Delinissima

Nearly Friday

2008-11-20T22:26:00.005+01:00

I know it's early, but I've already started on the panettone / pandoro...By January I'll be regretting it severely and won't be able to look at another panettone / pandoro, but they were on offer at the supermarket, and what can I say, I am weak when put face to face with cake. I don't even have a preference, either will do. Ever tried pandoro with custard? It's a sign of a truly-integrated-but-loyal-to-one's-roots expat.

Saturday

2008-11-15T20:54:00.003+01:00

Saw this picture in the paper the other day of "Posh" and her son Cruz. The fourth picture down is so funny. How can she hold her miserable face with a little one dressed up as a zoo keeper with a Santa's hat complete with sun glasses? I wouldn't be able to keep a straight face. Her kids seem to like dressing up (I know I shouldn't read the DM too much, but it's addictive). I reckon they try to have a go at making her smile, but alas ...

Wednesday

2008-11-12T22:20:00.006+01:00

I can't believe it, my favourite store Marks and Spencers now delivers overseas! From the site: "We deliver to Australia, Canada, France, Germany, New Zealand, Spain and the United States." ...Note no Italy on the list. Darn. Why could that be? Er, maybe because when you're expecting a parcel here you never know when, or if, it will arrive.

If they did post to Italy the last order date in time for Christmas would be some time around March. Hee hee,

Tuesday

2008-11-11T22:01:00.006+01:00

Eccomi. Gosh it's been a while...Anyway, one reason why I've been neglecting my dear blog is that I've been trailing the immobiliare sites, aka house hunting. Today I'm having a bit of a down day, debating if there is any hope of finding anything bigger than a workman's tent in a decent area...Sigh. We're discovering also how the (Neapolitan?) estate agents work, or as the case may be, do not work. We were phoned Saturday morning 30 mins before an appointment supposed to be at 9.45 to say that the owner would be late - s/he would arrive "at around 10:15 or 10:30" Con tutto calma allora. We told them to forget it as we had other appointments and that we would call them. This afternoon we had to cancel an appointment for tomorrow too as we had said 9:30 (yeah, we have to work afterwards) but the agent had us down as 11:30 - sorry but we cannot take a morning off work each for a five minute viewing of a house. Do they want to sell these houses or not? And the agent even expects 3% of the house price too.

Any advice / tips on house hunting / calming techniques / greatly welcomed.

It's a miracle again!

2008-09-19T18:17:00.002+02:00

The miracle of San Gennaro happened this morning at 9.43.

Phewww

Prague

2008-09-14T20:03:00.010+02:00

I got back from Prague this week. It's a really beautiful city and I'd definitely recommend a visit there. The view over the river with the castle and Charles bridge is just magical.

I'd like to see Prague again in the winter time. This time we were hoping to get away from the heat for a few days, only to hit nearly 30 degrees there too. The evenings were cool at least. So strange as looking at the temperatures for Prague now it's a max of 14°C today.

Blue blue sky in Prague:

My legs and feet have just about recovered from all the walking. Hopefully the many kilometers covered helped to work off some of the food we had. Czech cuisine, from what I saw, is not for the light eater and the hotel we stayed in had super buffet breakfasts too. What's a girl to do?

If the weather man says it's raining you won't see me complaining

2008-09-14T09:13:00.001+02:00

We've finally got rain!!! Yesterday we were promised storms and it only rained a little so I was a bit disappointed, but during the night it has really rained. Much needed. My plants are singing out with joy, though they're a bit battered too as it's been quite windy.

Beach

2008-09-07T13:34:00.006+02:00

With August over I decided it was safe to hit the beach so off we went to Acciaroli which can be found going further south, after Salerno. It has the all important Bandiera Blue which means the sea is just gorgeous. It wasn't too busy at all, mainly families with young kids. A few photos:

I saw lots of this fruit around:

In Italian they're called fichi d'india. Anyone know the name in English? I just did a quick Google and found "Cactus fruit", but I think there's another name used.

Naples in August

2008-08-20T09:07:00.004+02:00

Love it!

Via Dei Mille in August. A photo to compare would be useful, but for those who don't know Naples, this street is usually buzzing with cars and people.

As fellow blogger pointed out, notice that lack of rubbish too.

Soaking wet hair

2008-08-17T19:55:00.003+02:00

Any Italian readers might want to look away right now.

It seems that the latest fashion is wet hair, as sported here by Shakira and Jennifer Aniston. So I'm in fashion with no effort at all, at least for a few hours in the morning, every other day (hair washing days).

This can no way catch on in Italy where it is a complete no-no not to blow dry your hair. It's right up there with standing in a draft or drinking ice cold water.

Last night's partial eclipse

2008-08-17T09:14:00.004+02:00

Perfect viewing conditions. Anyone else see it?

Thursday

2008-08-15T12:30:00.003+02:00

Yesterday my parents who are visiting and I went down to the port to go to Procida. We got there about 9.15 for the 9.55 fast boat (aliscafo), I asked for 3 tickets and the man behind the counter said it's sold out :| August strikes again! "What time's the next one?" Man points to the sign "13.10" okaaayy "2 tickets for the 13.10 boat then please" (only 2 as at this point there's no longer any point in me going as I needed to be back early. Man behind the counter "you can't book for that boat until 10.30" :| "Prego? Allora lei non mi può vendere i biglietti ora, devo aspettare qua fino alle 10.30?" We're not talking about tickets to an eagerly awaited Stones gig here, just a ride to one of the nearby islands. What a system. So we did hang around to buy them when I noticed there is another company (Snav) which goes to Procida and they had a boat leaving at 12.30 so I got ticket for that one. Whilst waiting we sat at the bar and I had my first cold cappucino of the year. It's really yummy - coffee with cold milk. Also passively smoked a pack of Marlboro. Blee.

I've since seen that with Snav you can book online - wow, v moderno - so there's no waiting until say 10:30 until bookings can be made. Imagine if the other company had online bookings too, you'd be able to book at anytime and the man behind the counter would have very little to do.

So after a full morning down at the port parents finally made it off to Procida. I couldn't help but notice that they are STILL trying to get a metro station opened down there. I think I blogged about this before (note to self: Have a tidy blog with tags so that you know what you blogged about. Self: But you're not tidy so why have a tidy blog?) I wonder if they'll get to a point where they just decide to give on opening the metro.

Waiting for a star to fall

2008-08-10T12:34:00.003+02:00

Love that 80's song! The tenth of August is San Lorenzo, the night when you watch for a falling star and make a wish. The sky is clear blue today so it should be a good night for star gazing.

Naples is bliss just now with everyone "a mare" and the others "in montagna". Why any person living in Naples would voluntarily go on holiday in August and leave the city will remain a mystery to me. It's so quiet, so nice, it feels almost like I live somewhere normal. If only every month were like this.

Tuesday

2008-08-05T19:02:00.002+02:00

Yet again I find myself trawling the internet for hotels. This time for a short trip to Prague. There's enough info out there to drive a person crazy! Venere...Expedia...Lastminute...Google Earth. My head's spinning.

Then there are the contrasting comments ie:

"The location of the hotel it is not the best because it's a little far from tourist attractions to go walking"

"Excellent position. could walk everywhere"

Centre = noise, pricey, near to everything.
Outskirts = further to get to tourist attractions, cheaper, quieter.

It's too darn hot

2008-08-03T20:00:00.004+02:00

(that's 9am)

Despite me enjoying Naples being empty, I have to say, roll on Winter.

The times they are a changin'

2008-08-01T22:37:00.003+02:00

Both Thursday and Friday driving home from work around 7pm I found myself stuck in traffic. Traffic!? Just a few years ago by the end of August the city would be practically empty by now, but it seems that habits have changed and not everyone is on holiday. Even though not empty, the traffic situation is still much improved compared to "normal" months which is fabulous and one of the reasons why I'd rather work during the summer and take my holidays out of peak season.

How was your 'workend'?

2008-07-27T23:06:00.004+02:00

This is how I feel about the weekend these days - nothing but a workend. Chores chores, things to do, grocery shopping, cleaning, laundry, recycling. Then the week starts all over again. If only the weekend were three days long instead of only two.

Need a holiday.

Tomatoes

2008-07-13T19:51:00.006+02:00

My tomatoes - grown from seeds - have finally turned red! Yey!

