Where to begin? Italy is outstanding. We landed in Rome just after sunrise. Very cool. We then hopped a flight to Naples along the coast.
Naples is beautiful from the air. I had no idea that Mount Vesuvius (of Pompeii fame..or infame-y if you will) is right next door. The above pic is a view from across the street. They live right next to it. Sure the landscape is fantastic, but holy cow...don't take out a long-term loan on that real estate!
The food is living up to expectations, which were high. The drivers however, are absolutely nuts. They can make a 2 lane road 6 lanes in a heartbeat. They drive tiny cars and mopeds for the most part (a Smart Car looks like a mid-size sedan here, and a PT Cruiser looks like a Suburban). There's little road range, but lots of honking and flashing of lights. They are a very laid back people...except on the road. And even then it's almost expected that they are insane until you learn the way they drive. Flashing lights means move over. Mopeds and motorcycles will cut between cars constantly. Stop signs are optional...
We are still working out the pre-deployment tasks needed for APS (that's Africa Partnership Station). Met numerous international navy reps today. UK, Germany, Norway, Senegal, Nigeria, Cameroon, Kenya even (and were not going there BTW). Very interesting.
Were expecting to be back in the US later this week. Then off to the Atlantic...
I understand that Italian driver's licenses come with complimentary membership in Scuderia Ferrari.
ReplyDeleteYou don't GET a Ferrari, you're just encouraged to drive as if you do.
Stay safe!
Don't forget to add "Weapons Familiarization" to your pre-deployment task list. There are 20mm's on the ship, right? Hey, you never know if they will let you if you don't ask, right?
ReplyDeleteSince I'm quite familiar with it (as are most of the muscle car fans I know), the flashing lights thing is no surprise to me. Now if we could just get that through the heads of the other 100 million American drivers....
ReplyDeleteAnd I'm with "pearhead" on the weapons fam....
Here's some background on Vesuvius, btw. Sounds like it's quiescent in the way Mt St Helens was in the early 80s.