The day of the Big MisAdventure!

May 23

So today started as another beautiful day on the Amalfi coast. We enjoyed a relaxing breakfast with panoramic views from our hotel’s breakfast area before commencing our journey.

Breakfast

We walked into Amalfi and immediately purchased a 24 hour bus pass, 6 euro per person for unlimited travel along the Amalfi coast. So we loaded the next bus to Ravello, a highlight of the Amalfi coast high up in the mountains with breathtaking views of the towns and sea below. There wasn’t a lot to do in Ravello, we mostly just walked around and enjoyed the view, and did a little shopping. The coast area has beautiful pottery made right here, hand painted, so I felt compelled to make a purchase (Richard was thrilled). So I bought a small serving dish and a matching wine service set, with lemons painted on them, since the coast is covered with them.

Ravello, IT

We bused back down and made plans for the remainder of our day. It was about noon when we returned to Amalfi, and we decided we had plenty of time to take a picnic lunch to the beach. So we went into town and purchased an array of meats, some cheese, fresh baked bread, a bottle of wine, some chips, a bottle of water, some strawberries and cherries, and two Bacci for dessert, all for only 16euro! What a deal! But then Richard had to lug it all up the hill to the hotel and then down the infamous 455steps.

Beach Picnic

So despite our sore muscles from yesterday’s trip to the beach, we decided to try again, because it was Saturday and all the beaches were extremely crowded. The journey down was pretty easy, but we were terribly hot and took a quick dip in the Med before eating. We enjoyed our picnic and spent the rest of the afternoon on the beach.

We SLOWLY made our way up the stairs, and got cleaned up for our evening adventure. We hopped on a bus for Positano around 1745 from just outside our hotel, which was incredibly convenient. The plan being to walk around the town a while, have dinner, and then return to the hotel… When vacationing in a foreign country plans often fall apart!

The bus that we were on was ultimately bound for Sorrento but made two stops in Positano. Unfortunately, we weren’t really paying full attention and had an obstructed view thanks to some obnoxious Germans, and next thing we knew, we were leaving Positano still on the bus! Rich wouldn’t let me ring the bell as soon as we realized our error, instead this is what happened… After some bickering and yelling, Richard decided the best thing to do was get off the bus in an hour at Sorrento, grab some food, and do it all over again. Fortunately an American couple across the aisle gave us their timetable, which enabled me to talk some sense into the man, the eternal pessimist. We departed the bus at the next stop (20 minutes in the wrong direction), due to Crystal forcing Richard off the bus, which happened to be in the quaint town of Middle-of-no-where, Italy (aka San Pietro). See the lovely satellite image below. We were in the main piazza of San Pietro which consisted of a knick-knack store, a closed restaurant, and probably some goats and lemons close by. We patiently waited another 20 minutes waiting for a bus back toward Positano while contemplating our other options (i.e. hitch-hiking in the back of a 30 year old, three wheeled Diahatsu truck that can’t break 40 mph). Luckily, the bus came and an hour later than originally scheduled, we made it to Positano, only to be greeted by about 600 steps descending into the town.

Which way do we go, Which way do we go?

Richard trying to determine when the next bus passes through MONW

Satelite Image of MONW, IT

After a quick jaunt through town (Crystal hauling with Richard and his bad attitude trailing behind), we found a nice little trattoria with a wonderful view. The night ended up being salvaged by a good dinner and the fact that we were able to make it to the other bus stop in Positano without having to scale the 600 steps. Otherwise, we might have been sleeping on the beach never to be seen again…

A quick stop on the steps to enjoy the view.

Richard, Still pouting about all the steps, and not trusting me that there was no way were going back up there!

He was happy once again, after he got some food!

455 STEPS...

May 22

Our trip to Amalfi started with Luca insisting on taking us all the way to our hotel in Amalfi, instead of dropping us off at the bus station in Salerno (the original plan). If you have read my previous posts, you are already familiar with his perilous driving, just add some high cliffs, tight turns, inability to see around corners, and two lanes with no shoulder, and you have a very frightening experience. However, well worth it once you arrive. Melissa if you read this, I thought about you on the ride, when I was getting nauseated.