Here they are a few weeks ago:

And today:

Dear Blog

2008-06-29T14:09:00.008+02:00

It's been a while. My excuses? Well, I went to England for a while, yes they have internet there too so that's not really an acceptable excuse is it. I did a mega clothes shop both for me and OH. I miss decent shopping so much, though now at least I know that I just don't have the choice here so I stock up in the UK and don't even look here anymore. Something else I noticed that I miss are the long summer nights. It gets dark about 8.30pm here in Naples, whilst in England the days seem so much longer with it not getting dark until something like 9.30pm.

My other excuse for being a bad blogger is that my Mum came to visit. We had a lovely time. I had my first trip to the beach this year, despite thinking I'm so white I would reflect the sun (not really, I had factor 25 on), I got a bad case of sunburn on my stomach and thighs :( Silly silly girl. Won't be doing that again. The pain!

We had lunch at a great beach restaurant in Procida. Yuuuummm. Big portions and friendly staff too.

Hungry?

Speaking of good staff, or not so good/appalling staff...We did a spot of supermarket shopping when the check out woman decided to count all her change while we were waiting to pay. I was through the other side waiting to bag up, whilst Mum was waiting to pay. We looked at each other, then at the woman, then at each other again. A queue was forming behind us. She continued to count her money. I was torn between saying something and thinking you're not in Kansas anymore Dorothy (ie Italy is not England where customer service is concerned). She finally finished counting then threw the stuff at me as she passed them through. Deary me. Mum asked if we could have filmed her so she could show in her shop how not to treat customers, but I said we'd probably be breaking some precious privacy law by doing that. I also tried to explain the reasons for such people - ie she's probably the daughter of the owner, or has a cast iron contract where she can do what she wants etc etc. Though even though I say these things I don't agree with any of my justifications, even if I didn't enjoy my job I couldn't be rude to customers (who are not rude to me) like that.

Anyway blog, I will try not to neglect you anymore (was going to say promise, but promise is a big word).

A presto,

Delina.

Martedi

2008-05-06T21:52:00.005+02:00

Anyone watching X Factor? The winner IMO should be Emanuele - think he forgot the words to Purple Rain this eve though. The judges are quite nice - not sure that X Factor judges should be nice, Simon Cowell considered. What amazes me most with every installment, is not the singing, but the colour of judge Simona. What colour did she ask for her make up to be? Oompa Loompa? Tangerine orange?

Phone

2008-05-03T20:39:00.007+02:00

I'm thinking of getting a new mobile phone. The one I've got isn't that old but it's a Motorola and quite frankly I've persevered enough. Sending texts to the wrong number etc happens too often. It has to be a Nokia this time.

The ones I like are these. What do you think? Anyone got one? I never thought I'd say this, but one of the qualities it has to have is a camera. A few years ago I used to say "why would I need to carry a camera around with me all the time?" But I now realise that it's an essential tool for a blogger.

Or maybe I should just save my money...

Eccomi

2008-04-30T21:33:00.003+02:00

I'm back. We got a taxi to the airport in England, and back from the airport in Naples. The taxi driver tried to rip us off both there and here. There's something kind of homely about that. In England the pre-paid taxi driver said he hadn't been paid when he obviously had been, whilst the Napoletano taxi driver did the usual trick of charging us something like 17.10 and not having the change for a twenty. Same old same old. Much to his disappointment I got my reserve change purse out and gave him the exact money. Teach him. Taxi driver this side didn't wear a seat belt and reeked too.

I'm molto annoyed that I left my bacon and sausage import in the hotel before leaving. We stayed in a hotel the last night you see, and I put my packets of bacon and sausage in a cool bag on the window ledge so they'd keep cool. And that's where they stayed. Boo hoo.

Buona Domenica

2008-04-27T09:53:00.003+02:00

I'm at my parent's house in England. It's drizzling but everything is so lovely. The house is so sturdy and quiet - a *complete* welcomed contrast to Naples. There's a garden with tulips and a shed which smells of treated wood. Sometimes I wonder what it would be like to live back here - buy a house, work 9-5 etc... But I know that once you have to work and live day to day regular life, then things are different - tutto il mondo e' paese, etc (~ it's the same all over).

I can now blog from here now that my parents are connected to the world :) The keyboard is English e non mi trovo :D

If only all bills were like this

2008-04-23T21:55:00.007+02:00

Gas bill total to pay: 0.00 euro.

For anyone wondering why this is, in Italy if you don't communicate your usage, then the gas/electric company "guesses" what you've used. After some months when they eventually get a reading, they straighten things out so you either end up with an enormous bill because you've not paid enough, or you get a zero bill because they guessed wrong and you paid too much.

Luckily for us this time it was the latter! Phew.

Domenica

2008-04-20T20:04:00.006+02:00

It's been lovely weather today. 26 degrees the weather man says. This is about as hot as I'm comfortable with to be honest. Any hotter and I get a bit grumpy.

We bought some new curtains the other day and tried to put them up with "mille chiode" yesterday. Mille chiode is called "no nails" in England. On the UK ad it shows a chair stuck to the wall (with "no nails") and someone sitting on it, so I thought curtains would stay up no problem, but no, not even the rail would hold up. Granted, it was a child sitting on the chair on the ad, but surely he weighed more than a curtain rail. So off we went to buy a drill. We went to Leroy Merlin - so much choice in there. I somewhat begrudge spending money on stuff like drills and can't help equating the cost to a pair of shoes/new clothes, but apparently one needs to have these things. The good thing about being in a rented house is that we can both practice how to use a drill. Curtains are now up, just need to turn them up as they're bunched up on the floor at the bottom. Will leave that for another time, what with Sunday being the day of rest.

Giovedi

2008-04-10T20:04:00.010+02:00

Yesterday I had my second trip to a newly found dentista. I think it might be a case of third time lucky as it is the third dentist I’ve been to here. First one took two hours to pull a tooth, second kept me waiting in the waiting room for two hours. Time wasters really annoy me.

The new one sent me off for an xray after the first visit so he could see the extent of what work I’ve already had done, plus see any other underlying problems. This meant I had my first taste of the Italian health service - wow. I got a note/prescription from my GP (who I’ve never seen), then I took this to a clinic who did my xray. I was very impressed by the clinic, great staff, very efficient and professional. Sat in the waiting room I noticed they even had a comments box! Everyone seemed to go in before me, but this can happen. They had a really weird numbering system, so even though I was number 16 it didn’t mean I came anywhere near 15. Molto confusing.

Yesterday I went back to the dentist complete with xray. A mum and daughter team were in the waiting room. They spoke really well of the dentist and said that every one comes out smiling which is a great sign. We talked about my xray and the fact that here the patient keeps the xrays, whereas in the UK/US the dentist keeps them and so private investigators end up using records to crack crimes and identify the criminal. The mother daughter team had seen a few murder-mysteries too many mi sa. I carry my xrays in a massive white envelope.

Looking at the xray with Sig Dentista I was rather disappointed to discover that a tooth I had a root canal filling had been removed. I mean, I knew it had been removed, but didn't realise it was the tooth where I'd had the root canal. All those trips to the dentist and me being brave for a root canal doing and then they took the tooth out!

Anyway, I have to go back but not for too much doing, a small filling and he said he’ll inject some antibiotics as there is a small infection. If he doesn’t bring me to tears I’ll consider it a success.

Telly

2008-04-03T21:30:00.006+02:00

There's a program on Sky tv called "Cercando Casa Disperatamente" (desperately seeking a house). It's pushed me to do a quick post this evening. Arrgghh. It's kind of an Italian version of "Location Location Location". Main difference is, on the UK version there's a bit of a challenge - ie find the right house in the right location for 150,000 pounds - singles, couples, those wanting to buy to rent etc. On this other version it's almost always a couple, occasionally with children, and the lowest budget I've seen so far has been 600,000 euro. This is what's on now and they're looking for a house in Naples coincidentally.

Now, if you have 600,000 euro, you shouldn't need to call up a tv program to find your self a 2 bedroomed house in Naples. There's lots of these on offer. They might be "da ristruttuare", not all done up like they show on this program, but you'll find them. Other recent episodes have had budgets of 700, 800,000 euro. I don't know where they find these people from considering the masses of people in Italy making 1000 euro a month.

I imagine not many people watch this program who are reading, but I just wanted to mini-rant.

Two sides

2008-03-30T21:11:00.015+02:00

Some people in Naples live in grand imposing villas...

Whilst others live in run down, neglected apartments...

Others live in a bit of both...

Notice it's the same house. I wonder...Did the money run out during the renovation project? Was it one of those DIY jobs which ONE DAY they'll get round to finishing. Or do they think that people will only look at the front of the house and won't notice the sides? Chissà.

