Day 37: Pizza and Pastries in Napoli!

Today's Rant: Warm Milk. It is near impossible to find COLD MILK in Europe! I don't know if they make it differently here or what the reasoning is, but in the supermarkets the milk isn't in the fridge but in tetra packs on the shelves (just like soy milk is back home). So every morning at the hostel I wake up and head downstairs for my free breakfast of cereal and WARM MILK. Ugh, it would be so much better if it was just cold! Europeans don't know what they're missing out on! On a related note, if you order a tea with milk you will get something a little different from what you're used to! Instead of getting a cup of hot water with a tea bag and milk on the side you will get a whole cup of HOT MILK with a tea bag in it! I actually don't mind the taste of it- just not what I was expecting! And even if you ask for milk on the side, often times you will still get hot milk. Does no one like cold beverages around here??

Well since I'm ranting I might as well tell you my BIGGEST pet peeve this trip: The problem with asking random people to take photos of you. Maybe you know what I'm talking about- whether you are travelling alone or you and your partner both want to be in the picture, you have the task of asking a complete stranger to take your photo. It seems simple enough, but no one ever seems to get it right! The first challenge is trying to find someone who speaks English (not a necessity but helpful). Then comes the hardest part- getting the person to take a half-decent photo. Now I'm not a professional photographer but I do have a little common sense and I'm not BLIND (I often wonder about some people I ask...) Like honestly, if I'm standing in front of the Colosseum I don't want only half of it in the picture with 2 feet of ground in front of me...its called centering! Or you zoom in so far that is only a head shot of me! I didn't come all the way to Europe to stand in front of the Trevi Fountain to get a photo of just my head- I could have done that at home! And when that happens how can you really say, "No, that sucks, can you take another?" If only I could have a professional photographer to follow me around at all times!

Alright, let's stop complaining and tell you about my wonderful day! When I headed out to the train station this morning it was the first day that actually felt like fall- I guess it had to happen eventually! But when I got to Naples, or Napoli as they like to call it here, it was warming up again- YAY! This is the first place I've been to on my trip that feels like Toronto (or any big North American city for that matter!) Compared to the other places I've been it seems like there's more traffic, less tourists- definitely a different vibe from 'bus tour Rome'! I wandered around for most of the afternoon...I was in quite the shopping mood which doesn't happen too often- maybe its because everything is so cheap here! I saw a really nice sweater for 10 euros, a jacket for 12 euros...I just don't have enough room in my backpack! I managed to hold out except for a pair of 6 euro sunglasses I bought from one of those dudes on the street (they're 'authentic' Ray Bans! haha) I headed into the old part of town and revelled at all the beautiful churches. It's crazy how so many of them have no signs, no fan fare- they're just down some random side street! It's like a little treasure you just happen to stumble across- love it! I indulged in a few pastries (thinking of you, Mom!) and then headed back home.


If you didn't know, Naples is the home of the world's best invention- pizza! So tonight I am going to a restaurant that is said to be one of the BEST in town- can't wait! Tomorrow morning its off to Pompeii for the day (hey, I made a rhyme!) and I'm not gonna lie, probably gonna have some more pizza too! (I'm only here for 2 days, gotta try as much as I can!)

Love, Dianna