Jaime: Midterms
Well, all five midterms went well for us! It took a lot of focus and self-teaching, but we both feel like we at least passed all of them (maybe even a couple A's?)! Unfortunately on St. Patrick's Day we had three midterms to study for that were all on the 18th. As many can probably imagine we took a break right before midnight and went down to 'The Surge' Irish Pub next door and had ourselves a study treat: one Guinness each, I promise, only one. The pub was decorated in many Guinness advertisements and the color green and it was packed with mostly Italian citizens, very excited to be there and celebrating the Irish holiday. 

We wish we could have stayed longer but we decided to be responsible young adults, despite the small percentage of Irish blood in our veins, and go back to the wee apartment to get a good night's rest before the day of insanity.  After taking those three midterms, it was hard to focus for the last one, especially when we both had packing left to do for spring break, but we managed, pulled through and even had spare time before going our separate ways on a beautiful, sunny Thursday afternoon.

Brad: Scotland

Scotland photos

Kick the can in Scotland

Brian and Jason climbing Arthur's Seat

Christie and Alli on top of Arthur's Seat

Brad and Brian on top of Arthur's Seat at sunset

Brad in the Elephant House

FREEDOM!

St. Gile's Cathedral

Meadows at sunset

The city of Edinburgh

London photos

Elyse at her underground stop in London

The Camden Market

Jaime in Hyde Park on a beautiful day

Jaime and Elyse in front of Buckingham Palace

Elyse with her fish 'n chips 'n peas 'n cider

Jaime in the red phone booth

View of Big Ben, Westminster Abby, River Thames, and the city from the London Eye

Elyse and Jaime in one of the 'eggs' at Sketch

Andy and Jaime at afternoon tea/lunch in Notting Hill

Berlin photos

Jaime and Brad in the TV tower

Brad in the Jewish Holocaust Memorial

Brad in front of some of the Berlin Wall still standing

Jaime caught in a blizzard!

The book burning memorial

Jaime and Brad in front of a Berlin cathedral

Brad with Ampelman

TV tower Panorama Bar at night

Jaime and Kelsey on top of the Reichstag

Jaime and Brad in front of a piece of the Berlin Wall

The church that was bombed

Brad with his large dinner

Monte di Procida photos

Brad and Jaime at the castle

Brad and Laurie with the castle in the background

Brad and Jaime with a new found sunken/headless friend

John and Laurie in front of the food table at the wine tasting party

Pasquale pouring some of his wine

A couple celebratory German beers after finals coupled with the hopes of an enjoyable Spring Break was enough to encourage me through the unavoidable packing process.  I felt pretty economical fitting everything into one backpack, but all I really needed were clothes, a passport, Jack Kerouac's On The Road, and an iPod.  I put on the grey plaid golfing hat that I bought from a street vendor in Trastevere and took a Terravision bus from Termini station to Rome's Ciampino airport and boarded a Ryan Air flight to Glasgow Prestwick International Airport. 

From there I cruised on a two-hour bus ride into Edinburgh to meet up with my good friend, former USC housemate, and previous Rome exploration accompanist: Brian Susman.  I landed on a lonely bridge in the middle of town at two in the morning. After scanning through all of the contacts in my cell phone I found that I did not have Brian's number.  But I used my noggin and found it in my received calls from the weekend that he visited me in Rome and had ecstatically called me after seeing the Coliseum for the first time.

He instructed me to meet him at the Starbucks on the Royal Mile -- a touristy street cutting through the center of town that connects the Edinburgh Castle with the Holyrood Palace.  I passed several Starbucks and trekked down the entire road before having to turn around and meet him back at the first Starbucks I passed.  It was great to see my bud again, and he brought with him a few of his red headed Scottish friends that also attend the University of Edinburgh--Kyle Worgan, a political science major and Alistair, a heavy metal rock musician.

