The Events of Wednesday, March 23, 2011

                Wheels screeching, horns honking, sirens wailing, people talking—the sounds of our last morning in Napoli. As much as we’ve enjoyed the sights around town and the atmosphere of southern Italy, we’ll be glad for a change of scene. Naples is just a bit too tired, run down, and trashed for our liking. So when we woke up this morning, we took the shortest, quickest path to departure—through showers, a normal breakfast, packing our bags, checking the entire apartment to make sure we hadn’t left anything, and ferrying our luggage out to the waiting van.

                The van suddenly became really stuffy when our six bodies, hot and a bit sweaty from rushing across the street, lifting suitcases, and piling on top of each other. But we were headed out. Or so we thought. Naples used one last trick to try to keep us from leaving the city—traffic. We followed the quickest route out of the city, noting not to turn into the parking garage mess that we had mistakenly followed last time. Then the rotary we were supposed to circle had become not a rotary. We figured out how to turn around to where we were supposed to be, only to hit road construction. Following a car that we thought was headed toward the autostrade, we ended up on a back street that ended in a parking lot. Turning around, we decided to follow one of our GPS’s directions through more narrow, skinny alleys, around several hairpin turns, and finally to the freeway.

                Finally, we were free of Naples and, with a full tank of gas and an open lane for the next 260-something miles, zooming toward Florence. We stopped briefly at a rest area for the restrooms and seat rotations, at another for lunch, and then at a third rest stop for a driver change. The scenery gradually changed as we went from the outskirts and suburbs of Naples to vast hills covered in orchards or dormant vineyards. Nearing Florence, the Tuscan countryside was gorgeous with quaint houses and green orchards. We finally turned off onto our exit at Firenze Certosa, following directions sent by our landlord. We turned onto Via Del Podesta, found number 75, and met our host/landlord, Nicoletta. She welcomed us warmly to the apartment, showed us around, and answered many of our questions about the region.

                The apartment is huge with three bedrooms, plenty of beds, two bathrooms, and a spacious living area. It is comfortable, homely, and fabulous—and it comes with private parking! No more scouring the streets for a spot our size! We immediately settled in and began our restful afternoon—reading, blogging, starting laundry, and playing games. Mom had quite an adventure deciphering our very strange Italian washing machine, which spins around vertically. After deciphering the Latin on an old framed certificate, Dad took a walk to a grocery store and purchased some salad supplies, bread, and desserts. Once he returned, dinner preparations began.

                All of us worked to make the meal of sausages, apples, and onions on noodles with salad and a dark, seedy wheat bread. It was scrumptious. Dessert was an interesting affair. We each tasted a small biscotti or pastry Dad picked out, accompanied by truffles (a gift from the owner). While Mom did the dishes, I took a shower and we all prepared for bed. That shower was way better than our shower in Naples. It had warm water, steady heat, and great water pressure—I could actually wash my hair! Relaxed and a bit tired, we snuggled under our layers of blankets for a good night’s sleep. With no wheels screeching, horns honking, sirens wailing, or people talking. It was awesome.