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Day 46: “Spacca Napoli”

*I've gotten behind.. Things got really crazy with school, we haven't had reliable internet, and I've been sick a little here and there... Working on getting caught up!

Today we had planned on going over to the Amalfi Coast, but the day was against us. We got up and ready for the day and headed up to try to eat the hotel breakfast (which we just learned that we had) and apparently missed it by about 3 minutes… Then we had to head to the city center to find a place to exchange our money. By the time we did that it was nearly 1pm and there wouldn’t have been enough time to go and enjoy the Amalfi Coast, so we headed to a famous street called Spacca Napoli (Spacca means split). It is the ONLY straight street in Napoli and when you get there, you can see to each of its ends! We had been told by our NJ friends that this street was a lot of fun and had tons of great shops. They even told me this would be the place to buy a nativity! This is what I hope to come away from Italy with… But first, pasta. We stopped at a little restaurant on our way to Spacca Napoli. I say on our way, but we really didn’t know where it was, even though we had stopped for directions 3 or 4 times. The funny thing about Italians is that they all have to get involved and give their opinion, but most of the time they have no idea what they are talking about. They’ll get into an argument over anything, just to be right (especially when it comes to giving directions to a couple of tourists ;).

Back to the pasta... it was okay. We mostly ate there because we were really hungry and feeling beaten down by the day. I have to say though, they get it right with pasta ‘al dente’.

The theme for this street was Terracotta. There were dozens and dozens of little shops the hundreds and maybe even thousands of little terracotta figurines… of everything and anything you can possibly think of! There were hundreds of nativities, but I didn’t come away with one. Regardless, it was a good time and fun to see yet another part of this fascinating city.

"Spacca Napoli"

The pastries we bought when we got to Spacca Napoli. :)

The amazing terracotta figurines...


And gelato, of course. 

Random view of downtown Napoli

Riding the subway

Heading back up toward the Metro, ran into an area where they were filming a movie. That was interesting and kind of cool. We were shopping and all of the sudden people came by and told us to step inside one of the stops while they shot a scene (in Italian, of course ;). It all happened so quickly I didn’t think to take a picture.

We headed back to the hotel around 5pm to take a nap. We have been so tired that we just wanted to be able to take it easy. We got to the hotel and realized that we were checking out and heading to Rome tomorrow by train and didn’t have a hotel in Rome yet! We went down to the Lobby and spent our naptime planning the rest of our trip here in Europe. By that time, it was nearly 10 pm and time for dinner!

There is a restaurant at our hotel but that’s not our style, so we headed up the hill toward the Funicolare that we take down the mountain each day and found a little family style restaurant that was still open. They were so nice! It was late and they were hosting a party. Everyone was dressed nicely and we came in wearing our jeans and tennis, but they welcomed us in. The menu was entirely in Italian, so rather than trying to understand it or ask what everything was, we just asked that he bring us two pasta dishes to share. He was delighted. What came next were probably the two best pasta dishes I’ve ever had (next to my two favorites from Gloria’s, of course). I didn’t even ask what they were called… I just enjoyed every bite. Mmmm. After, he brought us two desserts that were also very delicious. It was a wonderfully delicious dinner by candlelight and incredibly romantic.

Napoli has been a pleasant surprise. We headed here on a whim and we’re so glad we did! If not for the pizza alone, we will definitely be back. It’s been quite an adventure here.

Final view of the city.

We are up in the morning to catch our first European train to Rome!

Day 19: Don Quixote

I can hardly believe how busy our days are! Today after class and lunch, we watched a movie (Don Quixote) and had a lecture on Spanish Literature. After that it we had a short break before dinner. No tour of the city today, which was actually nice. We've been on the run since we got here with little time to rest so we're getting worn out!

 Lunch: Lentejas (Pea soup) 

 Lunch: Pollo asado con ensalada

Grilled chicken with salad.

 So yummy!

 Don Quixote is one of Rodd's favorite stories and part of the Latin culture, and that is the movie we watched today! With a little treat we got for some of our friends at the LDS branch.

It's call Pan de Cadiz (Cadiz is a city in southern Spain, near the coast) It is a treat typical during Christmasttime. It's kind of like fruit cake... but good. ;)

 Dinner: tapas

 Treat: Pastries in the Plaza Mayor!

 Rodd is REALLY excited! :)

  

Day 18: Old University of Salamanca

Our tour today was of the old University of Salamanca. This is what Salamanca is most known for. It was built/founded in 1218 and is the oldest university in Spain. It was really interesting to go through and see the different halls. My favorite was the library.

After the tour of the University, we had a lecture on Spanish Art, another Salsa dance lesson, then dinner. Needless to say, we were glad for the day to be over when we finally finished dinner and could relax. By relax I mean sit on the bed or at the desk and study or do homework. :)

Lunch: Pasta with ternera and red sauce.

Apparently we weren't supposed to take pictures of the star map, so consider this a treat! It's 1/3 of the actual ceiling that was transferred from the major school to preserve it. It wasn't being well preserved and that's why they only have 1/3 of it left.

Beautiful ceilings...

Classroom / meeting hall

This room was one of my favorites! It has the original seating that they used.

They talk about how they would be listening to lectures in the dark and the cold, trying to take notes...

Those tiny windows and candlelight were all they had! Those are some dedicated students!

More decorated ceiling...

The is one of the main rooms where they hold the graduation ceremonies and such.

More decorated ceiling... Each section of the building has it's own, distinct decoration...

It's one of my favorite parts of visiting all of the old sites... Amazing architecture!

This is called "la escalera a la sabiduria", or the stairway to wisdom, because it leads to the library.

Painted, mural ceilings.

Portraits of Carlos II and his wife.

Every little piece is filled with such amazing detail.

This is the arm of the bench!

This is the ceiling upstairs leading into the library.

Gated entrance to the library.

The library was my favorite part of the University. It was so amazing to see how well it has been preserved. There are over 125,000 books in the library and if you look closely, they are all numbered and are in order. This is the oldest university library in the world. It has 485 hand written books which were written before the invention of the printing press. Which is why it's under high security. We had to take our pictures through a glass barrier, but they still turned out pretty good!

The books on the shelves are behind chicken wire doors. :)

Rodd's panorama of the library.

Graduation robes.

Afterwards, we had a lecture on Spanish art and another salsa dance lesson. These are always fun. :)

Dinner: Tapas.

The restaurant we have to eat at every day is okay, but their tapas aren't like the 

tapas we like to get around town. Needless to say, it wasn't anything special.