Buona Pasqua a tutti!

2008-03-23T12:44:00.005+01:00

This package came from my parents for Easter. Thank you thank you!

A Green and Black's egg for me and a Dr Who one for OH (don't ask). Plus lots of Walkers cheese and onion. Hoorah!

I miss the choice of Easter eggs. It's pretty much Lindt or Kinder here. Expensive too. No three for a fiver options :)

It's been pouring down since this morning and shows no sign of stopping. Not very nice for an Easter Sunday :(

Prego?

2008-03-21T20:39:00.006+01:00

Once again I find myself trawling the web in search of the ideal hotel. Destination: Procida. HIGH SEASON. Not for myself but for family who are coming over and will stay on Procida for a while.

This is from one site I came across; Quite funny:

"About rooms:
The hotel possess 20 beds in 10 rooms, 10 bathrooms, 10 showers In this tranquil rooms you can sleep refreshing slumbers There are many beds build in wood slats, in accord with the most modern salutiste rules”

Alrighty.

The hotel:
"..is recommended from major papery guides”

“The 4 star hotel is situated in PROCIDA, a marine destination positioned within CAMPANIA Region in NAPOLI Province Hotel located in historical palace”

Eh? This must mean it’s in an historical building as “palace” often gets confused with the Italian “palazzo” meaning building. But of course palace and building are two very different types of dwelling. I imagine person would be quite disappointed if they thought they were going to stay in a palace and found out that wasn’t the case.

"Hotel Contour:
The prices of this hotel generally comprehend the breakfast Hotel comfortable and well equipped for persons needing accurate attention”

Accurate attention like J-Lo, Mariah Carey in their dressing rooms? No green m&ms, etc.

"Hotel services:
The prices of this hotel generally comprehend the breakfast The staff speaks this languages: English French German The hotel accepts credit card as payment Shopping corners in the structure”

Shopping comers. Am none the wiser.

I’ve got a feeling the site committed the terrible crime of using an online language translator.

Private

2008-03-15T09:22:00.004+01:00

Privacy laws are big in Italy. Basically, no one can monitor anything you do because it would be a violation of your privacy.

In the news yesterday was a case where a music label identified thousands of people who had downloaded their music (without permission). The record company got its lawyer to send a letter to every person who had downloaded their tracks asking for payments of 300 euro for the files in order to avoid a lawsuit being brought against them. In response the Italian downloaders got their own lawyer and retaliated saying that their privacy had been violated. The outcome was that the downloaders won the case as a private company like the record label does not have the right to monitor P2P users and all the personal data obtained regarding the users must be now cancelled.

Interesting.

Here's the story (Italian).

A bank closed sign in Naples

2008-03-13T21:20:00.003+01:00

Ever noticed the opening times of Italian banks? They go something like 8.25 to 1.40. Then they open again after lunch from 2:45 to 3:35. V precise...

Happy Festa delle Donne

2008-03-08T10:14:00.006+01:00

Happy Women's Day for all of those wishing to celebrate!

Here's a photo of a Mimosa tree from nearby. I took the (not very good) photo a few weeks ago when the tree was in full bloom.

Temptation

2008-03-04T22:08:00.006+01:00

One of my favourite stores has a big sale on...But I'm in Italy and they don't deliver here.

Good point:
Save money

Bad point:
I'm pining over what could be mine :S

... Should I make a purchase and have it delivered to England and then forwarded on, or just leave it...

Al Volante

2008-03-02T13:31:00.008+01:00

I got myself a car - my first car! (Gasp!).

Whilst car hunting I considered getting an automatic as I thought it would be "easier", but in the end I went for a manual one mainly because there's much more choice here for manuals. Now after a week of driving I know that changing gears is the least of my problems whilst driving in Naples. More important is how to cope with people over taking me on both sides, people cutting in front of me so they can leave the tangenziale at a seconds notice, and most irritatingly, parking!! At the moment, to park in a field is a chore, but I’m sure with practice I’ll master it.

I have good driving days and bad driving days but hopefully soon I'll be as good as the rest of 'em.

One tale - I have many: The other day I arrived at a big STOP sign on the road but I only slowed down as there was no one around at all. I pointed this out to OH as to the reason why I hadn’t stopped completely, but OH said to never stop there because if you do you’ll cause problems as no one ever stops there. How drivers from out of Naples cope with these in-house rules, I'll never know.

Update

2008-03-02T13:29:00.002+01:00

Last Thursday the money (see previous post) was credited back on to my account!

Might need to to reconsider my views on Italian banks and customer service.

Show me the money

2008-02-16T19:56:00.006+01:00

Last Sunday I went to the cash point to withdraw 120 euro out. I could hear the machine whirring away, trying to throw some money out, but nothing actually came out except for the receipt to say I’d withdrawn 120 notes.

Wishfully thinking maybe it wouldn’t be debited as the bank had not actually given me any money, but the next day I checked and the 120 had come off. AARRGGGHHH!!!

So off to the bank I went. I should add that the bank I withdrew from is not my bank. It took me 5 mins to actually get in the bank with all the stepping in and out of the doors which close you in the middle just in case you’ve got "bank robber" wrote on your forehead. I hoped it was going to be all straight forward: They’d see that their bancomat was up 120 and maybe even others had been in to complain and they'd hand the money over. Not so simple. The banker tapped away into his computer for 5 mins whilst talking to someone else (about something else) on the phone then told through the thickest glass window I've ever seen that the bancomat isn’t managed by the bank and that banomat man makes an appearance on Thursdays. So I had to write bancomat man a letter and they would phone on Thursday with the outcome. He didn’t ring so I called on Friday and miracle of miracles they admitted their mistake, apologised and said they will credit my account (in ten days)!

Lessons learnt:
1. Don’t use the banomat on a Sunday because there’s almost always some kind of problem – ie empty etc.
2. Use a bancomat near to home so that when you have to go backwards and forwards to sort the problem it doesn’t take up your time.
3. Have faith in Italian customer service (to be confirmed when the money actually goes into my account).

Love is in the air

2008-02-13T20:59:00.011+01:00

Today OH mentioned how next week it will be Valentine's day. So that answers my question as to what I'll be getting tomorrow :\

But it doesn't matter. It's for kids, right.

Happy Valentine's in advance.

Giovedi

2008-01-31T21:36:00.000+01:00

Just watched the BBC's Newsnight from a couple of nights ago. The theme tune reminds me of my childhood. When that came on I knew I was up too late. Anyway, there was a damning piece on it about Italian politics. It showed pretty pictures of Naples but with rubbish heaps in the foreground. Shame on the government.

The program also spoke of a book called "La Casta - How Italian politicians became untouchable". Sounds like an interesting read. Anyone read it?

Facts from the book include:

- Rome's Presidential Palace costs four times as much to run as Buckingham Palace.

- Italian members of Parliament are paid almost twice as much as their British counterparts.

- Of the 630 Italian MPs, 16 have previous criminal convictions

For anyone waiting for the metro.

2008-01-27T11:03:00.000+01:00

It's not going to pass anytime soon. A new metro station has been trying to open in Naples from since I can remember. It must be for over five years now. I'm sure there were some bureaucratic hurdles especially at the start otherwise it wouldn't be Italy. Then they discovered some Roman ruins so the project stopped. These were discovered well over a year ago. The latest is that last week a second world war bomb was found where they were working. So things have slowed down again. They discovered this during the day last week and in the night they tried to evacuate people in the near by hotels. Many of the guests, understandably so, decided to stay, reasoning that if the bomb hadn't exploded since the second world war it was unlikely that it would explode before breakfast. In fact, they're going to do a controlled explosion today so the area has to be evacuated. I'm sure there'll still be the odd rebel Vespa rider about though.

Buona Domenica.

Delina is singing along to:

2008-01-21T21:24:00.000+01:00

I heard it on in a shop recently. It's also been done by Gianluca Grignani:

I'm not sure who did the original. I prefer Laura's version. Her video makes me want to go to a concert and sing along "C'ééééééé che c'èèèèèè..."

Online

2008-01-20T22:16:00.000+01:00

My parents have finally got broadband activated so now we can see each other on the webcam. Coool! They even installed the connection themselves. V proud of them. Using Skype and the webcams we can talk and see each other. I think their webcam needs tuning a bit as the quality wasn't perfect but we'll get round to that.

