First week

       It took over 4 months but we are finally settled in a place of our own here in Naples, Italy!  Usually the first thing I like to do in new surroundings is explore and get to know the area where I'm living. The only thing I've been able to do, is go shopping! Groceries, groceries, groceries. There are 2 teenagers in the house, afterall.  The main reason I haven't gone exploring yet is because it has been raining a lot this past week-in fact, it has rained every day we have been in this appartment!  Fellow Western Washingtonians would probably agree with me: It feels like home! :-)
       All of our shipped belongings arrived this past Friday.  We went to the Questura (police station) Friday morning for fingerprinting-another part of the process to be in Italy, legally. When we returned, there were several brown paper wrapped packages on our doorstep. It was quite exciting!  We unwrapped and unpacked everything in a few hours. I don't think I've ever had a move go that quickly. Have you?  I guess we didn't bring that much stuff afterall. That's okay, more room for us to bring treasures we find here. haha!

 View of our elevator from our door. We don't use it much because we are only on the 2nd floor and we need to justify our daily meals of pasta and pizza...haha!

 Upon entering, living room on the right, dining room on the left. Beyond the couch is the door out to our terrace and washing machine room(just big enough to house the washer and some shelves)

 Master bath-with a bathtub!!

 Master bedroom above; Julianns sweet friends made lunch for us this past Sunday. It was awesome!

            We have no problem with a lot of events revolving around meals. I like to consider myself an unbiased foodie..hehe.  This past weekend we got invited to dinner with some of the missionaries from Il Faro International Baptist church.  They also invited some of their Italian neighbors. Italian was the dominant language, as you can imagine, and I was excited because I understood and was able to speak a little too! (Huge accomplishment!!)  But back to the topic of food, most Italian meals consist of several courses. Our meal: appetizer (antipasto) crackers and artichoke dip (yum!), Baked gnocchi (cooked by our friend's Italian neighbor-delizioso!), BBQ chicken wing (finger-lickin good), salad, and 2 desserts-just my style-cheescake bites and fruit salad w/prosecca.  Anyway, the food was good and the company was great! It was really fun to visit with everyone. I was a little nervous before because I don't know much Italian and I wasn't sure if I would be able to converse much. But I was nervous for nothing. The Italian guests were quite patient and kind-even in my lack.
         This next week will hopefully bring more adventures.  We'll see...