The first thing that I noticed about the people of Scotland is that they are the kindest and most friendly people in the world, though this is undoubtedly facilitated by the breakdown of the language barrier. This was the first time I had been in an English speaking country for months.  The next thing I noticed was that Scots eat an excessive amount of fried food.  I was famished when we arrived at the apartment and Kyle was kind and friendly enough to put some diced potatoes and a chicken sandwich in his miniature deep fryer for me. With my colloquial California vegan diet this was more of an assassination attempt than a gesture of kindness, but when in Scotland...

Over twenty USC students are studying in Edinburgh this semester, and Brian lives with one, Jason Nord -- a soft spoken sociology major who plays the guitar and sleeps all day but quests all night.  Some of Brian's other Edinburgh friends started to show up from around town and before we knew it, we were cracking open beers and a bottle of wine and having a welcome party. A few of Brian's USC comrades were visiting from Los Angeles on their Spring Breaks including Ali Stillman, Brian's oldest friend from his native town of Calabasas, California who we awoke with our noisy party but was nevertheless a good sport and joined in the fun.  Two girls from Denmark had a flight home in a few hours and wanted a final hoorah.  We drifted outside and flung the Frisbee across the dark streets -- dodging the passing cars, and flirting with mischief. 

When the clock struck five in the morning, I made the executive decision that for anybody still awake there was no longer any sense in sleeping.  And if we were not going to sleep, then we were definitely watching the sunrise.  But a sunrise is always best when viewed from the top of a hill, so Brian, Kyle, Ali, Jason, Daniel, and I ventured through town to the city center and climbed Calton Hill.  At the pinnacle stands an incomplete Athenian acropolis of massive pillars that overlooks meadows of twisting trees and solitary monuments.

Our gang sat huddled at the citadel while we bopped a cappella jazz beats and gazed our tired eyes through the eerie mist awaiting the earth to rotate into view of our lovely star.  But instead of a sunrise, we sat through the morning fog until the world brightened like a dimmer switch in the sky -- my first view of Edinburgh in the light. 

We walked back towards the apartment at nine in the morning.   All around me were towering gothic steeples and cathedrals of gloomy, dark-grey, mossy, medieval stones.  We stumbled upon an empty metal soup can on the ground and kicked it among us as we walked.  I recalled my Grandpa telling me that he played kick the can when he was a kid, though this was our own modern variation of the game involving total teamwork instead of competition. 

Right then and there our only mission in life was to kick this clinging and clanging can, and after reaching the smooth flat ground in front of a government building we formed a loose circle and kicked the can in between us, gaining a few craning necks and collecting pondering eyes passing by.  The can landed straight up and down in front of me and I leaped in the air and my heel landed square on it, crushing it into a flat puck and terminating our game.  Brian dusted it off and placed it in his bag for a memory on the shelf. 

Ironically, I woke up only a few hours before sunset, so Brian, Jason, Ali, her roommate Christie and I rushed to Black Medicine Coffee Company downtown to meet up with another fellow USC Trojan, John Margetis.  John may be my new favorite person in the entire world.  He was born without both of his hands yet he has more ability, dexterity, and confidence than most people I know.  

We ordered cappuccinos and hiked to the top of Arthur's Seat -- the grassy butte on the edge of town that was as close to a mountain as we could get for a high angle panorama of Edinburgh, Scotland at sunset.  The gothic steeples below were silhouettes in the fiery horizon.  We walked down the other side of the hill and came across a field of green grass that bounced like memory foam beneath the feet so we rolled in it and lay on our backs to look at the fading blue sky. 

On the other side of Arthur's Seat stands the oldest pub in Scotland -- the 14th century Sheep Heid.  The walls are decked with deer mounts and artifacts in the incandescent yellow lamplight and we ordered Scotch whiskey at the bar.  John is in the whiskey society at University of Edinburgh, and was sure to impart some knowledge on my taste buds.  We drank a few local Edinburgh brews, had a couple thumb wars, and walked on to Central City Café to eat some deep fried pizza and fried haggis (a traditional Scottish dish consisting of basically everything in the sheep) which was surprisingly not as bad as one might think -- somewhere in between soft meatloaf and a hamburger patty.  At Brian's we tried to stay awake long enough to watch Full Metal Jacket, but failed miserably. 