Hey

2008-01-13T20:18:00.000+01:00

It’s been a while. Happy New Year, Happy Befana, Happy anything else that has happened since the last installment. For Christmas I went to England. All very nice. Lovely cold weather, lots of turkey, sprouts, gorgeous gifts. We bought my parents a computer! They’ve been promising to buy one for ages so finally on Christmas eve we kids made an impulse buy and got it. It was a great surprise for them. We’d bought a web cam too before deciding to buy the computer and got them to open that first. We said “this is for when you finally get yourselves online”. Hahah. So now they’re battling with dial up but shortly they’ll be getting broadband then there'll be no stopping them. They’re doing well to say they’re never had a computer, they’re using Skype and email already. With broadband things will get better as I’ll be able to send photos and we can use the web cam properly. I tried to show them my blog, but it was impossibly slow. The You Tube links take forever to open on dial up.

New Years Eve was all’ Italiana round at OH's parents. In typical Neapolitan fashion the menu was fish and seafood based. Prawns, capitone, mussels, oven baked fish, oysters, plus some other seafood which I don’t know the names of. I tried a tiny piece of captione (eel?), it’s rubbery and fatty. Not for me. I fell to sleep from 10-11:50. Woke up to watch fireworks of every kind from the spectacular organised display ones to the home made ones. :S

New Years day we went out for a walk. The streets were covered in fireworks from the night before, look at these...Do they look dangerous or what?

It’s tradition to throw out old things so the streets had stuff all over, but it was about to get much worse....

Which brings me onto the rubbish crisis in Naples/Campania...I normally get a lift to work which means I avoid the situation on the streets, but on Friday I was a piede so I had a chance to see how things were going. It wasn't nice. Basically I couldn't always walk on the pavement because of the overflowing trash. You have to go onto the road to get around it all. Really grim. Each time I saw an enormous rubbish mountain I had to cross the road so that I didn’t have to walk near to it, then I crossed back over when I got to another one, zig zagging my way down the street. Here are some photos from Friday morning.

Notice how the heap is just outside a pharmacy. Poor them.

This one is blurred, but if you see where the traffic lights are, that's where the pedestrian crossing is.

When I came home in the evening surprisingly they had cleared quite a lot of the rubbish including the heap outside the pharmacy. The problems are very much still on going but they seem to have moved a lot of the massive heaps which were way out of control. I'm not sure where they've moved it to...

I should mention that in all of this, recycling is only touched on and NEVER have I heard mentioned about making less rubbish. Ie, by not using plastic plates and cutlery, by not letting the salumeria man wrap everything up in individual paper packets, not using numerous plastic bags (and gloves) when buying fruit and vegetables, etc etc.

Anyway, that’s me updated. A presto.

Merry Christmas Everybody!

2007-12-22T11:27:00.001+01:00

Wishing you and your close ones a very merry Christmas.

Step back in time and take a look at this classic. Pay special attention to the haircuts.

Balcony Entertainment: The Challenge

2007-12-09T10:36:00.000+01:00

Every Saturday morning a man comes round with his Ape three wheeled van complete with speakers on top broadcasting "I cipolle vai, i cipolle vai! è patane pe' fa' i gnocc' vai!" I only ever understood the first bit "Go onions! Go onions!!", until OH explained that the second part of his spiel is "Potatoes for making gnocchi! Go!"

A somewhat limited range of products - potatoes and onions, but I notice he does have quite a few customers who understandably want potatoes delivered to their door instead of having to carry them themselves. Looking at the photo he seems to sell tomatoes too - he keeps quiet about these though. Perhaps they're only for his special customers who already know about them.

Anyway, yesterday, with it being the 8th, not only was the potato/onion seller doing the rounds, but also the singing Santas were out. My very first post was about these a year ago, so like the potato seller, top marks for consistency.

It turned into something of a freestyle sfida. Potato/onion seller against the musical Santas. Picture the scene (if you've seen the film "8 Mile" it will help) "I cipolle vai, i cipolle vai!" Counteracted with: "Jingle bells, jingle jingle bells" getting louder and louder.

I'm sure these things don't happen in many places.

Happy Belated Blog Birthday

2007-12-07T22:30:00.000+01:00

I've just realised that I missed my own blog birthday. I knew it was coming up, so I just checked only to see it came and went. One year and three days young. The fun/moaning/drivel kicked off on December the 4th, 2006.

Happy blog birthday to you, happy blog birthday to yoooou, happy blog birthday Delinissimaaaaa, happy blog birthday to you! (applause)

What have I done?

2007-12-05T21:59:00.000+01:00

Today I cracked open my first Panettone of the season (see above). It was a gift. This means the start of the stuffing-my-face-with-cake season. Once you pop you just can't stop - or something like that.

Then in January they go to half price just to top it all off. Aiuto!

Room at the Inn

2007-12-02T20:16:00.001+01:00

Realising that we're into December now, so not too many more shopping days left until Christmas, I headed out to make a start on the Christmas shopping yesterday. Of course, I should have known that a Saturday afternoon in December, in Naples is complete chaos and it was. It was packed! So we just did a little giro then headed back, putting off the Christmas shopping until a quieter time. Hopefully I'll be able to take a day off during the week when it's less busy. Or even better, I'll be able to do it all online, but that only really works for gifts that are going to England. Posta Italiana, dodgy porter and all that.

What we did manage to buy yesterday were the little figures to put in our new presepe. The presepe is a nativity scene which many homes in Naples have at Christmas. Some people really go to town on them with water falls inside, lights etc. For our first presepe we opted for the smallest one so yesterday when looking at the figures to put in it, we went straight for the smallest figures. However, when we got home we realised that Mary and Joseph were going to be dwarfed in the stable. We should have gone for the bigger figures. It's not finished yet, I still need to buy a star to guide the 3 kings, hmmm, but they're already in there. I also want to buy a pig and maybe a hen or something like that. We already got the donkey and cow. OH says they warmed baby Jesus with their breath. Is that true?! I might put a soppalco in there too with all that room. It's like having a doll's house all over again!

New Toy

2007-11-24T10:35:00.000+01:00

Meet my new toy, the Ipod Touch.

I got it as a birthday present and it's FAB! Not only can it be used as a music/video player and for connecting to the internet, but if you turn it around it's a mirror too! So you can listen to your favourite music whilst on the move and check that you're presentable at the same time. No more spinach in the teeth moments. Genius.

I'm trying to find entertaining clips from You Tube so that I can load it up with stuff to watch on an upcoming trip. Any suggestions??? Key words to help my search, specific clips, etc. So far I've got a few music vids and quite a lot of Friends clips - some are about 9 mins long, so they're nice to watch.

Look at this one - It's very short.

Let's talk about shopping again.

2007-11-21T22:12:00.000+01:00

This evening I went to Ikea in order to avoid the nightmare that is the weekend Ikea experience. Look at these photos:

No one in there! Woo hoo! Ikea without people is just great. We needed to buy light bulbs as the kitchen one has completely gone whilst the bedroom light was too dull - in OH's opinion. He likes football stadium lighting/hospital lighting, whereas I like a more subdued ambiance. We made a compromise of floodlighting in the kitchen, slightly dimmer in the bedroom and even softer lighting in the living room. It's all about compromise.

I also picked some Christmas tree baubles up. It's hard to remember what I've got in the way of Christmas decorations until I get them down but I thought I'd buy a few new bits anyway. I love the run up to Christmas. It's funny how Christmas starts at different times in different countries. In England they're fully into the swing of Christmas shopping, shops are decorated, the street lights have been turned on, etc. Whereas here we're just starting to festive up. People are just beginning to think about Christmas shopping whilst I know people boasting about having already finished it in the UK. Mum has even ordered the turkey!

More shopping woes

2007-11-11T17:10:00.000+01:00

I went out to buy a foundation cream yesterday as my current one has nearly run out. The only place that sells it near me is a pharmacy about a ten minute walk away. This pharmacy has a corner of creams and makeups which is separate to the rest of the normal pharmacy bit. You have to queue and ask for everything you want. The two assistants behind the counter have a long drawn out discussion with every client whilst I wait. Finally it's my turn, I ask to see the darker shade of the foundation, what with me thinking that after a full summer here I might be a shade darker, but no, lady stares at my skin for what seems like an eternity then tells me I'm still very "chiara" and sensitive skinned. She still smears my hand with the darker version just to prove her point. She's right I guess. Thinking since I'm at the front of the queue and I'm not coming back anytime soon, I get everything off my chest and ask also to see a face cream in the window which caught my eye. Liking what I see I ask how much it costs "16 euro normally, but 12 with a discount card" she replies. Me: "I haven't got a discount card", assistant: "oh never mind, it's still 12euro" Right. I ask myself "so what's the point signing up for a discount card?", but realise I've just "saved" myself 4 euro (or have I?) so decide to shut up.

