Lots of new

so we are settled into our new house and so far, so good. We are adjusting to the Naples traffic and driving.  Just to give you an idea, imagine a NASCAR race without those pesky rules. Stop signs are purely decorative. Lane lines are optional, and passing is allowed (and expected) anytime. All the cars are manual, which is fine, until you have a parallel park on a hill. Did I mention we live on a hill? After here and Japan, we will literally be able to drive anywhere.

Leyton is enrolled in the DODEA Naples Elementary School and is doing great. She has lots of new friends, she loves riding the bus, and even though she's only had 17 days of school, she has already caught up with her classmates. It's awesome to listen to her read and she's teaching Ellis a lot as well. She also has Spanish and Italian classes.

Ellis has been hanging out with Mom, but we will enroll her in a school soon. Most likely a tri-lingual Montessori school near our house.

Ryan has started his new job, and we are adjusting to our new schedules. We are venturing out here and there. It's amazing just how beautiful it is here. Just 15 minutes from our house there is an ancient Roman amphitheater and beautiful Mediterranean views. Not that I can post pictures of those views. We don't have internet yet.
The food, as expected, is amazing. Seriously. So good. And the coffee, and the wine. Oh and the cheese! And chocolate! On a totally related note, we just bought an elliptical.

Hopefully I can do more posts soon, but it's tough without internet. We love and miss you guys! Plan your visit!!

Villa de Campoamor

We've been in Italy for just over two weeks now.  Next Wednesday, we sign to contract for our new house and then hopefully move in by the end of the week.  All of our things... packed up July 20-something, is here in Italy, just waiting to be unpacked.  We are beyond ready to get out of this hotel and sleep in our beds again.

Once we found out that we would be allowed to live off-base, I called some realtors and viewed some houses.  They were all very large and beautiful, but most were in neighborhoods that I was not comfortable with -no matter the security measures, which are extensive.  So when I saw this house, in this neighborhood, with this view, I knew immediately that this is were I want to live.  It's in the town of Pozzuoli, about a 20-minute commute for Ryan to work.

When you come in the door, the open dining room is on your right.

Operational fireplace.  Like Japan, there is no central heating and air.  We will have radiators for heat, as well as this beautiful fireplace to help in the winters.

A nice look at our almost-six-year-old and the living room area.

Downstairs balcony.

Our landlords, Mr. Tomaso and Ms. Matillde, live below us.  They have an 8-year-old granddaughter who visits often, so the yard is already equipped with the essentials.  Can't beat a swing next to a grapes and citrus trees.

Kitchen, with a DISHWASHER!!!!

Three bathrooms, complete with bidets.  You can Youtube how to use an Italian bidet.  They are not heated though.  I already miss our Japanese toilets.

Downstairs library, which will be the playroom.

Heading upstairs

This will be our room.  The giant built-in closet is very rare in Europe.

Did I mention the view....  The sun will set right there....

Upstairs balcony where we will be enjoying said sunsets.

Girls room.  We bought them bunk beds and they are so excited.

Bathroom #2

How to use a bidet in Italy

Neighbors

My four-year-old beauty

This is the Master, which will be the guest room.  Why not our room?  No air-conditioner.  So be warned if you are planning a visit in the summer!

Back porch.  Those are yummy grapes growing on the side.  We will of course have to share them with bees, but still cool, none the less.

Small backyard with navel oranges and lemon trees

Porch

Yard

Side of the house

Neighborhood park and tireswing

Can't wait to post more pictures, with furniture.  Or show you in person, we are hoping for LOTS of visitors!  Love and miss you all!  Ciao!

Going Private

Ciao Loyal Blog Readers,

We are changing things up here at The Campoamor's Adventure.  In the next few days, we are going to change our Privacy Setting for the blog.  This is so we can continue to post things like pictures of our awesome children, new(ish) cars, and villa(!) without sharing that information with the entire world.  So if you want to continue to follow the blog, please click on the Join button to the right of the screen and officially 'follow' the blog.  If you have questions, just email me at sbcfitness@gmail.com and I will see if I can help.  Thanks!

