Napoli!

Charlie had a conference in Naples, Italy and after much deliberation decided to get plane tickets for me and the kids to add another country to our adventures.  Our plane left Tallinn at 6:05 so it was a rather early morning for us.  Here, you can see us chilling out in Frankfurt, Germany.  

 We checked in at the Navy Lodge on base, and enjoyed going to the commissary and exchange for the first time in over a year.  Charlie had a few things he had to do, and it was very hot, so when I saw Despicable Me 2 playing I jumped at the chance.  We enjoyed the movie and then made our way back to our room for baths and showers.  The kids loved having bunk beds!

 While the Marines were conferencing, a few wives got together to visit Pompeii.  This required us to walk outside the base, catch a bus to the Aversa train station, get tickets to take us to Napali Centrale station, and switch trains to get to Pompeii Scavi.  This was a very hot trip and required us to constantly be hydrating but it was awesome!

I had to spend the next day doing laundry, filling out CDC paperwork, school supply shopping, and getting a new military ID.  We also had a very nice bowling night for the adults while the kids had fun at the CDC.  I met some really neat ladies!

Wednesday, some of us gathered again to take an excursion into Naples.  The base is not very close to anything and a taxi ride is a minimum of 60 or 70 Euros, so public transportation it was.  We took the bus that runs between the support site and the Navy base (Capo), got off and had to walk off base to catch the Alibus to the port where we got off and explored.

 We got off the bus at the port, which is right at Castel Nuovo.  This castle is very impressive!

 Here, we are looking at the Galleria Umberto I.  We then walked inside.  It was absolutely beautiful!

 Entering the galleria...

 We were so hot!  After buying some water, we decided to enjoy some gelato.  Yum!  

 We then began walking along checking out sites.  

 We picked a pizzeria to enjoy.  I had the diavola pizza and split it with the kids, along with a lemon ice.  Oh my!  The pizza was fantastic!

 As we made our way back to the bus stop, I couldn't stop myself from entering this bakery and purchasing cannoli for Charlie since he loves it and couldn't be there.  

 The ladies and I ended up sharing a taxi once we got off the Alibus since the one going between bases was taking a break.  Splitting the taxi made it much more affordable!  The guys were playing frisbee that night and we grilled out as a group.  The kids and I were tuckered out so went back to the room for baths and showers to make it an early night.

The next morning we took a guided tour to Sorrento and had to be at the bus stop by 7:15.  The Marines were taking a field trip to the Salerno War Cemetery while we took our trip.  Sorrento was absolutely amazing.

 Mt. Vesuvius!

 Piazza Tasso

 Old Sorrento Mill

 Inlaid Wood Demonstration

 Tasso, the poet

 Cathedral of Sorrento

 Roman Column

 Sorrento is known for its lemons & olives

 Here, we were able to sample some yummy treats and the adults sampled lemoncello drinks!  Yum!

 We then stopped in at Primavera's to have some gelato.  

 After a bit more kicking around, we made our way to Restorante Pizzeria Tasso.  The staff there were so nice to us and were very playful with the kids.  I had more pizza, and loved it.  

 The waiters were quite taken with Zach, calling him Superman and all.  At one point, they were tossing him in the air.  I tried to get a picture but wasn't fast enough.  

 We decided to make our way down to the beach.  The public beach was very small, but we made our way through the towels to step in the Bay of Naples.  The part of getting down there was a bit...gross.

lemons!

 Charlie was back before us, but as soon as we met up with him in our room, we began another trip via bus into Naples for him to enjoy a pizzeria.  He was NOT disappointed!  

 Even though we caught our first bus to get into the city at 4:40 pm, we didn't get back until 9:30.  All we did was rode into the city, ate, and came back.  That should give you an idea of how time consuming it is to get in the city.  We really wanted to go to Da Michele's, but just didn't have the time.

The next morning, we were checked out and at the airport by 10am.  It was a long day of travel for us and 13 hours after arriving at the first airport we touched down in Tallinn.  The kids were tired, as you can see as we were waiting for our bags at baggage claim.

 This trip was packed with amazing experiences and I am so thankful for the opportunity to go.