Move Week - Oh the fun of it all!

We took the vacation in Spain for the express purpose of NOT worrying about all the details of the move which are mostly out of control. It worked pretty good, as we relaxed after a day or two, and pretty much put in the back of our minds all the "to-do's" for the move.

Well now, the time has come to work the list.

1. Paperwork all done and submitted - done
2. Back ups of the computers - done
3. Critical data on flash drives - done
4. Ship Sea, Ship Air, Check bags packed - done
5. Reservations for the flights, hotels and rental cars - done
6. Good bye lunches, dinners, and calls - done
7. Bills paid and mail up to date - done
8. Clean up villa and look for last minute items we forgot
9. Walk through with Landlord - done
10. Turn in leased car - done
11. Utilities notified - done
12. Work transitioned - done

Packing in progress

Do I look confused? Will I go by sea? by air? or not at all?

Back of the sea container - it gets loaded directly on a ship

How did they get this backed up our driveway?

 As it turns out the hotel in Mercogliano is owned by a man that is the friend of our real estate agent -- small town Mercogliano. So anyway, we have been assured they will take good care of us!

Green Park Hotel, Mercogliano

View from our 3rd floor balcony

My tired husband

Entry way of the room

Funky shower that leaks water all over the floor

Then in Napoli we will stay at the Royal Continental where we stayed when we first arrived. It is not such a fantastic hotel (ok but not wonderful) but it is in a great location and will allow us to spend a few days wandering our old paths along the waterfront before we leave. It seems fitting to start and finish our Great Italian Adventure there.

Royal Continental

Farewells
The engineers in the office at Pomigliano took me to lunch on Tuesday. What a nice bunch of people! I said good bye to my favorite pizza restaurant owners in Pomigliano as well. They all gave me kisses and hugs and wishes for a good life and safe journey.

Wednesday I had my hair done at my favorite parucchieri in Mercogliano and they all wished me well also. They gave me their email address and asked that I will sent photos of my hair-do's from the US so they can see the styles there.

Thursday night we had dinner at the home of some Italian friends in Mercogiano. They speak some English and we had a fun evening with the half English/half Italian and a little Spanish thrown in for good measure. The man and his wife are both so energetic and fun and their three children are equally social and each a delight to be with. We will miss them. There is a possibility they will come for a visit to the US and we will gladly host their tour of the Northwest.

Friday night we are tired and ready to spend a quiet evening. We will eat in the hotel restaurant.

Saturday
Got up early, went back by the house in Mercogliano to double check a few things, pick up a few of the bags, and headed into Napoli. We stopped in Nola on the way in and shopped a little bit at the Volcano Buono. Had a nice lunch at Bracciame Ancorra in the mall and then headed for our hotel downtown. Checked in and had a quiet evening there, with a bottle of prosecco and some baba`.

Sunday
Headed out today to find the Museum of Archaeology. We found it, no problem but couldn't find parking. We ended up driving all over north Napoli. Then we decided to go to Baia to see the Roman ruins there, and again, got lost so finally gave up and went back to the hotel. Traffic was awful, bumper to bumper and we just decided to go for a walk and relax.

Next time in Napoli we know to take the bus or a taxi to these sights as they are in a part of town where parking is a mess.

Via Partenope which runs along the port and in front of the hotels and Castel dell Ovo is now permanently a pedonale and is closed to all except hotel traffic and little carts. It happened when the Americus Cup was here last year, and access to the port road was closed then. Afterwards, people realized how nice it was to have a traffic-free, smoke free area to walk, so the mayor only re-opened part of the road again.

Via Partenope

The police use these little electric carts

Lots of pedal-power going on!

We ate lunch at Donna Margarita, one of our favorite restaurants and had Bab`a, our favorite Italian dessert. Later we met good friends Elena and Francesco for a pizza and a goodbye. They own the apartment where we lived for 5 months. Such nice people that God put into our lives!

Johnnie, Jenny, Elena, Francesco

Monday
Our landlady failed to show on Monday for our walk through but our DSP came and said the place looked great. Whew! This was a concern for Johnnie. We signed the papers and said good bye to our beautiful villa of one year.

We headed to lunch with our great neighbors, Emmanuele and Giuliana. These are other wonderful people that God put into our lives. They taught us more about what it means to be a good neighbor.

Emmanuele, Johnnie, Jenny, Giuliana

Dropped off our last bunch of luggage at the hotel and headed to the car leasing shop to drop off the car. If they wanted to make this more difficult to find, they could not have done a better job! An hour later, we finally found it. I overshot the entrance and Johnnie had to get out on the street and stop traffic so I could back up out of the wrong drive. Only in Italy!

One more round of re-packing the bags on Monday night. I think we are ready....well, maybe I am ready. Johnnie is definitely ready!

We are both tired from the stress and busyness that comes from a move. So far, all has gone smoothly. Praise the Lord!