AMALFI AND POSITANO

In the center of Amalfi and on the waterfront you will find this statue. There was no name or plaque on the statue so I really do not know who it is.  Amalfi somehow escaped the destruction that went on around the region during the middle ages.  For example, the destruction of Pompeii.  It originally was a Roman settlement under the Douchy of Naples but founded by Greek traders in the 800's AD.  In the 12th century it was invaded by the Normans and became part of the Kingdom of Sicily.  However, by the mid 1600 it lost a third of its population because of the plague.  Since then, and because of its location by the sea, it has become a thriving part of Italy.  This occurred mostly because of trade with the rest of Southern Italy.  Today it is a major tourist destination area.

 Our drive to the Amalfi coast from IL MOLINO in Cortona was quite interesting once we got off the Autostrada. We exited just south of Naples in a town Angri and, believe me, it was angry.  From there we drove on a road about the width of a sidewalk back home for several miles up the mountain and then back down the other side.  It wasn't bad until you met a large over 40 passenger tour bus coming the other way.  There are no shoulders on this road so it becomes a bit interesting.  Here are some pictures of the drive.  We only took three because I was busy with both white knuckled hands on the wheel and Brenda was busy with both hands on rosary beads praying that we make it to the other end of the road.  The good news is that we made it, but the bad news is that a change of garments was necessary.  Just kidding.  It really wasn't that bad and, believe it or not, I drove back the same way.

Another picture of the on the way to Amalfi.  Below you see the city of Naples.  I am not sure of you can see the Mediterranean Sea in the background because it was hazy that day.  Or maybe it was pollution.  

 Another view.  We came from where you see those buildings in the center of the picture.  I had a rented car.  I had asked for a small one because I knew the roads would be narrow but, they thought they were doing me a favor and gave me a larger vehicle.  It was an Opel (haven't seen one of those in the US in a long time) about the size of a Ford Escape.  Maybe a bit smaller.  It was a nice SUV, very quiet and solid, however, I think the drivers seat was made of oak.

Once in Amalfi, we stayed in a place called Villa Rosinella.  It was right at the edge of the road and high on a hill.  They told us there was only thirteen steps to get inside.  What they neglected to mention is that the thirteen steps was only to the kitchen which was on the first level.  Thirteen more steps up was the villa with another kitchen (no sink, that was downstairs or you use the bathroom sink) a bedroom and a large bathroom.  Giuseppe was a great host and had wine, prosecco and a host of snacks waiting for us.  The second day his son, Gianfranco.  delivered some tasty Mozzarella di  Bufalo.  It was delicious and, of course, we ate it all.   The picture above and to the right was taken from our patio just before sunset.  The villa was great and in an excellent location.  I did a review on TripAdvisor.  You can check it out and see more pictures of the inside.

Here is a view of the street.  This section had a sidewalk.  Most sections do not.  This is just around the corner from Villa Rosinella

Sunrise from the Patio

More sunrise

Sunrise again

View from our Bedroom

View of Amalfi from patio at night

We could walk to town from our villa.  It was all down hill but coming back you definitely had to take a cab or a bus.  Here is a picture of walking down.  Notice no sidewalks. 

If you can't go over the mountain just go thru it.  This is still on the way down. There was a sidewalk on the left side of this tunnel.  The cars and buses come thru there at what seems like 100MPH but I am sure they are only doing 90.

Amalfi Waterfront

Half way down there was a set of stairs that you can take as a short cut.  We did take them and you end up down by the waterfront.  You come out right near that parking sign for a hotel.  Parking, by the way , is almost impossible in
Amalfi.  If you find a place to park leave your car there and walk or take a bus or cab.  That's what we did.

Along the waterfront.  Restaurant on right.

Yep, believe it or not but they do have full sized garbage trucks for small sized streets.  Contrary to popular belief these two trucks did manage to pass each other.  The drivers were each yelling out the window at each other and hands and arms were moving a mile a minute.  No one got out of the truck, and no punches were thrown.