Amalfi

Our hotel is about a 20 minute walk from the center of Amalfi. The walk is pleasant, with a nice breeze and beautiful views all along the way. Since we are a little ways out of town, our hotel is situated high on a cliff, right above the Mediterranean. We have a tiny room, that has a sea view, and was the cheapest hotel in Amalfi, with free wifi, AC, and breakfast. The hotel also has a private beach.

Me on our walk into town.

When we arrived to Amalfi, it was just before noon, and of course we were hungary. We immediately headed into town to find some lunch. We settled on a typical restaurant in the piazza del Dogi called Restorante Da Baracca. Richard had Spaghetti con vongole, and I don’t know what I had exactly but it involved fusilli, swordfish, capers, a little tomato and herbs, it was wonderful! We also enjoyed a bottle of wine for 8euro!!! That’s $10 in a restaurant for a bottle of wine, I love this place!

We had a light lunch, so we forwent our usual nap, and took a stroll through town. We bought some gifts for Leo and his soon to be little sis (hope it’s a girl), took a look at the main church, and had dessert at la pansa. Before coming to Amalfi, Guilia told us about a pastry shop immediately to the right of The Church in Amalfi with a fabulous lemon cake. So we took her advice and had the lemon cake, but we also had a chocolate hazelnut torte, they were both to die for.

The delicious desserts

After dessert we took a stroll down the pier, where we seized some photo opportunities and relaxed in the sun. It was at this point that we decided it was time to enjoy the private beach back at the hotel. Little did we know…

On the Peir

We headed back to the hotel, suited up, and headed to the beach. But there were so many stairs, it didn’t seem quite so bad on the way up. Once we arrived at the beach it was beautiful with silky smooth pebbles covering it, no sand, and only one other couple in occupancy. It felt like our own little piece of paradise, until the sun started setting behind the cliffs and it was time to ascend the dreaded steps. Our legs already felt like jello from all the walking, and climbing we’ve done lately, so the steps were especially daunting. We decided to make the best of it and count as we went along… 465 STEPS! Straight up the side of a cliff (it’s 2330 now and I am feeling the work already).

These are the steps, that white building at the top is our hotel.

We were exhausted after this, so we retired to our little luxury box for some R&R and blog time. After a couple of hours we felt recuperated and depleted, so we got dressed and headed back to the center of Amalfi for dinner.

Once we arrived we couldn’t decide where to eat, we tried and tried to find something outside the immediate (tourist filled) city center, but could only find bars. So finally we settled on a restaurant called Taverna degli Apostali, it was actually in the church, with a nice patio facing the main square. However, a couple of minutes in, after our wine had arrived we realized we weren’t at that restaurant at all. Another restaurant around the corner had one table on the same patio, this restaurant was called Il Chiostro (the cloister). So the running joke of the evening became the nuns vs the apostles. The dinner wasn’t quite as good as lunch, but we heartily enjoyed every minute. After we finished dinner, and paid the check, we visited il bagno. While there they had a first aid box on the wall, and I am in some desparate need of Neosporin (bacitracin) and when I went to the farmacia (pharmacy) they refused to sell me any antibiotic ointment, so I decided it was time to steal it. I tried but was unsuccessful…I have no idea what was in there, the only things I could identify were band-aids and cotton balls. I guess petty theft just isn’t my game.

After our failed theft attempt, we stopped for some gelato for the way home. Gelato in hand we headed up the dark, treacherous mountain little hope of coming out alive. Well, maybe I am a little bit dramatic, but remember the previously mentioned crazy traffic? Dealing with that traffic in the dark is a completely different ball game all together. Richard did nothing to soothe my paranoid ideations, by mentioning the possibility of being mugged as well as being left for roadkill. But after all my frantic pacing up the hills and around the curves we arrived safely to our hotel.

We then participated in our first international skype conversation with my mom. It was kind of crazy, I could see her in her kitchen half a world away. Technology really is an amazing thing. Until tomorrow, Buone Notte!

One of the many Lemoncello stores, the Amalfi coast is the birthplace of the beverage.

Let's get the orange clock...Arancia Orologio!

May 21

Last night at dinner, Richard asked Pierro what stores in Matera are good for buying clothes. This prompted an invitation to shop and enjoy the family discount at the store where his sisters, Antonella and Maria, work.

Richard and Nonna on the way to run some errands, how frickin' cute is she?