Ciao from Italy and a little catch-up!

We made it safely to Italy. So far so good. The trip over was really smooth and the girls did great. But before I get into our first few days in Italy, I want to close out the past few weeks.  I left Newport, RI on 17 September and met up with Shannon and the girls in VA. We had about 10 days of leave before we headed out to Italy. We had a fantastic time with family and friends and even celebrated E's and LC's birthdays. Here are some pictures to catch you all up on. 

We had a great time in New England together. Shannon and the kids stayed with me for two weeks. After our outings to New York, we enjoyed the USA vs. England polo match. The kids had a great time watching the horses however the most fun was had during halftime where we stomped the divots back into the ground. 

Apparently after the match the tradition is to line up along the permitter of the field and all players ride by giving high fives to the spectators. We joined in, of course. 

We met up with some long time friends of ours (from Va Tech and prior squadrons). We went to a playground and then up to a farm to pick raspberries, eat ice cream and enjoy the beautiful New England weather. This is Emery with LC and E. 

First Beach in Newport had a red tide that was interesting to watch. 

I was fortunate to have the opportunity to visit the brand new USS ZUMWALT. It pulled into Newport for a few days and offered tours. The ship is on its way to its new homeport of San Diego. 

I also swung by Sonya's old stomping grounds. She lived in this house when she was at Surface Warfare Officer School back in 2000. 

Our last outing was up to Boston. It was a quick 1.5 hour drive. We googled some fun things for kids to do and at the top of the list was the Duck boat tour. 

These amphibious boats were old army vehicles that have been converted to tour vehicles. The tour took us through the city of Boston highlighting a lot of the historic monuments and areas of the town. 

And then it went into the river and took us Cambridge to see Harvard and Fenway park. 

Downtown Boston from the river. 

The driver let LC drive in the river which she loved! 

There was a lot of beautiful architecture and history in the city. I don't know what they are standing in front of but it was a good looking building. 

We wage lunch where all the food vendors were parked. The Bratwursts and empanadas were delicious. 

And lastly, we went to Boston Commons park. 

We took the swan boat ride around the lake. 

Played on the "Make way for ducklings" statues in the park. Shannon and I had never heard of the famous book until that day. 

And before we hit the road we got some ice cream!

In other BIG news, while we were getting ready to leave Boston, LC said her two bottom front teeth were loose. Sure enough, the teeth behind them were REALLY poking through and her teeth were pretty loose. She ended up loosing them both while back in VA a few days later. Shannon said the first tooth was traumatic as she fell into a couch causing it to come out.... but the second one came out with a chip. You can already see the new teeth coming through! 

E turned 4 on the 18th. Grammy and Papa had a fantastic party where we played with family and friends and ate cupcakes!  HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Ellis! We love you! 

So proud! 

Some highlights of our time in VA was the 4-wheeler rides around the farm....

Playing and feeding the neighbor's goats, Elsa, Anna, and Ice Cream.... 

And another party at Poppy and BB's where we had a cook out! Our summer vacation was fantastic! We were able to see most of the family and have fun while back in the USA. It was sad to leave the family behind but super excited to board the plane to Italy! 

We left Norfolk, VA on 27 September. Our flight was at 10pm and the girls were both asleep by the time we took off. 

We arrived in Rota, Spain 7 hours later and had a 2.5 hour layover where we played at the playground and drank spanish coffee. Some of the locals commented on our last name, too! 

We loaded back up in Spain and it was a 2.5 hour flight into Naples. We pulled into the Navy terminal and offloaded where we met up with my sponsor. All our stuff made it, we were checked into the country and we were off to the base. The pic is the plane sitting on the tarmac at the navy terminal. You can see Mt Vesuvius in the back ground. 

We checked into the Navy lodge and have been here since. This is the view we have of the Italian country side. We look forward to our time here. The next few weeks we will get cracking on getting settled in and hopefully moving into our own place.

Thanks again to all our family and friends for the prayers as we transitioned to Italy! We enjoyed every minute of our time back in the states and our time with you all was priceless!  Now buy your plane tickets and come visit! Ciao!