Expensive (consolation) patch

We spent Tuesday very early and cozy and drove with all our belongings back to the powdery sugar fine beach around two corners. Heavenly peace, only a few walkers and brown pelicans diving into the water here and there, then letting the prey gurgle into their mouths with raised beaks. Photos of the pelicans will follow :) They definitely have an impressively large and stable beak....

Frederik definitely had fun again and had an excellent spot in the front row, far and wide.

We spent the hot noon in our apartment and thought that we could venture out again in the afternoon and take a little walk on the Naples Pier. We quickly realized that it was still extremely hot outside and promised Frederik a delicious ice cream, which would surely be available at the pier. The pier turned out to be a popular fishing spot that stretched out into the sea. Of course, we went all the way to the end. Enough looking, enough snapping pictures, Frederik insisted on his ice cream. And indeed, there was a small snack bar halfway up the pier that sold ice cream - for $6 per scoop !!!! Completely exaggerated. But a promise is a promise. We thought we could "buy ourselves free" with a cheaper (only $4.77!!) frozen banana with chocolate coating on a stick, but we were mistaken. Frederik really wanted to eat the banana, but ALONE. You can imagine what that means for an almost 2-year-old, so we were not thrilled with his idea and rejected his increasing demands. This resulted in us standing in the heat, surrounded by relaxed fishermen, with a hysterically screaming and crying child, who was no longer willing to compromise. So we quickly left.... If we had chosen the $6 ice cream, he could have happily eaten it by himself, we could have enjoyed the surroundings a little longer, and the joy of having just seen a dolphin in the wild directly at the pier would not have faded so quickly. THANKS TANTRUM PHASE, you idiot!!

Overall, we have noticed that food is quite expensive. One example: A pepper costs $1.98 (excluding tax, current exchange rate: 1 euro equals 1.13 dollars). This explains to us to some extent how numerous fast food chains can survive in the face of the great variety of food available in supermarkets. It is not lacking "healthy eating sense" here, but rather having enough money for home-cooked meals. The fast food option is probably cheaper. Sad, but possible. However, we doubt that there is a lack of spare change here in Naples. Seeing the houses, cars, shops, the clean, well-organized environment, etc. is quite intimidating.

In the afternoon, we cooled off in the pool with a lot of splashing.

For today's Wednesday, we made our first trip beyond the city limits: We went to Marco Island. What I imagined to be small, cute, and maybe a bit romantic turned out to be very big and without any "island flair." There were only a few parking spaces for visitors to access the beach. In other countries, it is usually the hotel chains and strongholds of beds that secure the first rows by the sea, but here this privilege is granted to owners of apartments (in tall buildings) - who in turn join communities and have access to a section of a private beach (just like our landlord). So when we found a spot on the beach with all our belongings, we realized that it was not a particularly special place. The sand consisted mostly of seashells, making it impossible for Freddy to walk over it on his own, and it was really busy. But this had the advantage for our sociable child, who simply joined a group of three siblings who were building a sandcastle. And he didn't want to leave there. Instead, we got in touch with the parents and grandparents and Freddy got to try everything they had brought along.

When it got too hot at noon, we packed up and made our way back with a contentedly sleeping child in the car. This allowed us to take an extra round through the residential area of the island. I snapped a few small funny things from the car.

And then this:

There are not only alligators and snakes in the Everglades, but also pumas.

We spent the rest of the day in the cool apartment and once again realized that "plastic-fantastic" toys are simply not for us. We made a "super bargain" at Toys R us and paid only $10 instead of $40 for a singing farm. When unpacking and Freddy's first extensive and gross motor operation, we held our breath... Let's see how long he lasts....

In the evening, we had homemade strawberry yogurt banana ice cream. He was allowed to eat it by himself. We have plenty of wipes 😉