How I miss places where you can browse the various lotions and potions at times like these. Thinking Boots/Superdrug (UK). AFAIK the only products they have behind the counter in these stores are medicines which require a pharmacist to sell.

2007-11-08T20:08:00.000+01:00

Mr and Mrs J-Lo have finally admitted to having a bun in the oven. I knew it! She's been wearing floaty clothing for way too long to be anything but preggers. Auguri.

Hey

2007-11-06T20:24:00.000+01:00

We’ve been a few days without internet since a storm struck the centrale (something to do with Telecom - isn't it always) last week. I’ve heard of many others having problems with the internet here but it’s been years and I’ve never been cut off. My luck ran out it seems.

Having a break from the internet isn’t all bad though. You get more things done, I’ve even done a bit of a cambio stagione in my absence. Not really a cambio stagione up to Italian standards, but ok nonetheless. I mean, many tops can be worn practically all year round, especially with a cardi on top so there's no point storing them away for months is there? The downside to no internet obviously is that you don’t have all information to hand such as weather reports, phone numbers, etc. I needed the phone number of a restaurant and had to dust down the enormous phone book and start flicking the pages to find it. Back to basics indeed. I’m so behind on other blogs, forums etc too. We’re back online as of today though so I’m catching up. Oh dear I can feel myself slipping back to being internet dependent again already ;)

I wanted to write about my last days in my twenties before the technical hitch. Too late for that now. Yes, I’m now in my thirties. EEK! Another year older... I had a really lovely birthday, my parents came over and as a caramba che sorpresa my sister and her bf came over too! All lovely and special. The piano bar man in their hotel sang happee bird-a-daya to me too.

What are the good things about being 30 I wonder? Help me out, I’m new to this.

Things happening in Naples

2007-10-22T18:30:00.000+02:00

1) The Pope came to Naples for the first time yesterday. It was raining but I saw on TV that he went around the crowds in a buggy so that he didn't get wet. Or would he have gone round in that anyway.

2) They did another ban on cars yesterday - from 9am till 6pm to try and clear the air. Lots of cars were still out defying the ban though. Neapolitans like to break rules, especially if it means keeping their hair dry. I'm not sure if this ban was linked to the Pope's visit or not.

3) There's snow on Vesuvius!

4) There was some kind of air strike today - traffic controllers or ground staff, I'm not sure, but it meant that I couldn't leave for London as planned. Managg'.

Congrats!

2007-10-20T19:42:00.000+02:00

My dear friend got married yesterday. I wasn't able to make it unfortunately (it was in Ireland). Wish I could have gone :(

My invite was sent in July. Still no signs of it. I really think they should look into scrapping Posta Italiana all together. If it arrives I'll let you know.

Brrrr

2007-10-16T19:30:00.000+02:00

It's come COLD in ol' Napoli and temperatures are set to plummet further on Thursday. When I say cold, I'm talking lows of 10°C, highs of 22, which is probably nothing to many, but it's chilly for here. I've got a cold too so that's not helping me to feel warm.

We put the duvet on the bed on Sunday. I LOVE a duvet. Snuggly snuggly. I'm on the porridge on a morning too, with brown sugar. Yum. I've introduced OH to porridge this year and he loves it! I wonder if any other Neapolitans have porridge on a morning. Doubt it.

Thinking back to last year, I went to the beach at the end of October. I can't see the temperatures getting back up so high now, but you never know. Vediamo.

I was in England last week

2007-10-14T19:39:00.000+02:00

I went to England last week and again I noticed how my grasp of the lingua inglese is becoming stranger and stranger. I don't think it's right to say it's getting worse, because I still read lots in English and speak - mainly on the phone - in English. But I find that as I speak more Italian, I end up forming phrases in an Italian kind of way when speaking English. This is due to hearing Italians speak English too. For example I'll say "I was in England" that's not right is it? An English person would say "I went to England" not "I was in England". Other phrases I find myself saying in English are "In this period" instead of "lately" or "recently", this is because Italians say "in questo periodo."

I find myself having to concentrate more when I'm speaking English (with mother tongues) so that I don't sound too much like I'm from another planet. I wonder if this happens to truly bilingual people. You know, the ones who are bilingual practically from birth.

Apart from this little brain teaser I do consider it a great ability to be able to speak two languages fluently.

Another thing I noticed on this England trip is how I slip into both Italian and UK lifestyles effortlessly these days. I don't usually look forward to uprooting myself, mainly due to laziness, but once I get there it's like I never left. I go from having an espresso here to a tea (con latte) there, or from shopping all day there to having a siesta in the afternoon here no probs.

"Uè uè"

2007-10-04T18:35:00.000+02:00

Word of the week/month/year/decade (depending when I decide to update this again):

“Uè“
Pronounced: “way”
Translation: “what’s up?/yes?/hey”

Example of use:

“Delina?!”

“Uè” / "uè ue"

I’m not sure if this is an Italian or Neapolitan “word”. It seems I can no longer distinguish the difference. It’s commonly used to respond when called, usually between friends. Even more friendly is the use of the double form “uè ue”

"Uè" can also be used to call someone, but it's more often used to answer.

(TGI) Friday

2007-09-28T19:41:00.000+02:00

I'm going crazy with the Easyjet holidays site. This is because I can't find a freakin' "book" button. I even wrote to them, expecting some kind of automated reply but it actually looks like a real person answered. They told me this:

"Thank you for your email.
>
> You have not said what date you are looking for. It is possible
> that the dates you require are not yet available to book.
>
> If you want to provide us with more information we should be able
> to assist you."

Then I wrote back and told them that this is not the case and they replied saying:

"Unfortunately, I am unable to help you with your enquiry. My best advice to you would be to contact the hotel directly. They can be contacted via their website.
I am really sorry I am unable to help you on this occasion and apologise for any inconvenience this may have caused"

I wrote to the same address both times I should add. They've obviously been trained in customer services with their apologies, but why can't they just tell me how I pay and book? I find it odd that the Easyjet group have hidden their "book" button. I mean, they make you pay to choose seats, for dirty water passed off as coffee, to check in a bag etc etc.

I've been going back to the site and trying different browsers in the past few days, just in case, but I still can't work it out. Oh well, looks like I'll have to look elsewhere.

è un miracolo!

2007-09-19T19:09:00.001+02:00

Today is San Gennaro, the patron saint of Napoli. Every 19th of September people push and shove to get a front row seat in the church where a vial of San Gennaro's blood is contained. Be there early if you want to get in.

If a miracle happens and the blood turns to liquid then Naples can sleep safe. If it doesn't then something bad might happen to the city. For example, in 1980 before the earthquake the blood didn't liquefy.

Much of Naples had a day off today to celebrate San Gennaro. Unfortunately the kid in the apartment above us had a day off too. He donned his lead shoes and played ball in the house all morning. Now if he learnt some manners that would be a real miracle.

Eccomi qua

2007-09-18T19:56:00.000+02:00

I've not posted for a while as I've been away (UK - will post more soon). I thought that was an acceptable excuse for not posting, however I've just discovered Madonna's blog and she posts practically every day on holiday meeting foreign presidents or not.

Now, in my defense I didn't have web access or I would have posted too. Madonna probably doesn't have to worry about internet access costs or technical problems, I'm sure her staff sort anything like that out.

When I first saw her blog I thought "Wow she's so busy with kids and an amazing career and she blogs everyday too. Shame on me", but then I ask myself how many maids does she have? And, dare I say it, does she even write the blog stuff herself or does she just give ideas to one of her people who turn it into witty blog banter and interesting posts hence making it the fourth most popular blog in blog land?

Anyway, despite my slightly bitter tune, I don't really mean it. Well done Mads, great blog.

Maybe she'll even link me one day ... Or am I not show-biz enough... Mmm

Thursday

2007-09-06T20:18:00.001+02:00

The weather has come cool and slightly autumny which is really nice. I hope it keeps this way though I have my doubts as to whether the heat is properly over or not just yet.

There's something I love about putting a jumper on after months of wearing summery tops.

We went for a drive down the coast yesterday and I forgot my camera - DOH! I had my phone which takes a decent photo but I don't think any camera would really have done the scenes justice. The sea was a mesmerising blue-green colour. I've never seen it so clear. Absolutely beautiful.

