Italy 2019 - Installment #4 Apartment Living(?)

It has been 9 days since we arrived in Italy.  I have noted the activities that have occurred and noted the non-activities also.  This is to be expected.  We are not tourists traveling to an exotic land that we only know about through travel guides.  This is family over here, at least for Chiara, Nello and Maria. And the main reason we are here is for Chiara to be with family.  I have stated in the past that these Italians make me feel so welcome that they are like family to me who just don't speak to me (only because I don't speak Italian and they don't speak English or very little).  Actually, they do speak to me, but I don't understand most of what they say.  There is no blame or negative connotation here.  Its just a point of reference.

As noted in previous writings, we are in an apartment, which presents it own challenges and some comic relief.  This is a three room apartment, consisting of a kitchen, a living room (used as a bedroom), and another bedroom, plus the bathroom.  It is Europe so it tends to be on the smaller size which is standard for here.  We have (now) 6 people living within these confines.  Five adults and one 2 1/2 year old.  That puts three people in each bedroom.  So you have to accommodate things based on the environment.  We have no truly set schedule but 6 people using one bathroom does take some creative thinking or you just try to work around each one's daily needs.  Some sleep later in the morning.  Others are earlier risers.  You do your thing when you see an opening and try to do it quickly.  You do your best to work within the accepted norms of where you are.  That includes where you are visiting.  The most difficult change for me is the meal schedule.  Here, lunch is not at noon, but more likely, around 2ish.  I am a bit hungry, but I can work with it.  The real issue that develops for me is what the meal of lunch really is to Italians.  This is their main course of the day.  They eat rather large meals at this time, much more than the lunches I am used to, like a half sandwich.  Pasta is like a basic requirement for lunch, but only one of many options.  There are cold cuts, cheeses, possibly sausage and or other meats, vegetable offerings and enough bread to choke a stable of horses.  If I partake of it all, and it is insulting to the host to not eat heartily, then I am over full, uncomfortable and sleepy.  So do I nap, try to walk it off or just vegetate while the rest of the crew chat up a storm without any of the issues I noted above.  These are quandaries that I must deal with on my own.

The lunch then tends to stay with me for some time, like the rest of the day.  But just because lunch is a big meal does not mean there is no dinner.  Quite the contrary.  There is always a dinner and it could rival the lunch you just had, but at the very least it will still have substance to it.  Now, since lunch is like mid afternoon, dinner is certainly not at 5 or 6 PM.  You are lucky if you start by 8 or  Many times it goes well past, as it has for us the past couple of nights.  Dinner has started around 9PM, and can go until 11 or even midnight.  And it can consist of home made or restaurant pizzas, large helpings of fish and/or seafood, sausage, cheese again, and just about anything you can think of.  And don't forget the bread.  Its fresh and always on the table.  What this means is that, if I am not full still from lunch, I will need to eat my fill at this late hour and then try to stay up even later as I cannot get a comfortable sleep with a full stomach.  This is happening a lot this trip.

This schedule can cause problems as it throws ones schedule out of whack.  This is especially true with a baby, whose is also use to a routine.  The late dinners are the ones you really have to look out for.  These keep the adults us til late and the baby might try to stay up or heads to bed.  When its time to leave you end up waking her up and it is then difficult to get her back to sleep.  We haven't figured out everything yet, but the baby is having a grand ol' time.  Kids seem to be able to find the fun in just about everything.  They are resilient.

As for what we did the last couple of days, I can certainly advise you that we did eat and saw family.  Tuesday was pretty open.  There was nothing scheduled except for dinner at her brother's restaurant.  And that was enough to talk about.  It followed the pattern.  We arrived just before 9 PM at La Fortuzza.  Here is a look at the view from his business.

It was a slow night and there were only 2 other couples there at that time.  This time is the normal dinner hour for people here.  A few more couples came in after us but it was a fairly slow night.  Well anyway, we had the usual incredible dinner feast.  A total of 9 courses.  Here are some pics for your enjoyment:

This is his usual presentation and his business has always done well.  He actually has two restaurants.  The other called Villa Chiara.  It is just a short distance from his and it is run by his son.  He has set both sons and a daughter to take over his business.  He even has another site picked to possibly build another restaurant but it has been a fight since he bought the land like
 years ago.  Many neighbors have tried to hold up the construction for whatever reason and they were successful for a long time.  He now has all approvals but he is dealing with the city inspectors for construction so it is still a bit up in the air.  It remains to be seen when or if he will build there.  But the family is well set to carry on his businesses.  That is how things are done here.  Someone starts a business.  If it becomes successful, they run it until there is family to teach the business to.  They then take over it, or rather, one gives it to his children and the legacy is born.  That is how the world turns in Italy.

One additional point to note.  Tomorrow I take Maria to the Rome airport.  She is flying back home.
She had only 10 days from her job and they have now been used up.  I am the driver as no one else seems to want to and I like the freedom we have with a car.  It is about kilometers to the Rome airport, so my trip is double that since I have to come back to Bacoli.  I was going to try it be memory, but I will have GPS to keep me straight.  We will see how straight since I have to be by 5:30 AM to get out of the house and on the road on time.
Sunday we fly to Barcelona, Spain.  We then will rent a car and drive to Lourdes, France to visit the shrine of the blessed virgin who appeared to Bernadette.  They offer a blessing in the water from a stream that comes through the rock.  It is supposed to have recuperative powers.  This is for Chiara.
I have never been to Spain, and in reality, I have only been to England, Belgium, France, and Italy up til now.  I guess I will cross off another country from my list.  Be back in Italy on Wednesday.

That should do it for now.  Hope this was at least interesting for you.  Until the next time.