Saturday morning, Brian and I walked downtown to The Elephant House café where J.K. Rowling created in writing the infamous Harry Potter.  Drawings and photographs of elephants are pinned all over the walls -- a most unlikely place for a wizarding world to be imagined.   I ordered my cappuccino, anticipated reading the final book in the series years after the rest of society had spoiled the magic, and we meandered out the door vocalizing our jazz tunes.  In Edinburgh, everybody walks everywhere, and wherever Brian and I were walking, we were usually singing a cappella jazz or beat-boxing the beat for one another. 

We walked down the Royal Mile into the Whiskey Experience, contemplated a tour, but decided to simply buy a bottle of Famous Grouse and check out the Edinburgh castle.  We contemplated a tour of the castle, but the queue was awfully long, so we just threw back some whiskey from the bottle and winged a personal tour of at the castle from the outside. 

Down the street was a man dressed in plaid rags and face painted blue like William Wallace from Braveheart. He was taking donations for Leukemia in exchange for a picture with him while sporting a falchion or broad-sword of your choice.  I drew a crowd after heaving my falchion in the air and bellowing out a loud 'FREEDOM!" 

We rambled down the Royal Mile past bagpipers piping and entered Saint Guiles Cathedral dated back to the 12th century.  It is regarded today as the mother church of Presbyterianism -- Jaime and I were raised Presbyterian.  Brian and I stepped lightly beneath the massive archways towards the melodic reverberating voice of an angel in white.  She sang a beautiful song that stopped my comrade and I dead in our tracks to listen until the end. 

In the late afternoon sunshine, we found ourselves in the meadows -- huge grassy fields where the University students hang out and eat or play.  We fixed some cost effective hobo sandwiches out of a loaf of bread, a bag of spinach, and some tomatoes and met some folks for a game of Frisbee.  I played until my fingers bled.  Two of my other former housemates and English majors from USC, AJ and Tommy, came down to the meadows to hang out. 

We talked about how amazing On the Road is and how much more amazing it is to read while on the road. We shared some scotch and Brian blew a saxophone in the grass.  He pushed me while I was sitting peacefully talking to some girls from Newcastle, England, so I chased the tough guy down, wrestled him to the ground, and threw him around in the grass in front of all his friends.  The sunset was beautiful.

Our gang prepared some homemade vegetable pizza for dinner while watching Dodgeball and then jazzed our way to the Bauhaus artsy hangout for a beer and staggered to a club to dance the night away.  Sadly, it was Ali and Christie's last night in Edinburgh before going back to LA, so I am glad we made the most of it.

Brian and I spent my last full day at the National Museum of Scotland, looking at art and artifacts and reading up on the history and evolution of the country I had just imprinted my soul upon.  We ordered one last cappuccino and cake then went out one last time with AJ and Tommy to get some Scotland famous Fish and Chips and pints at a pub in Newtown Edinburgh.  I did not sleep since I had to catch a 3:30 AM bus to Glasgow Prestwick Airport.  And just like that, I said goodbye to Brian and goodbye to Scotland with nothing more than good memories with great friends.   Brian promised me that he will give me a cost estimate on the cardinal and gold kilts for us to wear to the USC football games. 

Jaime: London
The beginning of my trip was rather stressful considering how prepared and relaxed I had felt before leaving to catch the Leonardo Express to the airport. The metro came a little bit later than it usually does, so I arrived at Termini station later than I expected, meaning I had to run to make it to my train.  I barely made it, and had to ride there amongst many other travelers all flushed and sweaty.

