14 Jan 2014 - Settling in Naples

I think we are starting to understand which major roads go east-to-west and vice versa which means we are getting a little more comfortable with our surroundings. We decided that we would spend the first week finding out how to get to various locations within the city limits and yes, that includes (but is not limited to) every outlet and major shopping mall.


We are not close to the beach which is why our rent is less than $5000 per month. Naples is clearly another community of wealthy individuals who like to spend 6 months or less in a climate that allows them to golf 14x per week and drive a convertible. God bless them but it eliminates any opportunity for us poorer slobs to enjoy the evening sunset over the Gulf of Mexico. Except for small public entrances at the end of a few residential street, access to the beach is pretty scarce. Once again, private residences gobbled up the property along the beach and restricted access before the city father's woke up and realized a potential gold mine was being gated and locked.


Naples is quite lovely...very clean and some beautiful architecture. It is also a city of unabashed wealth and is comprised of golf and country clubs, golf and residential communities, golf and racket clubs, residential communities for golfers....and the services that provide for it all. The biggest and most successful businesses here are cleaning and landscaping services followed closely by medical and food services. As Lucy the Landlady (from Slovakia) so aptly puts it..."Dis is not da real verld--dis is 'la la land' peoples". Within the city limits there are numerous and huge gated communities that are like cities within a city. They generally look the same....the entrance (accessed only through a manned security area with drop-down gates) is flanked by a man-made lake with a mondo-fountain in the middle. Note to self: join any Canadian cause that is fighting to keep the Americans from getting our water. Believe me, no-one in the US is dying because of lack of water! Hidden behind lush vegetation and sculpted bushes are luxury homes....not huge but luxurious...and of course, a golf course. The only thing more awesome than the landscaping is the name of the community: Emerald Isle, Golden Windsong, Pensinada Point, etc.


There is a small 'downtown' area on 3rd and 5th streets that are beautiful. It's about a mile or so of small shops, boutiques, restaurants and coffee shops that look either like original buildings circa 1940 or new buildings created to look like that era. There are also a couple of areas created for people to play...Tin City and The Mercado. These are like huge malls that consist of restaurants, theatres, open air markets, bands that play outside in the evenings. We haven't gotten to that yet but certainly will before too long. The overriding difficulty for going anywhere near the beach is parking....it is so limited that unless you are at the local beach by 9:30 am, the chances of getting a parking spot in the vicinity is remote to nil. I suspect we will pack a cooler and head out of town as there are lots of open spots between Naples and Cape Coral. Lucy the Landlady (now known as L2) gave us a parking pass for downtown....we just need to find a spot first.


I've just signed up for my first 'Lifestyle Living' event at the Naples Botanical Gardens. It's called 'Writing in the Garden' and while we haven't even seen the garden yet, I'm planning on taking a membership and advantage of some of the things going on. The writing thing just sounds...nice....and there are photography courses as well as gardening courses so I'm good to go. Once a month they hold an open-air concert which is a tribute to a particular person. This Friday's tribute is to Eric Clapton so we'll take our lawn chairs and enjoy an evening under the stars. I've lost the battery and charger for my big fancy camera but ordered one through Amazon so hopefully will have some nice photos soon to add to the blog.


Wayne has found a couple of gyms in the area but isn't ready to sign up anywhere until his cold gets a bit better and certainly the coughing part subsides. We are both definitely feeling better but the cough persists and I think we kept each other awake half the night coping with that niggly tickle that keeps you coughing. I don't think the others in the gym would be too keen to work out next to some guy who keeps coughing....although (IMHO) a quarter of the colds that come in to our house come from the gym. It's like a daycare for grown-ups....well, isn't it?


That's it so far. It's supposed to go up to 80 degrees today and then start to rain at some point. I might just go for a walk in the rain...because I can without risking hypothermia! Hope everyone is coping with the cold at home and planning their winter get-away! Until next time, love and hugs to all. Extra big kisses for T, T, G, and O! Love you. xx