So this morning Luca took us to this shop, which was an extremely awkward experience because we felt obligated to purchase something, however, the store is a sports store and we were really just looking for fashionable Italian clothing. Of course, the language barrier made things that much more difficult because we were being asked what we were looking for and Richard tried to explain that we weren’t looking because of need but just “shopping.” The concept didn’t translate well and we ended up purchasing some clothing, a European style swimsuit for Richard (teeny weeny boxer briefs), which will never see the light of day in the US (pictures to come in a later blog), and an overpriced beach towel to take with us to Amalfi and Sardegna.

On the walk back, we stopped at a modern furnishings store to inquire about “the orange clock.” I had been eyeing this clock since our first walk through the center of Matera. Once we heard the price, we decided to take some more time to think about whether or not to purchase the clock.

Random Picture of the coolest church door ever, on the via del Corso, I developed an odd fascination.

We returned for lunch consisting of Orrechiete con sugo (pasta named “little ears” with meat and tomato sauce). The second course was a local sausage with mushrooms, salad, and some more chat about the orange clock. We enjoyed some fresh cherries and espresso then off to take our afternoon nap. Of course, before falling asleep I made it a point to bring up the clock once more. After a great nap, I bugged Richard some more about going to get the orange clock and we agreed that if the clock was made in Italy that we would buy it. After visiting with Nonna, we headed out to get the clock! Along the way, I purchased a shirt that I had also been eyeing and Luca visited a friend who works at a local shop. Finally, we made it to the store and found out that the clock was made in Milano, so the quest had ended with the acquisition of a great conversation piece. It’s just too bad that I don’t have a wall to go home and hang it on, it is just going to have to live in a box until August.

Nonna, Luca, and Richard at Dinner...empty plates, full bellies.

Dinner already? We ate dinner earlier tonight than previous nights, and I wasn’t the least bit hungry when Nonna began setting the table, but I rallied and ate like a native. We had some leftover sausage from lunch, some fresh mozzarella, green beans, and a small hamburger-like patti (kind of an individual serving of meatloaf minus the tomato sauce), again followed by cherries and apricots.

Crystal eating gelato in her glasses, due to the aforementioned eye ailment.

We ended our visit to Matera with one last trip down the Via del Corso for Gelato and to say goodbye to Pierro, but this time there was no orange clock in the window!

To flush or Not to flush?

May 20

Before I start to tell you about our day, let me explain my latest conundrum, since arriving in Matera. To flush or not to flush? In Rome we found it the custom to not flush the toilet after every use, but we had our own private bathroom, so we could do as we pleased. However, now we are all sharing a bathroom…and we still don’t know what to do?

Me, Nonna, and Richard after she received the pearls from Maria.

Today we spent the morning walking all around the Sassi, admiring the tiny cobblestone streets, knowing that millions of others have walked these streets over the years. It was a beautiful little town, however I would have enjoyed it much more, had it not been so hot. I felt like I was living a different life for a few hours.

Sculpture of the Sassi, in the Sassi

The goal of today was to purchase a piastra… Translation=Straight Iron. Why would I need to buy a straight iron, WELL mine exploded yet again! How difficult is it to find a freaking converter that works for a straight iron?!?!!? The first time I came to Europe I simply used an adaptor and had no problems, but I thought I just got lucky. So now I am 2 for 3 on blowing up converters/straight irons when coming to Europe. Oh well, now I have a European straight iron, and a hair dryer…I should be set now!

I got my piastra...notice the curls

Back for lunch! Linguine con Cozze (mussels…see previous blog), breaded chicken with lemon, pepperoni (plural for peppers, not the pizza topping), and foccacia, followed by oranges, bananas, espresso, and nap time. I love this culture, large lunch followed by a nap, how great!

This is Richard posing Adam and Eve style with a Fig leaf...There are fig trees everywhere!

After naptime, we again chatted with Nonna, until her neighbors arrived to meet us. After some small talk, and observation of their daughter’s linguistic talents, and chocolate, we left to meet Pierro and Ucho for pizza. So we didn’t meet them until 2100, at which time we started our tour of the Sassi by night. One hour and fifteen minutes after walking and talking comparative cultures we arrived at the pizzeria, La Talpa.

At the bottom of the Sassi, behind us are the caves (used for Jesus' tomb in the movie)

2215 dinner commenced with a feast of antipasto including ricotta, mozzarella, romano, eggplant lasagna, fried bread in tomatoe sauce, some type of creamed beans (similar to butter beans) with chicory, a bruschetta type salad, prosciutto, and lord knows what else; all served family style. After this feast, about 2300, it was time for pizza…WHAT?!?! More food, at this time of night? But, out came four pizzas, and we ate…

Richard with a giant plate of proscuitto at our family style dinner.

