Today, with the red poppies blooming, the breeze blowing and the clear view of the Bay of Naples, I was reminded of some of the things I love about living here.
Let's get a couple of the obvious ones out of the way to start.
The Food:
I have been surprised to discover that not everyone loves Neopolitan cuisine. Me, I am in the "love it" column. Fresh mozzarella and ricotta cheese, cured meats, and *sigh* the pizza. It's heaven to me. They may have to roll me out of here when I go.
The Wine:
They all make it. It's called "young" because some guy fermented it in his cellar just last week. It is slightly carbonated and oh-so-delicious. And if you don't "know a guy" (like everyone does here), then you can buy the stuff that your grocer made in HIS basement for, like, a Euro ($1.25) a bottle. Va bene.
The Coffee:
They like it strong and sweet and man is it good.
The History:
It's everywhere. I mean, the Acropolis of Cuma and Sybill's Cavern (still standing ruins from a city settled by the Greeks in 740 BC) can be seen from our balcony.
The Access:
The Amalfi Coast: 1 Hour by car
The Island of Capri: 1 Hour by ferry
Rome: 1 Hour and 8 minutes by high-speed train
My favorite pizza spot for a 4-cheese: 1 minute by car, and they'll deliver. Really.
And then there are some of the less-obvious things to love....
Small-town living:
Yeah, the Naples metropoltan area is over 3 million people. But we live in a community. We shop in local markets and stores. They know us here. (Probably simply as the crazy Americanos, but that isn't the point) They greet us, they appreciate that we patronize their stores, they watch out for us, and they fill our kids with candy.
Fashion risk-taking:
It doesn't always work, trust me. Despite what you hear on the news, not all Italians have perfect bodies. But they don't care. I applaud their efforts. Lavender pencil-leg pants on the men, thigh high stilleto heels on the women (for work at the grocery, no less), scarves, hats, it's just plain fun to watch.
Family-run stores:
Most every store is named after the person or family that owns it. Pescheria da Nicola e Nunzio (Nicole and Nunzio's Fish Shop), Aldo's Pizza, Ambulatoria da Maria (Maria's Veterinary Hospital)...all on our main street. Even if you don't know them, you feel like you do.
The Produce: Gorgeous fat english peas- $1E/Kg. I'm sorry. That is over 2 pounds of peas for $1.25. I pay $6.00 a pound at the farmers market in the shoulder seasons. 1E/kg for ripe tomatoes? Really? I bring them home and rot them sometimes because I simply get out of hand at the market.
The Truckers: I know, kind of random. But they put their NAMES on little plastic nameplates on the dashboards of their 18-wheelers so as you drive by them, you could shout out, "Hey Alessio, good to see you! How's it going Ciro? Alessandro, how's the drive today?"....if you wanted.
And most of all...
The generosity of spirit: Out from behind the wheel of their automobiles, I have found the Italian people to be incredibly generous in most every way. We have been invited to share meals and met the entire families of people who speak nary a word of English. I get doors held open, bags carried, and items graciously returned to the shelves by perfect strangers when my toddlers go shopping with me and leave complete tornadoes in their wake. My butchered Italian is nearly ALWAYS received with patience and enthusiasm.
These kinds of things I don't take for granted, and would not even expect back home in the states. For that Italy, I heart you. :)
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