Napoli

I was able to spend two weeks in Naples, Italy for business. We worked 10 to 12 hours days, so there wasn't a lot of time to sight see, but we were able to have a weekend to roam around and see the area. I made sure to eat out every night and try all sorts of new things. The fried baby calamari were awesome! I also enjoyed buffalo mozzarella, baba', pizza margherita, and various other desserts. We had plenty of Limoncello, but I didn't take a liking to that. I got to the archaeological museum, several amazing churches, underground Naples, did some shopping, and visited Pompeii. I had never been to Europe and always had hoped to visit Italy. It was hard to believe how old the buildings were and that people were living and working in them every day. Our hotel looked out over the water and there was an old castle right across the street. On clear days I could see Capri off in the distance. It was easy to see Mt. Vesuvius and when we first arrived it had snow at the top (which we were told was unusual for this time of year). My trip started with a flight from Norfolk to Dulles (1 hour), followed by a flight from Dulles to Munich, Germany (8 hours). During that flight I did get some sleep since it was night time, but awoke in time to see the British Isles, the English Channel, and Paris, France all lit up. It was snowing in Munich when we landed and cold compared to the 75 degrees we had left behind in Norfolk. From Munich we took a flight to Naples (almost 2 hours). When we arrived in Naples it was cold and raining. I decided to take a nap and try to adjust to the new schedule before work started the next day. The metal detectors in the hotel lobby should have been a hint a special guest was in town, but it wasn't until later that night we discovered the Pope was in our hotel. While I napped he had performed a mass about 1/2 a mile away for 10,000! Eventually he left later in the week and so did the heavy police presence and the metal detectors. Our group became commuters each day, braving the amazingly crazy traffic in Naples. Our driver, who was used to Southern California driving, had a death grip on the wheel for the entire two weeks of driving. It's saying something when you are looking forward to return in LA to drive! It's hard to explain just how wild the driving is there, you just have to experience it for yourself I guess. After two weeks we were worn out, tired of Italian food (we all have a new found appreciation for the variety we have in the USA), and the commute and were ready to head home. Two weeks is a long time to be away. So I hopped my flight from Naples to Munich (2 hours), from Munich to Chicago (10 hours), and from Chicago to Norfolk (2 hours). It took me several days to reset my clock on this end. The trip really was nice, you can't complain when you get to see Italy on the company dime. I've already found the buffalo mozzarella in the grocery store cheese section and found our local Italian pastry shop (Yum!). I guess some things you don't tire of even after eating them for two weeks straight! I may have to return again after Thanksgiving, though for only one meeting this time. I am hopeful we will be able to do an online presentation as that is a lot of travel for just one meeting. The photos included in this post are of general areas of Naples.