Unfortunately our evening became strained when I developed an eye ailment. I spent about 15 minutes in the restroom attempting to set things straight, and was wildly unsuccessful. By the time I was finished I resembled two face, no make-up on the left side, full make-up on the right. This little scene however did not stop the Lucano from coming out. Lucano is the region of Italy Matera is located in, and they have a whiskey with their namesake. Somehow by the end of the evening Richard was not only peer pressured into drinking a rather large beer but also sipping a double shot of whiskey.

Overall, it was a very wonderful evening. They all enjoyed sharing their culture and their cuisine, and were very attentive to our needs.

The City of the Sassi

May 19

We awoke this morning with the anticipation of a 5 hour car ride with a crazy Italian driver, and were not at all disappointed with the reality. We left Rome (Pavona) at 0900 this morning to visit Richard’s nonna (grandmother) in Matera. It is usually a 4.5 hour drive, it took us 5.5 once you add delays for traffic, construction, and the occasional cozze (means mussel, but we learned this week it is also a nasty slang for people who drive too slow). I had the backseat to myself so I laid down the majority of the journey, because when I was sitting up I was flying from one side of the backseat to the other. The drive was a lot less scary when I laid down and closed my eyes.

We arrived at Nonna’s at 1430, where lunch was waiting. In Italy it is common to have a very large lunch, similar to what we serve for dinner parties (pasta, meat/veggie, dolce, fruit, caffe). They compensate by having a small breakfast and a small dinner. Nonna prepared Lasagna, followed by braschioli and salad, then lemoncello soaked strawberries, biscotti, and espresso. After this event, I felt like I just had to lay down, which translated into nap time for me, while Richard played a video game. Once we emerged, we started chatting with nonna, surprisingly easy for not speaking the same language. As soon as Richard would say a few words, she would take off and run with it. The next thing I knew she brought out a bunch of pictures, mostly pictures of Rich, Stephen, and Sara Maria had sent over the years, but also old pictures of her family. It was wonderful, I saw a couple of pictures of Richard as a baby, the first time I have ever seen one….another story for another time.

Finally, it was time to see Matera. We went to walk around via del Corso (? I think), this is an area where everyone goes and walks around in the evening, it is filled with shops, gelateria’s, churches, bars, etc… On the way we passed the church where Richard’s grandfather preached…it is now a bar. Then on the other side of the street was Luca and Maria’s elementary school, we took a trip down memory lane I guess. Then I got my first introduction to the Sassi. It is a very old portion of the town that was partially carved out of the stone cliffs, it is straight out of a different century. Have you seen the passion of the Christ? Well the streets of the Sassi were used for the shooting of this film.

About 2030 we returned to nonna’s to eat again, this time much smaller we had some broccoflower salad (chilled with oil and vinegar), foccacia, greens, scamorzza, and wine, followed by nespolle (an amazing fruit somewhere between a peach, an apricot, and a plum) and pears, and more biscotti.

After dinner we walked back to the main street, where we met Pierro and Ucho. Pierro lived next door to Nonna when Rich was a kid, so they always played together when they came to visit. We walked about town admiring various views of the Sassi by night; landing in a Gelateria…this was the best one so far! We had giant bowls of gelato with tiny cones sticking out the top. What a wonderful way to end the day.

Che Bello Giorno!

May 18, 2009

Day 2 a Roma, today was a whirlwind about Rome with Carlo and Luca, mostly from the car. So one thing about Romans, even though there is a great public transportation system in the city, they love to drive their cars, despite the insane traffic and inability to find parking.

We drove into Rome this morning, where we met Carlo, and took a walk to Parco Degli Aquadotti, to see the old Roman aquaducts, if you have been to our house you have seen the pictures from our previous trip in our dining room. We absolutely love the Aquadotti, it is very peaceful, you suddenly walk out of the hustle and bustle of Rome and it’s as if you find yourself in another time all together.

From here we took a looong car ride to several Roman churches…at some point they all run together, the part that really stuck out was the fact that we ran across 6 lanes of CRAZY Romans multiple times to get there. We also hopped out of the car at one point for the highlight of my day an antique Roman chocolate factory…unfortunately I did not get to spend enough time here, it was a very quick stop in a fun filled day.