We arrived to the airport, and I got to the EasyJet check in right on time, however someone was holding the line up and I waited for over an hour to get checked in, leaving less than 30 minutes to go through security and get to my gate. Well then we boarded the plane half hour late, everyone rushed to their unassigned seats and we sat on the plane for about an hour and half because there were 140 people on the plane and only 139 had checked in. Turns out the check-in folks made a counting mistake and we finally were on our way.

In London I caught a train to an underground station downtown and my friends from Chapman, Elyse and Andy, were there to pick me up! London was a great city and it was so fun to spend time with Elyse, not only because she's my best friend but also because she knew some really great places to see.  We did go out to many top-notch clubs and lounges, we stayed out way too late every night having so much fun, however I have been paying for it with an unfriendly cold for the last seven days; but it was totally worth it.  Besides partying, we did a lot of really great things around the city.

One day we went to the Camden Market, which is a really artsy, funky neighborhood and market full of ethnic vendors that sold food, trinkets, clothing, shoes, art, jewelry, souvenirs, etc... We spent the entire day on Friday there. Saturday, we took a walk through Hyde Park. It was a gorgeous day, all the flowers and trees were blooming and many people were all around the park running, biking, playing soccer, playing tag, rowing in the lake and just walking around like Elyse and me. 

We continued on to see the outside of Buckingham Palace. It was very large and regal, but the guards wearing red with the tall black hats weren't out, so that was a little disappointing. After that we went on a mission for the best fish 'n chips; after many options we found them! Sorry, can't tell though, it's our secret! We enjoyed our fish n' chips n' vinegar, added a little salt of course, our peas and our cider very much. It was one of the highlights of my London trip. 

After lunch we walked to the London Eye. On the way, we saw Westminster Abby and Big Ben! It was so crazy seeing these sites that I've heard about my whole life and seen in movies. I suppose it is that way though every time I go to a new city though. It was quite a wait to finally board one of the biggest Ferris wheels in the world, but the view when we finally got in was incredible. It was such a clear day and it seemed like one could see all of London and everything that we had passed that day, not to mention being right over the River Thames.  It was a little scary being up so high but it was great. 

After the big 'flight' Elyse and I were exhausted and caught a double-decker red bus back to her neighborhood for a nap! We met up later with Elyse's friends for dinner then Elyse and I stumbled upon some people going to somewhere called 'Sketch.' We decided it'd only be best if we tagged along. It turned out to be a members-only club/restaurant/bar, but we got lucky and they let us in anyways.  The ambiance and décor around the venue had great vibes.

In the restaurant there were projections of the city all around the walls, in other rooms the light fixtures were really cool, there were old vintage chairs everywhere, one of the bars was inside a dome and the bar and bartenders were down about four feet lower from where we were standing, and then the highlight of sketch was the bathroom.  There are two sets of stairs: one for boys and one for girls. Obviously we went up the girl's side, but you can see both sides from anywhere. At the top of the stairs the lighting is pretty dark and purple and there are about 40 total white, egg shaped pods in which each contain a toilet!

When you close the door a voice comes on as if you are inside a space shuttle about to land. It was wild and we made many trips up there. Sunday Elyse and I seemed dead, but we still got up and went to a place called Covent Garden.  It was a market with some vendors, pubs, restaurants, and live performances. Elyse and I strolled around and had a glass of wine where a couple of people were playing the violin, cello and flute while doing the 'jig.' It was very entertaining and fun to watch. We then ventured on and went to Punch and Judy's two- story pub, drank a cider on the balcony, and watched the sun set as a not-so-funny comedian performed down below.  That night we ate excellent Thai food with Elyse's friends and got so full that we could have fallen asleep right there at the table. 

My last day in London I packed up my things early and then Elyse and I met up with Andy and walked to Notting Hill and had tea and lunch at an upstairs garden café overlooking the Portobello Market. It was a perfect way to end my time in London.  I wish I could've stayed longer, but it was time to catch my flight to Berlin, which fortunately was a lot less painful than the flight to London.

