleon, and the highlight of the Cathedral is that there is a relic of his holy blood in an altar dedicated to him.

When in Italy, we must pray like the Italians pray. The Italians pray to their patron saint, who contacts Mama Mary, who contacts her Son Jesus, who contacts God. Why go directly to God when we have a better chance of reaching Him by going through the hierarchical ladder? So while in Ravello, I asked St. Pantaleon to intercede for all of us. I had never heard of him until today. But he has an amazing story which you can read here if you are interested:

http://www.itmonline.org/bodytheology/stpant.htm

After the Duomo, we made our way up many steps to Villa Cimbrone. This villa is at least ten centuries old, since its first recorded history dates back to the 11th century. It's had many owners through the years, but the most recent one was an English Lord who bought it at the turn of the 20th century and restored it. The visit only included the gardens which felt magical. We made our way through a variety of exotic plants and flowers, fountains, small temples, pavilions and stone and bronze statues of gods and goddesses. And the reward were the most amazing views:

Then, as if we were part of a fairy tale, we were caught in a huge thunderstorm and we had to take refuge in an open pavilion known as the "tea room." We were in the middle of the rain, with thunder and lightning all around us, but surrounded by fountains, golden deer and beautiful statues. And just as it came, the storm dissipated and we finished our perusal of Villa Cimbrone.

By this time, we were hungry, of course. When in Italy, we must eat, pray, and eat some more. We made our way down the same road we had climbed, and we picked a random restaurant among the many in Piazza Duomo. Since today happened to be the feast of St. Chiara, the town was celebrating. Why not? The Italians love to celebrate the feasts of their saints, and even though St. Chiara is not the patron saint of Ravello, the monastery of St. Chiara happens to be there, so that's a good enough reason to celebrate. And we were caught in the midst of the festivities. So while we ate, we were rewarded with an entire band of musicians that gave us a free concert in the middle of the Piazza. No wonder I felt in love with Ravello, there was magic all around.

After lunch, we visited the second famous villa, this one called Villa Rufolo. Built in the 13th century, it also had wistful magical gardens and "oh my God" views. We walked around, took pictures, enjoyed the views and slowly made our way back to the bus stop to catch the bus that would take us back through the zig-zag roads to Amalfi.

In Amalfi, we got lost through its cobblestone streets, perused inside its many stores, and then we headed back to the hotel so we could rest and get refreshed for our dinner reservation at Trattoria da Gema, which just like all the restaurants we've tried, was divine.

I don't think Ravello is the only enchanted town. All of Italy is enchanted.

St. Pantaleon prega per noi.

Journey into the Boot: Positano... A Beauty from the Outside

Wednesday, August 10th

Positano is probably the most famous town in the Amalfi coast. I had heard so much about it that I was dying to visit it. And honestly, I was totally disappointed. Yes, it's beautiful... When you see it from the outside. But when you dig deep into it, you come up with a sour taste. I felt it was like an undercooked pie. It looks delicious on the outside but when you taste it, it's a disaster. It's so touristy that I feel it's been totally damaged.

The bus dropped us at the top, so we had to walk downhill to the bottom. Thank God we chose a bus and not a boat because the vertical climb up would have left us breathless. The downward slope was a string of stores selling you everything, from linens to sandals, from jewelry to ceramics. In the midst of the madness, there was a Duomo. Of course, we can't have an Italian town without its cathedral and patron saint. The patron saint of Positano is St. Virus. Unfortunately, the Duomo was closed. We missed it by twenty minutes. But I had already visited my quota of churches for the day and I was not disappointed. At the very top of our downward climb, there was a little church, and it was just perfect. The little yellow Church of the Holy Rosary was serene enough to get my mind off the tourist madness and into a pilgrimage mood. There I was able to get my five minutes of prayer time to thank God for keeping us safe during this last minute vacation and to pray for all of you: my family, my friends, and my Emmaus and CSS brothers and sisters in Christ.

Finally, we made it pass all the tourist traps, and we reached the beach. It's supposed to be one of the nicest beach destinations in Italy. Really? Everyone is packed shoulder to shoulder like sardines. The sand is black and full of rocks. The water is as cold as ice. It made me realize how blessed I am to have Miami Beach on my backyard.

But I'm in Italy... So I'm not complaining. I love this country. You just won't catch me at the beach. We had a delicious lunch on a terrace overlooking the beach. I felt it was a much better choice to enjoy watching the beach from a terrace while enjoying a delicious meal, than having to deal with the rocks, the heat, the cold water and the crowd. I am so thankful and blessed to live in Miami.

At this point we decided that it was just not worth the heat to climb up vertical Positano to catch the bus. Luckily, they have water taxis. We caught the next available one and returned to Amalfi. It is by far my favorite town on the Amalfi coast. I wonder if it's just a coincidence or there is a reason why this entire coast was named after this town. I think it was a God-incidence that when I searched for hotels in Positano, three weeks ago, everything was sold out. Amalfi turned out to be so much better.

The hilight of our day was the Amalfi Duomo. It turns out that St. Andrew's tomb is at the Amalfi Duomo. St. Andrew was one of the twelve apostles, the brother of Peter. I never expected to find his tomb and his relics in Amalfi. And I didn't have to book it in advance (like I had to do for his brother Peter). I did have to pay, but just three euros. And it was so worth it. I just sat there, dumbfounded, staring at his relics... a little piece of bone. But just to think that he knew Jesus, that he was one of the twelve. I get goosebumps just thinking about it.

One thing that struck me, was that St. Andrew was crucified on a cross that was an "X" shape, and not a "T" shape like Christ's cross. I did some research and the reason was, that just like his brother Peter, he didn't feel worthy to be crucified on the upright cross of Christ. Therefore, just like Peter requested to be crucified upside down, Andrew requested to be crucified diagonally. He hung for three days on the cross, fixed not by nails but by rope round his hands and feet.

St. Andrew, pray for us.