"Let's see where this goes..."

     I think my interest in exploring new places has started to rub off on Juliann and Race a little bit.  We decided to go for a walk the other day; our destination: a motorcycle shop.  However, before we reached the shop, Juliann noticed an arched entrance that led to some stairs.  She stopped Race and I and said, "Let's see where these stairs go."  I was a little surprised because most of the time when I say that, I am met with lots of grumbling and "Why?"   So, I quickly agreed to go up the stairs.  Race didn't protest, so we were on our way.  The stairs kept going and going and going...

 The beginning was quite steep

 View of the stairway beyond the car.

 First level view: Mt Vesuvius. It is super cool we get to see that daily!

 There are stairs under the greenery

 Still going..

 We discovered a tennis court along our way. Guarded by a large German Shep Dog(beyond the gate)

     We reached the top of the stairs and ate our picnic lunch. Going down the stairs was almost as challenging as going up. Some of the steps were covered by plants and sludge (recent storms helped with that) so it was a bit tricky to maneuver down. Also, personally, my legs felt like jello, so...

    It hadn't started raining so we continued on to find the bike shop.  Not surprising, the shop was closed, so we looked through the window and then crossed the street to the water.  Again, not surprisingly, there was a wedding couple having their pictures taken next to the water. I say not surprisingly, because there are weddings here almost daily it seems. It is picturesque here when you keep your camera from pointing toward the ground..haha.

A few more observations while driving around Naples

    There are a few things I didn't mention in my last blog about driving around here. Here are a few things, I'm sure I will continue to add to this list ;) 

             *5 people in a Smart Car
             *kids using a DS,etc. while riding on scooters
             * a man driving a car while walking his dog (holding leash out the window) on our narrow, busy, full! street
             *open doors of parked cars while moving cars speed past. not surprising that side mirrors get knocked off, you'd think that people wouldn't want their doors to be yanked off too, right? no..
             *polizia stand at lots of street corners; guarding streets that are blocked or? who knows. they look bored a lot
             *parked cars in every possible position; sideways, backwards, perpindicular to the road, up on stairs, in the middle of the road...surprised? ergh..
            

       I'm kicking myself for not having a camera ready but on our way to church we saw a magnificent black horse (looked like a Friesian stallion) hitched to an elaborate baroque(looked like it was covered in gold, intricate details,etc) style carriage.  It was so grand.  I hope I get to see it again and this time I will be ready to catch a picture.
       On the subject of horses, I have seen horses a few times here so far.  In the city, there are frequent carriages that carry tourists around, near Il Faro church, there are horses on the beach occasionally, and on our way home from the Amalfi coast, I saw a man riding his horse up to a pub. He was just trotting down the middle of the road like it was totally normal.  He was riding in a western saddle too; not too many western riders in these parts..:)