Brad: Germany
Check in to St. Christopher's Hostel & amenities, naptime, Jaime called, tour the next day in blizzard barely getting breakfast, history, almost peeing my pants, jaime's still sick from London, meeting Colin and Cammie on tour, ampelman, eating braut and beer, meeting up for tv tower at 3434532 meters, drinkin beers at sunset, going to hostel for more beer then to the courage for more beer -- no hostel hopping, next day breakfast and meeting up, going to Reichstag met up with hometown girls Kelsey and kate & friend, goodbye to colins, go to west berlin sony center for Italian food...out to dinner at the potatoe house -- reisling, pork, potatoes, ampfel, etc, looking for a party unsuccessfully, and to Napoli.

A wise high school Modern American Literature teacher, Mr. Duff, taught me a line from the renowned Scottish poet Robert Burns' ode To A Mouse: "The best laid schemes o' mice and men gang aft aglee."  Which can be understood as: "the best laid schemes of mice and men often go awry."

My 3:30AM bus arrived at Glasgow Prestwick at 5:30AM.  I was exhausted and consequently slept on a bench at a restaurant in the airport until check in time opened at 10:45AM.  I approached the Ryan Air counter and asked where all the Easy Jet counters were.  The kind young lady informed me that Easy Jet only flies out of Glasgow Airport, not Glasgow Prestwick International Airport.  Great.  I have an hour until my flight leaves for Berlin and I am in the wrong airport.  Not only this, but she told me the correct airport was an hour away and I would never make it, but nevertheless gave me public transportation directions so I would not have to hail an expensive cab.

I decided to make a go for it.  Flight check in closed at noon, and I knew where I had to go, so I just relaxed and tried to read some of my book for the hour it took to travel there.  I boarded a train that bulleted through the beautiful farming countryside, with rolling green hills and goats grazing everywhere.  I caught a bus from the train station to the airport as the clock rolled over to noon.  I stopped reading my book and started planning ways to talk my way out of this messy situation. 

I ran to the counter and a customer was taking forever with something that seemed rather insignificant and obvious to me.  He moseyed away and I rushed forward and slammed my passport and confirmation number on the counter and asked if I could still get on the plane to Berlin.  She looked at the clock and informed me that check in was closed and I would have to reschedule my flight.  I asked if I could sprint to the plane since I had experience in this department.  Noting that I only had a backpack, she printed me a boarding pass and gave me the go-ahead.  "Sprint like you've never sprinted before," she called after me as I darted away.  I had to wait in line for ten minutes before boarding my flight to Berlin.

I landed in Germany, where my father's ancestors had left for Ellis Island and the American dream the century before.  I took a train into the city and walked around aimlessly looking for my Hostel.  Jaime was not going to arrive for a few more hours anyway, so I savored my masculine pride and avoided asking directions.  Instead I just looked at maps on the street.  I ate some Asian food at the station next to a gang of old German folks drinking beer and laughing hysterically at the comedic door that kept blowing open in the wind after closing it each time.

I reached Saint Christopher's Hostel, paid up, and grabbed the key for the room that Jaime had reserved.    The Hostel hosted a cheap decent bar downstairs, a food menu, free breakfast, cheap internet, clean rooms, and helpful customer service.  They have locations all over Europe, and I would probably look them up again without question.  Jaime and I got a private room so we would not have to worry about smelly boys or having our things looted.  I set my luggage down, plugged in my dying phone, kicked off my shoes and passed out on the bed. 

I awoke to Jaime's phone call asking me to meet her at the station.  I walked that way with my iPod and, while I stood in the station, three drunk German college girls on their way to a club bombarded me with questions about my music, who I was, and why I was waiting for my sister.  They begged me to come with them to their club, but I was a loyal bro and resisted the temptation. 

