Welcome Home and Happy Birthday Gaetano!!!

     May 14, 2012 This morning we got up early and we were out the door by 8:30am. It was another quick trip around the city for me to grab a couple more gifts and souvenirs, and also for my aunt to do a little sightseeing because she has never been to Naples before. We took the bus since the view is amazing and if you go by metro there is nothing to see, but for some reason today the traffic was insane. It took us an hour to an hour and a half to get down to the center of Naples. The last time Claudia and I went around it was a Friday and there was not this many people out and about. Today is Monday and there is people every where.  This time around I finally found my Italia sweater I have been looking for since the one I bought 6 years ago shrank when I washed it. I got to see a couple of different things this time around in Naples that was quite interesting.I swear sometimes when I take pictures I wonder what goes through peoples minds especially this man who was having his shoes shined and staring right at me.

I got the chance to buy another coffee at the famous coffee bar called Gambrinus and then I also got to see what Piazza Plebiscito looks like without all of the miliary demonstration and a ton of people. Today was definitely a different day around Naples. On our way to this Piazza we saw a Regent ship and I told my cousins that I think that is an American cruise ship. Sure enough when we got to the Piazza there were Americans everywhere. On my way out of the coffee bar a couple of them looked lost and I offered to help them order something, but they said they were ok. Made me realize even more how much I like speaking two languages. Even though it's not perfect grammar they understand me here. I went to a newstand to look for a little map of Napoli, and the guy asked if I was American. He could tell probably because of the way I spoke and my accent. He was the first person that knew where Modesto was because he has been to San Diego. Everyone else when they ask where in California I am from I have to tell them either 2 hours away from San Fransisco or 6 hours North of Los Angeles. There are two things I don't like when I go sightseeing and that is all the tourists around speaking English and the music at the discotecas, on the radio, and in the stores. It makes me feel like I am at home rather than in another country.

              We had to rush around Naples today because we only had a few hours to find what we wanted to buy and do all of our sightseeing. Gaetano was coming home from the hospital and we had to rush home to be there when he got home.  On the way back we bought some balloons at a newstand to have ready at home since Gaetano was coming home from the hospital and today was his birthday. The bus wasted an hour of our time so on the way home we decided to take the metro instead because it was a lot faster and we wouldn't have to wait for all of the traffic.
     We got home and Claudia and Zia Giovanna set the table and started cooking lunch while Silvia, Alfredo, Giacomo, and I blew up the balloons and threw them all over the floor. Everyone was ready and waiting, and when he finally got there we started singing happy birthday to him in Italian. He was shy at first entering the house, but then you could see that he was happy to be out of the hospital and with all of his family.

     Gaetanno was home and it was now time for lunch. He requested lasagna, but then changed his mind to rigatoni after he got  home. My aunt had made a cake for him with some cookies that are pretty amazing. The cake was similar to the one my mom made for my birthday minus the alcohol. It was delicious! After lunch we had to leave and head back home to Catanzaro. It is a 4 hour drive, so we couldn't stay around to long. Tomorrow GaGa will have a follow-up appointment with his doctor in Naples and then they will be on their way home to Catanzaro as well.

     It felt like it took forever to get home this time around. It seemed like there was a lot more road construction going on this time too. On the way home I took several picture because this would be the last time I would see Naples for a while. Who would have thought that Naples would have skyscrapers. I couldn't believe it when I saw it. It is definitely different than some of the other cities I have seen. I finally was able to get a good picture of Mt. Vesuvias after several attempts and only getting pictures of trees obstructing my view. You can even see the grooves down the side of the mountain where the lava once flowed...pretty amazing! I also saw a mountain with a huge white cross on it. It was pretty amazing scenery this trip back. Shortly after taking the picture of the cross on the mountain once I turned back around I saw some sheep on a hill off the side of the freeway. If I would have known what I was about to see next I would have snapped a picture, but everything went by so fast. After we passed the sheep there was a man standing on the hill a little ways down with two dogs sitting one on each side of him. It finally clicked after my cousin was explaining to me in Italian. He was the sheppard. It looked just like one of the scenes from the Bible, the only thing missing was the large stick that the sheppards hold. Talk about a symbolic journey home after all that we have been through the last couple of weeks. It was some pretty amazing scenery, and I will definitely not forgetting it anytime soon.

When I got back home to Catanzaro tonight I was talking with my mom and she was telling me what one of the doctors had told my aunt at the hospital. He had asked her if she was a believer, and she told him yes. He then told her he could tell because some one from up above pulled this little boy (Gaetanno) back up and brought him back to life. Gives me chills everytime I think about or talk about this miracle I was able to witness. God is so good!!!