Here's one photo I took:

Driving

2007-09-04T20:27:00.000+02:00

August was supposed to be the month when I practised driving enough to become independent on the roads of Naples. I decided on August because it's the quietest month in Nap so consequently there are fewer (crazy) people on the roads. Anyway, August has come and gone and I'm still not quite there yet. I still need a bit more practise, but I'm trying to drive whenever I get the chance so that I can hopefully go it alone soon.

One thing I really don't like is when I'm in traffic and cars are pushing to get in my lane. OH says I must stand my ground and not be pushed out. Must try harder, though sometimes I question if I've got the right mind set to drive here. I'm not sure I'm aggressive enough. Perhaps a mild case of road rage will come to me in time.

Here's a video from You Tube to give you an idea of what I'm up against.

What a crock

2007-08-30T21:39:00.000+02:00

I think it's a case of love them or hate them. Hate is a strong word but I certainly don't love them. Actually I don't like them at all.

They've not really reached Italian shores yet. Will they or won't they? I'm not sure if they'll go right with the Vespa.

It's too darn hot

2007-08-25T12:34:00.000+02:00

It's 39°C on the balcony just now and very humid. I don't like to be air con reliant, but when it gets to 32 degrees in the house then the only option is, in my opinion, to crank up the air con. On days like these I couldn't be without it.

For the first few years here I didn't have air con and I remember the summer nights where it was impossible to sleep becasue of the heat. Night after night I'd lay awake watching TV, this was in the days before we got Sky TV too. I'd end up watching CNN on La Sette channel which was on in the middle of the night. Consequently I was really up on events in America during the summer.

"Here's one I made earlier"

2007-08-23T19:36:00.001+02:00

Check these babies out. Only for serious chocoholics I should add. I consider myself a chocoholic, but to be honest I couldn't quite finish one of these. There are lots of versions of chocolate molten cakes around on the net. Nigella and Delia both do their own variations.

There "should be" liquid chocolate inside, but that depends on the cooking time. As it was my first try they were only moist inside and not oozing chocolate, but I'll get it right the next time. They were still delicious.

Another great thing about these is that they freeze well. Put the mixture into ramekins and freeze, then when you're ready just defrost and cook. Serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on the side too for a true delight.

Sunday

2007-08-19T19:47:00.000+02:00

I’ve fiiiiinally started using a blog reader tool. Before I used to hop from blog to blog and back round again; Quite time consuming and then inevitably I’d visit one of my fave blogs and see that I’d somehow missed a post that was published two days ago. Aargh! Those days are now a thing of the past thanks to Google reader! My trusty new friend - I’ll call him GR for short, tells me when there’s a new post and I’m right there to check it out. So if I comment on your blog five minutes after you’ve posted you’ll know why.

I’ve added the majority of my book marked blogs, and of course those on my right hand column but I still have more to add. All you have to do is insert the link. Easy. Highly recommend it for anyone who follows blogs.

August seems to be a relatively quiet bloggin’ month. Bloggers are only human too I suppose (in a cyber kind of way) and must take a break too.

Mechanical Lemons and more

2007-08-15T20:19:00.001+02:00

We went for a drive down the coast to Sant' Agnello yesterday. It's such a beautiful relaxing area. Well, relaxing if you stay away from the lidi. Here's one of the lidi at about 5:30pm - ie not peak time. The thought of being on there in August makes me shudder. No grazie very much. Nice sea but look at those crowds!

Passed the lidi we came to an enormous metal lemon with a man inside selling refreshments. I imagine it sold lemon based products like limoncello and granita di limone, but we couldn't stop so I'm not sure. Or maybe I was too scared to stop, after all we are talking about a man inside a metal lemon. Anyway, if it didn't sell only lemon products, then I think it should do. I would have liked to have taken a better photo but this is all I could manage.

We arrived at Sant' Agnello and had an aperitivo in one my favourite bars. You can see why it's my favourite place, the views are spectacular. There was an American couple on the table next to us who were awe-struck, saying it was like being in a film. I like to see people appreciating Italy like that.

Where to go?

2007-08-13T19:08:00.000+02:00

Whilst much of Italy is on holiday it's time to think about my holidays too. I've got some time off in September and I can't decide where to go! We're considering going home-home as in my parents house or to Tuscany which is an area we love. We've always been to Chianti classico before but this time we might go to the part which is near the sea. Not sure what this place is called exactly...Must investigate further. We've also considered getting a last minute package deal, but from Naples there aren't many direct flights so package deals aren't plentiful - at least not to places other than Grecia and Croazia.

Decisions decisions. I could probably even just stay here in Naples and completely relax...

On expedia.com they've got a couple of decent long haul deals from Rome or Milan. You can book online or in person at one of their recommended agencies. This morning we went to the nearest recommended agency to us and guess what? It was closed for ferie.

People Watching

2007-08-12T23:50:00.000+02:00

If you've flown BA recently you'll know that instead of the mini complete meals they used to give out, they now give sandwiches out - at least this is what happens on the Italy-England routes. I don't mind the sandwiches but I miss dessert. Anyway, on these flights I pass some time on by trying to figure out where people come from, what's their story etc. It can be difficult, especially when the parents have a bilingual kid. Last week I realised a near fool proof way of identifying if someone is Italian or English at least. It's easy, you see Italians hold their sandwiches in a paper napkin whilst they eat it so that they don't touch it with their hands. The English have a more hands on approach and eat it with their bare hands. I'm not sure what other nationalities do. Being a Brit who has lived in Italy for years, I'm in a bit of a confused state and forget what I'm supposed to do so I eat it half using the napkin and half without.

August

2007-08-02T19:27:00.000+02:00

So it's the second day of August, typically one of my favourite months in Naples. This is becasue everyone b*ggers off to their holiday homes. Well, this is how I remember it being a few years ago. Now it seems like people are finally starting to be a bit flexible on the holiday front so some go in July, some in August, plus I think that many people "only" have a few weeks holiday rather than a month or more. This means that today, on the second of August I still found myself sat in traffic :( Fingers crossed the city will be emptier next week. After that it's Ferragosto which is the week when most things close so at least that week should be nice and quiet.

I know, I know, I'm in the wrong place if I want a quiet life, but just for one month, is it too much to ask? ;S

Il benzinaio

2007-07-30T21:15:00.000+02:00

Il benzinaio (aka petrol pump attendant) is a real mystery man. He has one large apartment in our building where he lives, and another in the building in front of ours. He also has two cars, one of which is particularly flash whilst the other less snazzy one is used for going to work. His wife doesn't work and they're going on holiday for three weeks in August. Work that one out.

It makes me ponder ponder. A lottery win perhaps? Or is he another one of those whose in-comings and out-goings just don't figure :S Or am I in the wrong line of work?

Sunday

2007-07-29T21:50:00.000+02:00

I've just read about a 108 year old lady in England who has been put on an 18 month NHS waiting list for an hearing aid. Honestly, can't they hurry things along in certain circumstances? She has four children, but only one is alive and he's 80. I hope that I get to 108 years old. Brava a lei.

Tuesday

2007-07-24T08:36:00.000+02:00

I’m considering getting myself a little city car. Reasons are, I work long hours and would rather not spend three hours a day travelling when it would only take me on average half an hour by car. Sometimes I work late and would like to be able to leave on my own without having to arrange a lift. It’s unbearable getting Metronapoli and the bus when it’s hot, it’s not always hot, I know, but when it is it’s baking! I would like to go to Ikea on my own without having to put OH through it who gets (understandably) bored. He only likes to shop if he has to buy something whereas I like to browse. If I’m an independent Delina then in time we could move house too – ie move out of the city to somewhere where it doesn’t cost 300,000 euro for a house no bigger than a workman's tent.

Do you think it's a good idea too?

So on Saturday we went for round one of car shopping. This first round was really just to get an idea of what’s on offer and where. We went to Agnano where there are quite a few car dealers and went into the first big car dealer park we got to. Now, if you’ve been shopping in Italy, you’ll know that as soon as you get through the door the shop assistant will shout “Prego!”, so I thought that going for a car would be even worse, but no, we walked around looking at all the cars and not a person came up to us. Interesting. I thought “I’m here to buy a car, isn’t someone going to come and pressure me into buying something unsuitable?” But nothing. I noticed they don’t display the prices either. In England they at least put a price up which you then try to talk the dealer down on - and the dealer knows it.

Hopefully I'll find a suitable car soon.

Ps. I'm going to England for a few days to cool off. Back soon.

sabato

2007-07-21T09:06:00.000+02:00

We bought some frozen cornetti so we could have colazione all' Italiana. You leave them out to rise over night then put them in the oven for twenty minutes. They're nice to have on a weekend. These are alla crema/with custard inside.