Jaime and I were pretty beat from the United Kingdom, so we just went to sleep when she arrived.   And our scheme to wake up at nine for the 8-10 AM breakfast went awry when we forgot to reset our clocks.  I bolted downstairs and grabbed a piece of bread and a bowl of fruit cocktail just as they were putting things away, but Jaime did not even bother trying.  We put on our jackets and convened in the lobby to depart for the site of the daily free tour of Berlin. 

And another scheme awry, the moment that our tour began, the sky started throwing hail and storming rain and snow upon our heads.  We ran for the Brandenburg gate and were given temporary shelter from the storm as we passed through the center -- historically reserved for royalty such as ourselves. 

Behind us was the hotel where Michael Jackson held his child out over the balcony like it was pride rock. We peered down the street at the Reichstag parliament building, and learned that a drunk communist citizen had set it on fire in the middle of the night, and the democratically elected chancellor Adolf Hitler used this as leverage to legally change the constitution to give him wartime power and dictatorship authority.

We walked next though the Holocaust Memorial, a park sized grid of upright massive concrete rectangular prisms inspired by a cemetery in Prague, but open to artistic interpretation according to the architect.  As I walked through the maze, the ground sloped downwards and the concrete slabs towered taller and taller over my head until I had a powerless oppressed feeling of being buried alive.  Things began to look the same in every direction, like there was no way out and claustrophobia settled in.  But we knew what was on the other side, and we walked through assertively putting the past behind us and leaving concrete slabs of memory and condolence in our wake.

Our guide, Lewis, led us to Humboldt University, where Albert Einstein taught theoretical physics for years before fleeing to the United States during the war.  We also looked across the street from the school at the plaza where mountains of "Non-German" books were burned under the organization of Humboldt students and professors themselves.  Below the plaza is a monument that represents an empty bookshelf and books are now sold on the sidewalk for a discounted price. 

We saw what remained of the fenced off graffitied Berlin wall that separated communist East Berlin and republic West Berlin after the war.  Apparently to calm protestors an agreement had been made that people would be conditionally let through from East Berlin into the West with a series of fine print.  But Gunter Schabowski, an East German minister of propaganda, who was to announce this agreement, was on vacation and did not know the fine print and simply said on national television that anybody could get through.   When Tom Brokaw asked, "when?", he responded "right away."  And the wall came down.  Supposedly David Hasseloff is also claiming credit for the tearing down of the wall -- they love him in Germany, though Jaime and I were disappointed to not see any Dave posters on the streets.

The site of Hitler's bunker in which he committed suicide is nothing more than a parking lot now -- no relic, monument, or anything commemorating him stands within the city.  Enough monuments and bad memories stand as a result of his evil.

We explored much of central Berlin and our tour concluded on the steps of a century old cathedral that had to have its central dome rebuilt after the war and artificially aged to match the rest of the church.  We gave our free tour guide a tip because he was very thorough and survives on tips.

The excited green traffic man complete with a top hat, named Ampelman, indicates that pedestrians can cross the street and is unique to Berlin.  Ampelman was the creation of an engineering psychology experiment to see if people would pay more attention to when they could cross the street if the symbol was an exaggerated German character instead of a boring universal stick figure.  It worked, and now Ampelman is famous.  Jaime and I were taking a picture in front of the Ampelman store when Cami and Collin, a brother sister traveling duo from Colorado, approached us and started chatting.  We all started walking and agreed to eat lunch.

We encountered a small place close by and had beers and brauts.  Jaime asked for saurkraut with her baked potato and got a suspicious look from the server, but it was tasty all the same.  Cami had been volunteering in an orphanage in India for the past year after graduating college and her brother Collin took a few months off to visit her and help out.  They were on their way back to the states and decided to explore Europe together on the way.  It was nice to meet people around the same age in a similar situation.

