During our Easter break, Carlo decided to take us to Naples to visit his uncle and aunt.  Carlo’s mom is from the Naples area and grew up there. She talks about Naples non-stop and so Carlo also asked if she wanted to come along as well.

So off we went.. on a 10 hour train ride. We tried to get seat on the “faster” train but it was completely sold out!

I had suggested to Carlo that we buy an extra seat so that we could have 4 seats together. My theory was that it would be more comfortable in changing, feeding and keeping the baby entertained… and I was right! V loved having her own seat and since we rode 1st class, our seats reclined a lot so it was great when it came time for naps!

Most of the time, was spent reading, sleeping or walking Valentina up and down the aisle and of course, having lots of yummy snacks. Things were going great until we got to Livorno (which is about an hour south of Pisa).  The conductor came over the speaker and said we would be stopping there for a while because of an accident on the train tracks. We sat and debated what the accident could have been.
As we left Livorno, no one was prepared to see a DEAD BODY still laying on the tracks! We saw the Police and a body still laying there with a sheet covered over it. It was a bit of a shock to everyone.

By the time we got to Naples is was after 9pm. We were tired, hungry and Valentina was up past her bedtime. We were met by Zio Salvatore, the MIL’s brother and he drove us to his place which is about 30 minutes outside of Naples. We were doing great until about 3 minutes before we got to the house. That’s when Valentina threw up. We really didn’t think too much of it although we figured it must have been the bumpy ride. Factor that in with no car seat..  and you’re bound to get messy. Luckily, it was only a little bit but it was enough for her to get completely pale. As we got settled, I changed her clothes and gave her a bottle. She quickly feel asleep and got the color back in her face while we stuff ourselves silly with the most amazing seafood EVER!

I loved walking around and seeing all of the seafood vendors. Everything looked so good and fresh!

You can’t go to Naples and not have Pizza but sadly this was the closest thing I got to. Pizzetta with ricotta was ….. mmmmmmmm…… YUM! It was fresh out of the oven and into my tummy!

It was such a bright day that a lot of my pictures came out too dark or too bright. I kept messing with the exposure settings and switching between manual and auto so some of these are not the best quality.

Once we got back home, Zia had more delicious food waiting for us. One of my favorite things to eat is Mozzarella di Bufala. That is mozzarella made with buffalo milk. Words can not describe how amazing it tastes. You’ll just have to try it for yourself.

After lunch we rested and Valentina and I walked around Zia and Zio’s house. They have a great place with a large balcony and tons of plants and flowers. Sadly, I didn’t get a picture of them but I did get this small space near their front door.

After resting a bit, I gave Valentina a quick snack and it was off to Baia to see the castle. Here’s the problem with traveling with a child. 99% of the cars in Italy are small. You can barely squeeze in 4-5 people. If you have a car seat, then you’re looking at 3 people in a car. I am strongly against having a child sitting on your lap in a car. I have always protest and insisted in car seats when people want to drive us home. Sometimes, Valentina does ok and then there are times like this one. We barely made it 10 minutes into the drive when Valentina threw up. Zio pulled over and we cleaned her up. She wasn’t phased by it at all. She was looking at us like it was no big deal. We got back in and kept driving… then a few minutes later, there was more.

More pulling over and cleaning. This time she was a bit fussier and only wanted me. By this time, the car was smelling pretty bad, I was covered in it, my MIL’s pants were covered and V’s clothes were completely soaked in vomit.  We stripped her down and left her jacket on since it was breezy that evening. We continued and she threw up again.. but a small amount that I was able to catch with some kleenex. She was just about to doze off when we reached the lookout point of the castle. I didn’t want to, but I was urged to get out of the car so I wouldn’t smell the vomit. This of course was a HUGE mistake because Valentina woke up and wanted to see everything too. I was trying to shield the wind from her because she was soaking wet from her vomit. We were there just a few minute and I got back in the car.

We started making our way back when… she threw up…. AGAIN! By this time, I was almost in tears. Everyone was trying to tell me why she was throwing up. It was the yogurt, no she didn’t digest her snack, no she’s teething, no it’s the acid from all of the cheese she ate yesterday…. I just wanted to yell and say… NO.. IT’S BECAUSE SHE’S NOT IN A CAR SEAT LIKE SHE’S SUPPOSED TO BE! She’s isn’t used to bumpy, windy roads. Again, no one was listening to me. We get back into the car and I am praying that she falls asleep until we get home. She was worn out, weak and sick. She threw up again…. 5 times total and then she finally feel asleep.

We got home and everyone immediately changed into something else and Zia started a load of laundry. Zio Salvatore was the only one that didn’t get thrown up on, but he had to clean the mess in the car. Valentina slept while we made her a bottle of chamomile tea to help settle her tummy. We all sat and enjoy some Pastiera Napoletana before going to bed.

The next day, we decided to leave Valentina at home with Zia Rosalia and my MIL while Carlo and I do some sightseeing in Pozzuoli. We walked around the pier and checked out the action on the fishing boats.

We continued our walk and came upon the Greek ruins. We sat for a while taking photos when we heard someone calling Carlo’s name…

It was Zio Salvatore. He said that he got a phone call that Valentina was crying and wouldn’t stop and we should get home. After running some quick errands, we got home and found Valentina with my MIL, happy as can be and Zia Rosalia making gnocchi and ragu alla napoletana.

Unfortunately for Valentina, she was miserable and slept all day long. She would only wake up to eat fruit or have some chamomile tea. I had told Carlo that morning that V felt warm but no one wanted to listen to me and of course, she ended up getting a fever and Carlo had to go to the pharmacy to buy some medicine. I should have gotten a picture of us but my only thought was my sweet monkey laying in bed with a fever and upset stomach. We literally spent most of our trip in bed… all 3 of us. Just laying with the baby cuddling her and reading. The next morning, Valentina seemed to be doing much better but we mostly hung out at the house watching The Royal Wedding…

and drooling over this delicious strawberry shortcake that both Zia and Zio made together. She gave me the recipe and I’ll be trying it very soon!

Our final day in Naples and we continued to eat non-stop. Carlo and I took Valentina for a walk but with all of the food we ate, it really didn’t help us much.

Especially when we were given Pizza to eat on the train ride back to Torino. If you’ve never had potatoes on Pizza then you should try it… it’s fantastic! Little did we know that this pizza was the only thing Valentina wanted to eat on the trip. She started rejecting everything we had for her. (a few days later, her first molar came in!… she wanted to chew… yet still rejected her pasta. then i realized that she wanted table food and not her unseasoned baby food.)