Dana the Canadian Comes to Italy and the Crazies =)

(warning...this was written a full week ago..but is finally up nonetheless)
DANA IS HERE!!! yayayayay! For those of you who don't know, Dana is one of my best friends whom I met last summer when I was working with the Summer National Senior Games. Unfortunately, she lives near Toronto, Canada so I haven't seen her since I dropped her off at the airport on August 17 of last year. And now she's here with me and my family and I'm just so happy =). I went with Gianfranco, Anna and Angelo to the Stazione di Napoli to pick her up because she had flown into Rome. She got a bigger welcoming party than I did! Anna ran right up to her and gave her a big kiss on the cheek. Took her back to the house and settled in for a bit then went over to Zia Eleanor's house for a late night dinner. She was in a whole different world. And she is meeting everyone I run into, which is a lot of people. And she's almost completely lost on the language, which means that I'm not only translating for myself, but for her as well. She took a few years of French in high school and there's a lot of similar words so she's not completely lost.
So after pizza at Zia Eleanor's, Giusy took us over to the yogurt shop that Maria and Rafael own for some dolci. Then we went home to talk some more and sleep. Woke up at 11 and went over to Eleanor's again for midday lunch. Dana had her first full on Italian meal there and it was quite entertaining. Eating here is so different from anywhere I've ever been. They always begin with the pasta dish, then the meat dish, then fruit and then dessert. So much food in one sitting. And my family just loves her. As does the dog, Milo. The dogs, both Milo and Gennaro (Francesco's English Bulldog) are new to me and it's funny to see my family with pets. Milo is a little Yorkshire Terrier and just so cute. Gennaro is  still pretty young but English Bulldogs aren't exactly tiny.
That night, after just vegging around all afternoon (there's not much to do..but that's ok), we met up with Antonella to run errands and go hang at their house. Had late night meal with them and played with Anna. Such a nice relaxing day. I love how generous my family is. I only wish that I can someday return the generosity they are showing me here. I've already told Giusy that when she comes out to California (if ever) she's not allowed to pay for anything, since she won't let me or Dana pay for anything. Ok long post. More on the next one =).