We met at the top of the Fernsehturm TV tower at Alexanderplatz for sunset.  There is a bar in the 365 meter tower with a panoramic view of the entire city where we sipped German beers and exchanged traveling stories as the sunset illuminated steeple, domed, and modern Berlin transformed into a twinkling lamplight city night scene.   We bought some pretzels and walked to our hostel for cheaper beers though decided against going to their hostel to avoid hostel hopping in a city where there's a greater variety of authentic things to do.  We found a place called Courage, with candlelight and Jack Johnson playing that nearly lulled us to sleep, so we called it a night soon thereafter.

The next morning we woke up for breakfast on time and Colin and Camie met up with us for a trip to the Reichstag.  We walked in beautiful sunshine and half wished we had opted for a tour this day, but no regrets.  Above parliament is a clear dome that people can look down, but more importantly that the lawmakers can look up when doing their jobs and remember who it is that they are working for -- the people.  We waited in line for an hour or so and met our friends from high school, Kelsey and Kate, who were studying abroad in Berlin for the semester.  We spiraled to the peak for another breathtaking view of the city.  I fantasized long boarding down the ramp.  We descended and had to sadly say goodbye to our sibling counterparts.

Our hometown Whitefish posse journeyed into modernized West Berlin to the Sony Center area for some Italian food and beer, then moseyed over to the "Broken Church" that was never repaired after bomb damage during the war.  The old mosaics inside were still golden, shimmering, and magnificent despite the void.  Modern addendums had been made to the sides of the church with bright blue stained glass splattered with other colors of the spectrum behind a grid of concrete that from the inside gave a look of a magnified fishing net underwater. 

Jaime and I walked around the shops and vendors in Alexanderplatz and found antique beer steins with pewter lids and images sculpted in the outside.  Jaime's depicts a dragon slaying scene and has a deep amber glaze, whereas mine illustrates a German family outside with their dog among the wildflowers glazed dark blue.  My lid is domed with a point and engraved with designs, which was the real selling point for my souvenir. 

For dinner, Jaime and I wanted a real authentic German meal, so we walked along the river front, around a two-steepled church and came across an adorable restaurant where we played cards and drank German Riesling and attempted to order in German from our jovial blonde haired sweetheart waitress.  Jaime ordered potatoes Au Gratin with Broccoli, and I ordered what my Dad used to make all the time at home: pork chops, saurkraut and potatoes.  She brought out an entire pig hock on a plate -- hairy skin, bones, and everything. No doubt it was authentic -- and it was very tasty too.  We ordered apple strudel with ice cream and walked home.

Jaime was feeling sick and tired, but I wanted something more, so I put my jacket back on and set to the streets in search of a party.  The streets were pretty empty, and my first destination proved to be no more than a building decorated with a For Sale sign.  But I pressed on, and passed a hip jazz restaurant that I probably should have stayed at in retrospect, but it was not my vibe at the time, so I walked to central Berlin and walked into a bar with a tent lounge annex.  I ordered a pint and walked into the tent to catch the DJ's Bob Marley tunes while the crowd faded.  So Berlin nightlife is dead on Wednesdays, but no doubt the Kuntz family will return to Germany in the near future. 

Jaime: Monte di Procida
Brad and I got to the Berlin airport on time and there weren't any lines during the whole process so we ended up waiting in the airport café drinking cappuccinos, getting excited to dive back into Italian culture.  The flight was pretty short for us since we spent most of it with our eyes shut and then successfully landed in Napoli where Laurie was there to pick us up right when we collected our baggage.

It was nice to be back in some sunshine and see some familiar sights. Before getting home we stopped at Castello di Baia, an old castle and fortress, originally Aragonese, which is now also the home of an archeological museum. It also served as an orphanage for a few years after World War I. We originally stopped there so that Laurie could drop off some dog food and treats for the castle dogs, Max and another little one that doesn't have a name yet. 

