Pastries please!

The story: Kristina and Madii came to Naples, shopped up a storm, ate pizza and pasta and on their final night bought traditional pastries to enjoy after dinner. I came home from teaching at 9pm to find Kristina in bed and Madii in her pyjamas. Having enjoyed a late lunch, Kristina was more interested in sleeping, but Madii and I had dinner while her mother tried to pretend that the lights were out and all was quiet. I asked if she wanted the pastries as desserts. 'No, we'll have them in the morning' was her response. Ah, to be 16 years old and think nothing of eating sweet, flaky Italian pastries at 6am on the way to the airport. 'Ok, you won't forget to get them out of the fridge?' I asked. 'Definitely not, I'll remember!' she adamantly replied.

Guess what? In the 5.30am process of getting up, dressing, locking bags, making cups of tea and dragging luggage down to the taxi...they forgot the pastries. The girls are now far away in Germany, so there was only one thing to do...give them to Gigi and take photos so that at least they can see how much he enjoyed the tasty little treats.

Kristina and Madii, you'll just have to come back to Italy (especially Naples or Sicily) to have a second go at indulging in real Italian pastries.

Pastries are always lovingly wrapped for the journey home.
Gi gently works the ribbon open.

Success! He is already salivating with anticipation.

Oh yeah. Sweet custard, buttery pastry and a light sprinkle of icing sugar.

Yes, they really are as good as this face suggests!

No going, going...well and truly gone.

Yes Charmaine, here it is!!

The girls (my SDS friend Kristina and her 16 year old daughter Madii) blew into town, quite literally with the wind and rain, and have this morning flown off to Munich where the forecast minimum is 1°C and the maximum a heart warming 2°. Unfortunately the weather meant that the usual highlights of a trip to Naples weren't really ideal so having discounted the Amalfi coast trek and a visit to Pompeii we cruised around the historical centre of Naples, enjoyed a day at a thermal spa and shopped.

It's been a long time since I've enjoyed shopping but I must say that Kristina and Madii are an inspiration. We hit the crowded Christmas markets along Via San Gregorio Armeno where the artisans make the traditional 'presepe' nativity scenes complete with handcrafted figures, animals, furniture and all manner of decorative paraphenalia. Some are even populated with moving figures eg a woman doing the laundry, a pizza guy in front of his wood fired oven, a doctor tending to a sick child, and a boy fishing. Where my shyness often stops me from asking the price or entering shops Madii was unstoppable, approaching every stall and engaging politely and determinedly with anyone. She was a forced to be reckoned with. A chatty, confident teenager with money burning a hole in her wallet is something to watch.

They are, as far as mother and daughter teams are concerned, almost complete opposites. My dear friend Kristina, is, like me, something of a control freak. Her daughter is, perhaps like Gigi at times, off with the fairies. It makes for an interesting chemical combination.

Here's a photographic summary of what we enjoyed:

Madii reluctantly dragged her luggage to the train station in Rome and then sifted through my ipod for the 2.5 hour train journey to Naples. Ah, to be a teenager.

This is the view of the buildings directly across from our bedroom balcony.

The girls enjoy a real, real pizza.

This apartment and piazza featured in one of Sofia Loren's 1960's movies.

1. Good luck symbols as magnets for the tourists.

2. Stop racscism, sexism and fascism protest poster

1. Busy spaccanapoli street. 2 Abandoned church entrance.

San Gregorio Armeno cloisters.

The cloister gardens.

1. Fountain in the cloister gardens.

2. Stairway into the cloister.

1. A nun on a poster. 2. A nun in disguise.

Inside the Naples Duomo (cathedral).

The front of the duomo reflected in an illegally parked car.

Bust of patron saint St Gennaro. The girls at the front of the duomo.

Kristina and Jenny with the bay & Vesuvio behind.

The Royal Palace.

At Piazza Trieste Trento.

Stufe Terone thermal spa...the quiet zone.

1. Madii has her compulsory gelato.

2. Then she finds a shop sign that almost matches.

Kristina, ever the scorpio at Galleria Umberto.

1. Side view of the Castel Nuovo.

2. Mother and daughter in Naples.

Kristina & Madii hit Naples

Yes, they made it and tomorrow they fly off for Germany. The time has passed in a flash. Full update as soon as they leave and I recover!!

Saturday photos

I strolled down the hill after teaching Saturday morning, enjoying the brief interludes of sun. Here's some of what caught my eye.

The is my vegetable man (on the left) and his side kick. He's friendly, gives me discounts and recipes and doesn't try to rip me off (at least that I'm aware of).

A street cleaning truck with old fashioned broom on the side.

The National Archeological Museum near our house - world famous.

Christmas comes to Naples.

An abandoned church.

Two pictures I took at a church - bells and vines over the carpark.