Another car ride landed us on the Ponte Mille, an old bridge for lovers. There are multiple sets of chains on the bridge and lovers come and place a lock on the chains and throw the key into the river below to symbolize their love is locked in eternally. Richard and I signed our lock and placed it right in the center, and threw all three key into the river.

We had to stop for lunch at some point, and with Carlo, this is no small event. I ate more in the one meal than I usually do in an entire day. We started out with ostrica (raw oysters), and a pizza dough bread, followed by a fusilli with frutti di mare pesto (fruits of the sea, clams, mussels, and calamari), then we had a kobe beef steak the size of my head with potatoes and bruschetta…WOW! I was more full than on Thanksgiving!

One more car ride landed us near the old city, so just a short walk took us to piazza del popolo (which was my favorite piazza on our first trip). Today it was not my favorite because one of the twin churches was under construction, so it was covered with scaffolding and could not be seen. From here we strolled down the via Margutta (famous artists street) and then on to Piazza di Spanga, where the theme of the day became doppo la scuola (after school). Lining the road from the piazza di Spanga are very expensive shops, including Bulgari, Ferragamo, Jimmy Choo, Prada, Gucci, Cartier, etc… One last stop before heading to Carlo’s, Gelato!!! (2 for 2)

We retired to Carlo’s for dinner, drinks, and entertainment. By entertainment I am referring to his large Italian family, currently he has two daughters, a grand daughter, and a mother-in-law living with him, and they typify American stereotypes of an Italian family, it was wonderful. We also had our first pizzas of the trip, there is just no comparison to anything we have at home, they were wonderful.

Benvenuto a Roma!

May 15th We flew from Dallas to London to Rome on British Airways. It was a great flight, albeit long, we had individual video screens with new releases where I watched The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Last Chance Harvey, and Yes Man. Then the flight was over...but we had to sit for 4 exhausted hours in Heathrow awaiting our next flight. We arrived right on time in Rome, and flew through customs without even a stamp of our passports, which I was a little upset about.

We were so exhausted we just came to the family's house, relaxed, and then ate our first wonderful dinner, and crashed!!! For dinner we had Buccatini alla Carbonara, followed by Tuna Stuffed Zucchini with Tomatoes, and homemade bread.

The itroductions...

Guilia is Richard's 16 year old cousin... (the purple shirt she has on in the picture is the gift I got her for those of you I discussed this with, she loved it)

Zio Luca is his only uncle

Rosa (Rosella) is his aunt

We are staying at their house while in Rome.

Today, May 16th....

We started our tour by visiting the Catacombe di San Calisto, which was very interesting. Over 500,000 Christians from AD 80's to AD 300's. There were 4 levels of catacombs that were built from top to bottom. I learned the meaning of the word cemetary, it comes from the Greek word meaning dormitory to indicate that it is just a sleep, that we will be ressurected. The pagan term for cemetary was necropolis "city of death". The one thing that the tour guide mentioned that stuck with me was that we are all Christians albeit from different denominations, she said "We are a mosaic making up the body of Christ"

We then walked around the old city, Piazza Navona, the Pantheon, looking for food. We ended up eating at a traditional Roman restaurant, I had Tortelloni con Funghi e Proscuitto (with mushrooms and proscuitto) and Richard had Maccaroni all'Arribiata (spicy tomatoe sauce).

We then trekked back to the Castel Sant'Angelo a fortress in early Rome down the street from the Vatican, or San Pietro's Basilica. The highlight of the castel were the stunning views of Rome as you rose higher and higher up the balconies. It was absolutely breathtaking. We missed it last time we visited, so let me reccThen on the way home we had to stop for the obligatory gelato!

Then back home to blog and eat dinner...but first Carlo and Mariolena stopped by to say hello and welcome us. Mariolena is Mariagrazia (Rich's mom) and Luca's first cousin and Carlo is her husband, so Richard's second cousin. So the best thing about dinner the past two nights has been conversing uning lots of hand gestures, Guilia's broken English and Richard's broken Italian, but I feel like I have learned so much about Italy, it has been wonderful so far...Tomorrow is another day and will hopefully bring another entry!ommend if you are planning on visiting Rome anytime it is not to be missed!