We then decided to walk around a little bit. It is right on a cliff above the sea so there were gorgeous views from one of the upper levels we got to go out on in the castle.  Inside we saw some old statues, structures and even a temple that had sunk down after an earthquake that caused a landslide into the Mediterranean Sea in about the second century A.D. We got to walk through some of the echoing barren hallways and see some rooms, but most of the castle is not open for viewing yet. It was supposed to be finished a while ago, so there's no telling when one will be able to walk across the mote into other areas of the fortress. 

We then went home and Brad and I immediately did our laundry because we had absolutely no clean clothes left. We then spent the day relaxing and reading, then Laurie took us on a walk through the town and we stopped at the bread shop, the meat shop and a fruit and vegetable stand to pick up some items that we would need for the wine tasting party that we had here at Villa Rossi on Saturday evening.  

John got home from work and then we had cocktail hour, ate some dinner and watched an old 80's movie, 'The Real Genius.'  Friday Brad continued to read while Laurie and I worked in the kitchen preparing appetizers for the wine tasting party.  When John got home we all had trouble making decisions about what to eat and finally we decided to go eat dinner at the famous Taverna dei Sapori owned by Mariella and Peppe that we ate at the time before.  We loved every moment of it again and we ate way too much delicious food.  We ordered many appetizers as well as the eggplant and smoked mozzarella pasta dish again and then tried a new one with rigatoni, shrimp and mushrooms. They never fail to impress us.   Luckily we walked up-hill to get back home so we could help the digestion process a little bit. 

Saturday was another day full of Laurie and I preparing in the kitchen, we made some mini quiches, peanut sauce for chicken satay, a salmon spread, black bean salsa, prosciutto wrapped shrimp, a curry dip for sliced vegetables, cookies, a cheese plate, etc... Mariella also made some fantastic dishes for the party: spaghetti pie, pizza, eggplant parmesan, and a caprese cake to name a few.  John did a lot of work outside and moving things around, sometimes convincing Brad to put down his book to help.

We took a break mid-day for a light lunch in the sun and then went back to work. Then Pasquale came over, the owner of the local winery, Cantine del Mare.  He brought over the wine that we were going to taste and some extra to sell in case anyone wanted to buy some, in which many did. He was very knowledgeable about his business and is more of a quality producer rather than quantity.  We ended up frantically finishing the rest of the cooking, Brad had to be recruited to cooking the chicken and shrimp, and we all pitched in setting up, barely squeezing a shower in. 

Luckily the 37 guests showed up a little bit late and sporadically so everything seemed perfect once everyone arrived. Of course the wind started to pick up pretty heavy at the start of the party, but it didn't stop the pouring of the wine on the patio. We tried 8 of the 9 different wines from Cantine del Mare, and all were impressively delicious and it was tempting to go for a second round.  Our favorite white was the Falanghina and our favorite red was the Novello. Of course his Brezza Flegrea spumante was absolutely bubbly and delicious as well.  I strongly recommend all of his wines if you ever see any of them.  It's interesting because all of his wine is made from either the falanghina or piedrosso grape, but they all have very distinct qualities and flavors.

Between the wine, the food and meeting many interesting people it was a very successful evening that couldn't have happened without John and Laurie. Somehow we all had energy at the end to put all the food away and wash the dishes! It wasn't easy waking up this morning, especially because of setting the clocks an hour ahead last night (this happens at a different time in Italy), however we had a lazy day that wasn't so lazy playing Wii Fit. Laurie got us hooked. A few that we did were ski jumping, slalom skiing, hula hooping, and tightrope walking. It was a blast and was actually a great work out. We're hoping to convince mom and dad to invest. 

Now we are getting ready for some leftover food from the party and preparing for our mom, dad, and younger brother Kevin to arrive tomorrow. We are so excited to see them and spend some time doing fun things around this area and in Rome.  We've been to Italy together as a family before, so at least all the major touristy things are out of the way.  Until next time, arrivederci from Jaime and Brad.