halleluia!

For the past two months, living just outside the city of Naples has been miserable. It has been hot, hazy, humid, hot, and hot. To top off all the heat, the farmers around us have been burning their fields like crazy. The smoky smell has literally caused me to throw up more than once. Because, I know you didn't forget that I have also been pregnant for the past two months. Pregnant and tired and nauseous and sick. I have spent countless hours simply lying on my bed while staring at the ceiling with a fan blowing directly into my face attempting to cool off and feel better.

Finally, finally, finally, finally, I woke up this morning after listening to the rain pound the windows and roof all night, to a gloriously crisp, cool, clear morning. I skipped around the house proclaiming, "Halleluia," and singing "Oh what a Beautiful Morning!" I sprang the shutters open, sent up a prayer of thanksgiving, and breathed in the sweet, cool air. As I jogged around the lake, I was beaming with a smile and hopping up and down like a kid on Christmas morning. Today, I feel like a 105 degree fever has just broken. I feel like a million bucks. I feel totally and completely in love with this place.

And so, today, I am celebrating living in the "suburbs" of Naples by telling you one of the reasons I truly enjoy living here. The reason has nothing to do with the weather, by the way, but the weather is what is causing me to want to express it.

One of the things I love about being here is that there is always something interesting to go do or see.

On Saturday, we took a drive to a side of the city I have never actually been before. It is the side where you would come if you visited on a tour bus. It's the "nicer" side. Sometimes, people forget that they are in Europe when they're in Naples until they visit this side of the city.

We hit up the famous Gambrinus Cafe, where I would not recommend buying gelato. It was so gross and melted so fast that we had to redeem our gelato experience by getting some more from a place down the street.



 After that, we just strolled around and took in the sites for awhile.





 

As we strolled, Tony said, "I wonder what we'll miss most about this place when we eventually have to leave it."



Even though I was hot, sticky, and annoyed with my melted gelato and my son who is getting better and better at vocalizing his levels of discomfort, I found myself glancing at Vesuvius and replying, honestly, "Everything."