I think I'm going to do some real baking later...I keep promising OH a cake you see. Vediamo. It's hot to be having the oven on and the pasticceria is only at the bottom of the street... :)

Buon sabato!

Summer is...

2007-07-18T20:28:00.000+02:00

On a more negative note, summer is also having a mosquito flying around your ear at five in the morning; This is what happened to me today. I eventually got up and sent it to it’s maker, then its friend comes along. Not nice and very annoying.

We don’t normally have much of a mosquito problem as we keep the windows closed as much as possible in the evening, but even one is too many for me, so tonight it’s zanzara war!

Summer is...

2007-07-15T13:29:00.000+02:00

...White wine with peaches aka vino bianco con percoche.

For best results put the jug in the fridge for a few hours so that the peaches can soak in the wine and be chilled. If you haven't got time just leave them to soak for as long as you like - or even not at all. Drink the wine with your meal then eat the peaches out of the wine for dessert.

Percoche are the orange inside peaches - as seen in the photo - not the white variety. I'm not sure if the word "percoche" is a used only in Neapolitan or all over Italy. Che ne sacc.

Mezzo metro di margherita alle otto per favore.

2007-07-13T18:47:00.000+02:00

I've been a bit quiet in the blog world lately, I've been in a pensive state, which sometimes inspires me to blog and sometimes puts me off blogging. Maybe I'll write more about my pensive period soon.

Anyway, just wanted to tell you that we just called the pizza place and for the first time the pizza person knew immediately who we were, what we wanted and even at what time! :D What does this mean? Do we eat too much pizza? Are we too predictable? Anyway, whatever, it's Friday and I can't be bothered to cook so pizza it is!

I think they know it's us due to the time we call. We ring really early becasue if you don't then the pizza will turn up about 11pm and consequently I'll be in a bad mood :S

Celebrate with an aperitivo!

2007-07-04T21:27:00.000+02:00

Nothing beats sitting outside in the summer with your favourite aperitvo. Here's mine from last weekend. It's a Sanbitter (pronounced Sanbitt-errrrrrrr) rosso, there's a Sanbitter bianco version too. I also have a soft spot for Aperol, sometimes with vino bianco, depending on my mood.

I say celebrate with an aperitivo because I've finally arrived at my one hundredth post! Happy birthday to Delinissima! Thank you for reading and putting up with me. Have a prosecco to celebrate, that would be a celebratory type aperitivo wouldn't it? Here's to the next one hundred :)

2007-07-01T23:30:00.000+02:00

I've just finished watching the Diana concert. I really enjoyed it - lots of good acts. My faves were James Morrison, Lilly Allen (who was on her best behaviour), Rod Stewart, Elton, Take That for their "Back for Good" which always gets me singing along. I had a good sing-a-long to the musicals medley too "Jesus Christ! Superstar! La la la." I was surprised that Elton didn't do "Candle in the Wind." That song gives me goose bumps. Well done to the princes for organising it, Diana would have been proud.

Magic

2007-07-01T07:59:00.000+02:00

Here's my new piumino magico in all it's glory. It says it's magic on the packet. It's actually my first piumino magico too. I'm not sure if this is a sign of age...Or a need to fit in with Italian cleaning standards. Boh.

When I went to buy it I had no idea how to say feather duster in Italian so I went into the detersivi-bits-and-bobs shop, hoping I'd be able to see one and point it out before the signore yelled "prego?" to ask me what I wanted. Then I'd have been in the difficult position of having to describe a feather duster, with the help of gestures and a bit of miming thrown in. Think charades in the detersivi-bits-and-bobs shop.

This is why the big shops are so much easier to shop in - no speaking necessary when looking for those items which they never taught you to say in Italian class. Anyway, there were two varieties, one only 80 cents and one, more professional version that was 4 euro. Of course I put my cheap skates on and opted for the 80 cents one - it'll hardly get used after all, probably just for a while out on the balcone to show off in front of the rug beatin' signoras who surely have the 4 euro version.

Love is in the air

2007-06-29T11:14:00.001+02:00

There’s a trend which started off on Ponte Vecchio where the young and in love would lock a padlock to the bridge then throw the key into the Arno as a way of sealing their undying love. The authorities put an end to this as there were just too many padlocks causing a strain on parts of the bridge. There’s now a 50 euro fine if you’re caught leaving a lock.

The making of a film (Ho Voglia di Te) caused the trend to move downwards to Rome where the film was made. Again too many people in love meant that had to be stopped too.

Now it seems that the trend has arrived as far south as Napoli. Whilst down on the lungomare a few weeks ago I noticed that people have started attaching padlocks to a lamppost as a sign of eternal locked and bolted Neapolitan love.

Then, last week in Parco Virgiliano I saw a few padlocks locked to a fence overlooking the sea...

So there's either a lot of lovin' going on in Naples or a lot of bikes have been nicked. Both possible. Though it's not much of a bike riding city.

Mercoledi

2007-06-27T21:31:00.001+02:00

I don't know if this is general opinion or not, but does everyone agree that Paris looked so much better when she came out of prison than when she went in? Or maybe you have no opinion :) (I understand).

Lunedi

2007-06-25T22:12:00.001+02:00

It's been a million trillion degrees plus humidity today - well at least it felt that way. When I got in I found that the newly put up (yesterday) mosquito net had melted it's way off and on to the floor. It was only held up by velcro, but the one in the kitchen stays up and that's held up in the same way. ?? The new one gets the midday sun though. So it's back to closing the windows as soon as it's gets to evening time just in case we get some unwanted visitors.

I'm off to water the plants on the balcony now as it's after 10pm so I can. Before 10 it's not allowed. I'm a star condomina I'm sure you'll agree ;). Wish I could say the same for the ball bouncing kid upstairs. :S

Colazione - English style

2007-06-24T12:31:00.000+02:00

Here's this morning's breakfast - courtesy of Mum. Thankyou!

Mushrooms and eggs from up the road.
Bacon from Marks and Spencers.
Bak-ed beans from Tesco.

Wednesday

2007-06-20T19:22:00.000+02:00

Mia Mamma is on her way as I type so I'm cleaning like a mad woman. I want to have the place looking in tip top condition. Woman over the way is always cleaning, even her balcony is immaculate. I should invite her over. Maybe she could teach me a few things. Or perhaps not.

We should be hitting the beach tomorrow so it's time to dust down that bikini and turn myself into a prawn. Woo hoo!

Che caldo

2007-06-19T19:31:00.000+02:00

It was 40 degrees C on the thermometer outside at lunchtime today. The air conditioning on the car is on the blink (in that it isn't blowing cold), so you can imagine what it was like sat in the traffic today. I'm not looking forward to doing that again tomorrow.

I think I'll have to stop wearing jeans soon. They'll have to be tucked away for the summer. Miss them as I will, it's just too darn hot.

The heat means that people have started wearing white trousers and incorrect underwear too. So wrong. One of the perils of the summer I suppose.

Tornata

2007-06-17T22:31:00.001+02:00

"congratulation on your teegre loz ov love ed best wisces for the future from your prod mam ed dad"

...My parents got some new bedroom furniture for my room at home not long ago. So whilst I was there last week I did some sorting through my old stuff and came across the above card. This was sent to me with a bunch a roses by my parents in summer 2001 - via Interflora - when I got my degree results (or should that be "teegre"). I think it must have been the euphoria of the moment, but at the time I didn't notice the English. LOL.

Now, I'm not one who thinks that everyone should speak English, at all, but when you're providing an international service, if you can't speak the lingo, get some coping tools! - A fax machine, the internet, whatever! Don't take a message over the phone in a language you're not fluent in - or if you do have to, get them to spell everything out! If you don't, the above might happen to you too.

The "loz ov love" reminds me of text speak. Maybe the florist was before his time and was already doing text speak in 2001.

Loz of love, Delina.

2007-06-09T13:17:00.000+02:00

I'm off on my travels today so I'll be a bit quiet for the next week or so. Be good. Missing you already! :)

A conversation

2007-06-07T19:30:00.000+02:00

...From today:

Woman: "Do you have bacon and eggs every morning?"

Me: "Erm, no. Well, occasionally when I’m in England and not working. Otherwise I normally have cereal."
I'm not putting the bacon on at 6:30am, and even if I had insomnia, it's not easy to find.

Woman: "Do you eat better generally here or in England?"

