Bacoli

On Tuesday, Clark got the day off, it was Liberation Day here in Italy and Clark gets the Italian holidays off so we decided to take a little adventure and explore an area we haven't explored before. Which is what I do every time I get a change haha. So nothing new there. Bacoli is a little town on on peninsula in the Bay of Naples. It has pretty beaches and a lighthouse on the point. There is a cool building on the end of the pier called Casina Vanvitelliana in Bacoli which was our first stop. 

We drove around and stopped at some pretty points. We even drove to the most western point of the peninsula where there is a lighthouse and a gorgeous view of Naples and Mt. Vesuvius. There was even a hiking trail on the edge of the peninsula but we were not dressed in the correct clothes for a hike so we will definitely have to go back to hike. I love how blue the water is in these photos. There was even people already on the beach and swimming in the water, even though it was barely 70 degrees. While I enjoy the 70 degree weather I don't think it's warm enough to swim haha. I can't wait until it is though. 

love, Carlee

Dress: Marshalls

Sandals: Clarks

Sunglasses: Target

Bag: JCPennys

Posillipo, Naples

Last week, a friend of mine, her daughter and I went to an area in Naples called Posillipo it is a really nice area overlooking the bay with a great view of Mt. Vesuvius. And supposedly there is a saying in Naples that is "you're acting like you're from Posillipo" which means you are acting stuck up and rich. Since people know it as the rich part of town. It is a really pretty area! The buildings are all colorful and the streets are not lined with garbage (which I can't say for every part of Naples haha.) 

We parked down by the Fountain of Sebeto and then walked the boardwalk and up the street a little ways to a really pretty mermaid fountain. We came across an amazing floral shop that have flowers covering the building and sidewalk and a sushi place that we put on our list to try at some point. These Italian men were selling fresh seafood from the bay. They offered me a spiral shelled creature and of course I had to try it. It's not everyday that old Italian men offer you food off the street. It was raw and very fishy haha. And I didn't get food poisoning so all is good in the world. 

We ate lunch at a little place on the water. We shared a fried starter (fried vegetables, dough, fries, and rice), I had pasta al pomodoro (spaghetti) and my friend had pizza fritto (fried pizza.) After we ate we drove up the cliff of Posillipo for a better view and my friend wanted to find a place called Villa Volpicelli. It has the name sate of an old friend of hers. We ended up finding it, it is a cool old orange castle right on the water. We had a lovely day. I enjoy exploring so much especially with people that enjoy it as much as me. 
love, Carlee

Shirt: thrifted

Jeans: Old Navy

Bag: JCPenny

Shoes: Adidas

Kissing in America: Margo Rabb

This book was a fun and easy read. I was at my library on base and was looking for a Stephen King book but I didn't find the one I was looking for so instead I wondered into the Young Adult section and was browsing. When I do this I usually pick up book with intriguing spines or covers and read the front flap really quick (no longer the back of the book.) I picked up kissing in America based on its beautiful cover art and read front flap and I was interested.

The book is super cute and mainly based about a love interested. But there is depth, Eva (the main character) lost her dad to a plane crash two years earlier and her and her mom are still dealing with that. Her and her moms relationship is strained and bringing a boy into the mix is just another thing to deal with. Eva and her best friend make a cross country road trip for a game show and a boy (of course) and things don't exactly go as planned. But they learn a lot along the way.

Margo does a great job of telling a love story but also telling relationships between the other characters. My favorite relationship dynamic that Rabb explains is the mother/daughter relationship. I finished this book in about 4 days it was an easy read but I still found myself tearing up at the end. Would recommend.
love, Carlee

Oasi dei Variconi

Lucky for us, Clark had the Monday after Easter off. Here in Italian they celebrate Easter big time and so all the italians get the Monday after Easter off of work and school and since Clark works with mainly italians he got the day off as well. We chose to spend that day at the beach. I wanted to explore a new beach since the one that is closes to us I had been twice before. This little park area is in Castel Volturno only about 20 minutes from where we live and about the same distance as the other beach. This beach was a lot different. We parked a little ways away and walked along a trail. We came across some Italian buffalo and Knox was not to sure about them. He wanted to smell them and was interested but then, on the other hand, he was also scared because they were so big. Luckily they were nice, there was a whole heard of them with the farmers moving them down the road.

There were also many wild flowers and weeds blooming along the trail. Purple spiky ones, little yellow and red ones, white daisy like ones. Of course, I had to stop and take photos of each. When we got out to the beach we realized it was a lot different then the other one we have been to. This one was full of drift wood and people has even made a little fort/shelter out of the drift wood. People were building fires and walking on the logs. It reminded me of the beaches in the Puget Sound of Washington State. Knox loved the beach, I still remember the first time we took him to the ocean, he wasn't sure about the cold water and the waves but now he loves it.

One thing I will say that I appreciate SO MUCH after living in Italy is America's mostly clean beaches. This beach is definitely a 'local' beach. No tourist are coming to italy and specifically scooping out this place. So with that said, there is a lot of garbage and washed up plastic and bottle from the sea. It is sad. If you do go to the 'tourist' beaches like in Amalfi or Positano you will not see garbage like this or even really at all. I mean Tom Brady and the Kardashians vacation in those places. It is pristine down there. I just wish they took care of every place like that. But it does make me want to take better care of the environment and it also makes me really appreciate how well we do on recycling in the Pacific Northwest of the USA.
love, Carlee

Shirt: H&M

Shoes, socks, shorts: Nike

Bag: JCPennys

World's 1st pizza in downtown Naples

Naples, Italy is the birthplace of pizza and over the weekend we went to the world's first pizzeria ever! There is a little speculation but it is widely believed that Antica Pizzeria Port'Alba is the first pizzeria in the world established in 1830 here in Naples Italy. Pizza used to only be the poor mans food. But then it started to gain traction and popularity. Today, Antica Pizzeria Port'Alba, serves pizza still but also other a ton of other stuff. Of course, we ordered pizza. I got the Margherita and Clark got the fritto pizza (fried pizza.) 

After we ate pizza we strolled the streets. Since it was Easter lots of places were closed but there was still many places open and many people out roaming the streets. We wanted to go to a donut shop called, Voglia dei Graffa, but it was closed. We also walked by Soribillo, a pizzeria, which some people swear is the actual best pizza place in Naples so yes, of course, we will be trying that place as well. 

We ended up in Dante Square and saw the two cutest little dogs ever. They weren't even on there leashes. Most of the dogs here in Italy seem so well behaved. I want to know what they did to make them such good doggies. One of my favorite things about Italy is all the colorful buildings. I wish every place was like this. The street art, music, people, Naples is definitely gritty and some people call it the armpit of Italy while others call it the 'real' Italy I love it. It is just different and great and fun and beautiful.

love, Carlee

Dress: Forever 21

Shoes: Nike

Bag: JCPennys