How are the italians not fat???

So Camille and I arrived in Rome just about 5 days ago now, and this is the first time I've had actual internet. We spent our 3.5 days in Rome exploring the Colosseum, the Vatican, Trevi fountain, Spanish steps, markets, shopping and oh, the italians. We made two friends who we have named the following: Lo Mein: the chinese-italian woman who ran our hostel, and Mimo: the arab italian who waited on us at dinner each night. I had my first "lost in translation" experience with Mimo, when he seated us at a table right in the center of the sidewalk outside the restaurant and I said, "Oh, we're in the hotseat tonight!!" and he proceeded to think that I was complaining because the chair was too hot for me to sit in.

Anyway, everyone speaks wayyyy less english than I expected here - I definitely shoudl have brushed up on my italian. I have also learned that the most dangerous thing I will encounter on the trip is crossing the street, as it seems there are no consequences in Europe for running over pedestrians. We have learned that in order to preserve our welfare, we find an italian who is about to cross the street, and then latch on to them in order to cross safely. I have also been told by a different waiter we had at a restaurant near the vatican that he would "walk by me a thousand times in order to hear my beautiful voice". that was nice of him i suppose.

This morning we traveled to Naples, which I found to be less than thrilling thus far. It is somewhat of a dirty city, although the hostel is nice. There is a nice harbor of Portici nearby, which has a sad excuse for a beach, but a beach nonetheless. We are going to Pompeii and Sorrento tomorrow, so this should be fun and slightly more scenic. Apparently they also do not believe in eating meals here, despite that Naples is known for its pizza, as we walked for miles today and were only able to come upon "pasticcerias" (bakeries). As much as I love an italian dessert, I do need to integrate my healthy pizza and/or pasta meal each day. I actually have not consumed anything but pizza, pasta and gelato since I arrived in Italy, but thankfully we have been walking several miles a day with my (I kid you not) 48 pound backpack! Fun times. I will write more soon!

Ciao!