Me: "Here" *

Woman: "I suppose you can always go to McDonald's or Burger King if you want food from home."

Me: "Prego?" Oh deary deary me.

* "Here" because *generally* the food is better here. Meaning that wherever you go, take away, restaurant, bar, someone's house, the food goes from good to fantastic. Whereas in England some places have no shame in serving trash. They’re much more proud of their food here. This is not to say there is some fantastic food in England, it can be just a bit harder to find :)

FORZA AZZURRI!

2007-06-03T13:24:00.000+02:00

It's fever pitch in Napoli! The horns are starting to sound and the occasional firework goes off. Today Naples play Lecce for a place in Serie A. OMG! I'm not sure if a draw will work for them too or another combination. Ask the experts.

It's raining today but the street sellers are still out selling flags, t-shirts and those noisy trombe things (horns). OH wanted to buy a horn but I put my foot down. The t-shirts on sale include a variety with Maradona on front. Maradona is still, after all these years, GOD to most Neapolitan men. Many Neapolitans have at least one video of his greatest goals or best moments in their collection, some even named their kid Diego or Armando.

If you're not Neapolitan fluent, this tee (below), next to the Maradona one (I think that's ol' Diego), in a nutshell says "How fortunate I am to be Neapolitan." LOL

The kid in the house in front of ours has had the full Napoli strip on since at least yesterday morning. I'm not a big supporter of any team, but I hope they win mainly because I don't want people to be disappointed - like the kid in the house in front.

Forza Napoli!

2007-05-31T19:10:00.000+02:00

I’m noticing lately that my personal central heating system has definitely changed over the years that I’ve been here. Today it’s been around 24 degrees, but I still needed to keep my cardigan on top of my t-shirt whereas even some Italians had just a t-shirt on top. Isn't it supposed to be the other way round - me hot, them cold?

When I see tourists in shorts and t-shirts before July I wonder “Aren’t they chilly?” I never considered myself as someone who felt the cold before, it’s more just a consequence of being in a generally warmer climate for a long period I think.

I’ve been asked many times by Italians why English people go out at night when it’s nearly freezing with no coat on. My only explanation is that the alcohol warms them up but to be honest it’s a mystery even to me. Maybe they don’t have nice coats. Boh. I love to wrap up when it’s cold.

Little packets of heaven

2007-05-30T19:16:00.000+02:00

...This is what these are. An important factor is to have a microwave, which not everyone has here. A quick blast and they come out a little bread-cake with melted chocolate chips in. OMG! Bliss. They're extra good if you have an hard to control sweet tooth like me as they come individually wrapped. That's not to say that I couldn't open two with a little (very little) effort.

If you can't get these where you are, that's a shame, believe me they're YUM!

O' Mar'

2007-05-28T16:55:00.002+02:00

As I had a day off today I planned on avoiding the weekend crowds and having my first trip of the year to the beach. "Oh no you don't!" said Signor Weatherman as the clouds came over and the winds picked up. Still determined to get some sea air, I went to a beach in Bacoli for a walk this morning. It was too windy and cloudy to go in the sea, so I just had a bit of a paddle and breathed in the sea air. So bikini stays under wraps for a while longer (phew :D).

There's nothing more relaxing than being by the sea. I love to watch it when it's rough, still, at night, early morning - always! In this photo there are two islands in front of me. The first one is Procida, whilst the one behind it (with the hill) is Ischia.

It's really blowing a gale outside now!

Che Munnezz'

2007-05-27T14:02:00.000+02:00

Here I am! I've been to my homeland :) Hence my short break from the blog world. Or did you not notice...? :D

I've seen that the rubbish problem (ie, it not being collected) is still in the news. The Camorra is rumoured to be behind the problems, as it is behind most of the problems in Naples. Although the media's reporting would lead you to believe that the whole of Naples is one big rubbish pile with fires burning, the main problems from what I have seen are in the periphery of the city. Certain areas on the outskirts even have an increased death rate because of the rubbish problems (it's not a new problem). In very central areas where more tourists go, the rubbish rarely builds up (for example around Piazza Plebiscito). Whereas in city residential areas it will build up for a few days, but not normally for more. Here's a picture of the bin outside my house today. Tutto tranquillo.

What amazes me in all of this is that no one is encouraged to create less litter, non of the big stores are pushed to use less packaging. Shop owners will wrap you everything and put it in a bag without thinking...

Why oh why?

2007-05-17T09:30:00.000+02:00

This is what I found outside the window at 23:05 the night before last. It's a religious procession, but I don't know for what reason exactly. I was in bed at the time on the verge of sleep and heard the singing so I got up to investigate.

Now, I'm quite open minded about people's religious practices, but do these people really think that gone 11pm on a Tuesday night is the most appropriate time to hold a procession complete with megaphone (notice it on the car at the top of the photo?

Shakes head.

"Pronto?"

2007-05-15T20:58:00.000+02:00

When we moved into our new apartment about a year ago Telecom Italia connected the phone line and gave us a new phone number. I’m not sure what goes into reactivating an existing line (pressing a button?), but it cost us 150euro. Within time it became evident that Telecom had given us a recycled number, this means that a few times a day we get a call from random people asking for some kind of medical studio. I think they’re calling for a medical practice or a switchboard rather than for one doctor as the request varies. We’ve had a few wrong numbers for a plumber too. The mind boggles. I have thought of having a bit of a joke: “Yes, I am the plumber”, “Yes I am the doctor” etc, but decided against.

Anyway, because we only had a cordless phone which crackles constantly, this weekend we bought a fixed phone. Oh the joy of being able to hear every word the other person says! I quite liked the old fashioned style phones, but because of the problem with the wrong numbers, we opted for one which displays the incoming call number – so the label said. When we got it home we discovered that to have this feature in action you have to pay E1,55 a month to Telecom. Not a lot of money, I know, but it annoys me to pay it because it’s Telecom that caused the problem in the first place, plus add it to the 35euro a month line rental we give them… The new phone has another feature helping us in the fight against wrong numbers and Telecom, which is that it rings only if we get a call from a number in the inserted phone book. Clever, if not a bit extreme, but at least now I don’t have to answer the phone and say “ha sbagliato numero” everyday. And straight away they redial and still get me.

It’s my aim to completely remove the Telecom line one day and just make calls using the computer via our ISP (which is not Telecom Italia). I’m not sure if you can do that, but I’d like to think you can. The only thing that I like about Telecom is their deal of unlimited calls to England for 10euro a month. Apart from this I barely use it. Thieving so-and-sos.

Oh. My. God.

2007-05-13T09:53:00.000+02:00

I was watching re-runs of an old Friends series this morning when it hit me that Janice and Amy Winehouse are one and the same person. Oh. My. God!

Janice/Amy: They tried to make me go to rehab. I said no no no.

Janice/Amy: Where's my sweet Bing-a-ling? I said no no no.

It's Mother's Day en Italie oggi, plus in America, NZ and probably elsewhere too. We Brits celebrated it in March, I wonder why we celebrate it on a different day.

Yesterday, I said to the OH "What can we get for your mum for Mother's Day?" She is a good cook and enjoys cooking so I said (answering my own question) "what about something kitcheny like a nice serving dish?"

OH: "Yes, something for the kitchen, what about one of those things we've got where you put the lettuce in and spin it around"

Me: "A salad spinner you mean?"

OH: "Yes, one of those"

Me: "You want to give her a salad spinner for Mother's Day?!"

Is it just me, or do you agree that you can't give a salad spinner as a gift? I suppose it makes a change from the usual chocs and flowers. What we decided to get in the end was still a practical gift, a new mobile phone.

I just heard that Ilary Blasi (as in Totti's wife) gave birth early this morning. On Mother's Day - good timing Ilary. It's a girl.

Scratch 'n' Sniff Blog

2007-05-12T21:08:00.000+02:00

The Jasmine plant is finally in full bloom! I took this photo this morning. I wish I could blog you the scent of it too. Maybe they'll create scratch 'n' sniff blog one of these days.

2007-05-10T19:01:00.000+02:00

Just a quick moan. Just got in after attempting to do some grocery shopping. I say attempt because most food shops close on a Thursday afternoon so it's near impossible. I do know this, so you could say I shouldn't have even tried, but I was hoping I'd be lucky.

Why do they have to close on Thursday afternoon? Are they so over worked that they need to do that? Just the food shops close though, the other shops close on Monday morning until it gets hot then they close on a Saturday afternoon (because everyone goes to the beach) and open on a Monday morning. Are you following all of this? There'll be questions later.