Out and about

Birgitte and Kejl. /Jenny, Henrik and Birgitte.

How cute are we??

Twenty years...

Birgitte and I were exchange students in southern Thailand in 1987/88...do the maths, that's about twenty years ago. I haven't seen her since then. She and her husband Kejl and 7 month old son Henrik (hope I've spelt those names right!!) were in Naples for a week. Here we are having coffee in the Vomero pedestrian shopping mall.

Flatmate Dana. / Birgitte from Denmark.

Baby Henrik. / Henrik and clucky Dana.

Sushi anyone?

Gigi has been talking about having a sushi lunch for months. With my birthday the previous weekend, and Fulvio in town for a wedding it seemed like a good weekend to finally stop talking. So, instead of the traditional Sunday lunch of pasta we had sushi, Vietnamese rolls, prawn crackers. Fulvio prepared an aperitivo - limoncello liquor mixed with prosecco, a dry white sparkling wine, with mint and ice. It goes down nice and easy, especially in the warm weather.

Luigi preparing sushi. / Luigi - another one - & Vietnamese rolls


The gorgeous Francesca.

The king of the kitchen.

Balcony conversation - Luigi, Francesca, Fulvio.

Fulvio, visiting from the UK.

Your hostess.

Dana, Musa and Rachel.

A picture tells...

...a thousand words. Here's a selection of photos from March - May that reflect some of the scenes of everyday life here in Naples and along the Amalfi. Enjoy.

Boys resting after carrying this Madonna all day/A church entrance.

An original Roman acqueduct.

A tour guide taking a break! / A ceramic tile restaurant sign at Positano.

Alessandra's potted cactus collection.

Granddad was looking after these four.

Amalfi Coast church. / Side entrance to Caserta Palace.

Naples graffiti / Hand in hand.

View of Sanita leading to our street.

Sunlit courtyard in our apartment block.

More Neapolitan graffiti.

Man of Many Comments

This is Doeng. One of my oldest and most loyal friends. Certainly one of the best. Doeng recently spent a couple of days visiting Naples, his third visit. Here he is at Piazza Plebiscito with the Vesuvio Volcano in the background.

I love that a boy I met twenty years ago across a wooden table at a school for 4000 students in southern Thailand is now sharing anchovy pizza, stories of his daughters and helping shape my Italian experience here in Naples.

Just quietly I also love that her arrives from Bangkok loaded down with goodies like Thai beer, sweet chilli sauce, bags of fresh tropical fruits, sarongs and Tiger Balm (a prohibited import in Italy for some reason).

Doeng is one of my biggest blog commentors and his comments always help me appreciate just how lucky I really am. I don't know h0w many times he's asked me how is it possible that we can live, work and travel in so many different countries? It's a good question and one that repeatedly leaves me feeling like I take it for granted most of the time.

Most of all though I love that after twenty years, a few ups and downs, different upbringings, values and cultural norms, we are still such good mates, despite the distances and the effort we both need to invest in our friendship to keep it warm, sharp and fresh.

Just like the anchovy pizzas Doeng loves to eat when he comes to visit.

Friendships - a recipe for a long life. I am looking forward to the next twenty years.