Another view

Just about every town and city in Italy has its Duomo.  Here is the one in Amalfi.  This is S. Andrea, I believe the patron saint of Amalfi.  It always seems that all the Duomo's have a million stairs to climb this being no exception.  I did climb them and go inside while they were having mass.  It is beautiful inside and quite ornate(more pictures below).  Of course, the mass was in Italian.  It reminded me of going to church as a child in Waterbury, Connecticut to Our Lady of Lourdes on South Main Street.  The mass there was always in Latin and Italian.  Just like home, however, this church was more than half empty.

Main square with church in background

Leaving Mass

Priest saying Mass. This is as close as I was able to get.

Square from top of church stairs.  Middle of picture in yellow sitting under canopy is Brenda.

Amalfi waterfront

Yep, the cruise industry has found Amalfi

Just a short boat ride from Amalfi is Positano.  It is much smaller than Amalfi but also right on the water.  Positano was part of the Amalfi Republic in the sixteenth and seventeenth century.   By the mid nineteenth century it fell on hard times and most of its people emigrated. Mostly to America.
It became popular again when John Steinbeck published an essay on Positano in Harper's Bazaar in May of 1953."Positano bites deep", Steinbeck wrote. "It is a dream place that isn’t quite real when you are there and becomes beckoningly real after you have gone."

Mick Jagger and Keith Richards from The Rolling Stones wrote the song "Midnight Rambler" in the cafes of Positano while on vacation.  I got this information on line so I hope it's true.  On the right is another picture of Positano from the boat that took us there.

In and around Positano from the water

Picture of Positano from the water

Central area of Positano and the waterfront

Nope the Shriner's were not in Positano the day we were there.  There was, however, a car show.  If you want to drive around, this car just might be to large.  The one behind it was a more expensive car.  These cars were all made by Fiat.  It was a Fiat 500 club show.  I drive a Fiat when I am here in Italy and actually it is not a bad car.  I really enjoy driving it, except when the battery goes dead.  Thank God Pino left me a back up car or we would have never made it to pick up our rental for the trip to Amalfi.  That one is a Toyota Yaris.  No comment. 

Stay tuned for more to come.  Next will be our trip to Sorrento. 

AROUND IL MOLINO DI BORDONE

Well we have been in Italy for just about two weeks now.  My God, how the time flies.  It's been almost a year since we were here last fall.  We have been busy getting acclimated to Italian life.  This is the plane that took us to Rome.  From there we drove to IL MOLINO.  Actually, this time is was easy and, believe it or not, I did recognize some of the roads.  Our plane ride was good and we had seats with the bulkhead in front of us so we had a lot of leg room.  Watching movies made the flight seem a lot shorter than it really was.  Caroline and Pino were there to greet us and, realizing that were tired from out trip, treated us to some local pizza.  The pizza was great.  So it was pizza and bed.

Our flight was supposed to be on time but, as it turned out, they had to replace a toilet so we were delayed by about 45 minutes.  I don't know why the toilet was broken, but I did see a man deplane who might have been the problem.  Yep, that's right, he was an American.  Most Italians are slim.

These first two weeks we have spent mostly around IL MOLINO.  Here is a picture taken from the porch facing East.  This was just after sunset. The umbrellas you see in the picture are around the swimming pool.  It was still open when we arrived.  In fact it is still open today.  It was very hot and humid when we arrived so swimming was still the high point of the day. 

This picture was taken the same evening of the above picture, except this one was taken facing West.  As you can see the sun has the mountains to our west well lighted.  It is a beautiful sight to see in person. You should come here sometime and experience this for yourself.  By the way, notice that the field in this picture looks dry and burnt.  The summer here was very hot and dry and, therefore, the grass is not growing well.  I have only cut it once since I have been here and not all of it.  The mowers are getting a lot of rest and, of course, so am I. 

The Olive Grove is in this picture on the left.  It looks like we will have a harvest this year.  If you remember from my blogs last year there was no harvest because of a fly that bore into the olives and rendered them useless.  This year, because of the hot and dry summer the olives are plentiful but small.  When Carloine and Pino get home from Sicily we will begin the harvest.. Oh my aching back.  It's hard work but I love it and look forward to helping this year.  We all look forward to getting that first extra virgin oil that comes out of the press, putting it on some Italian bread with salami and wine and enjoying the fruits of our labor.

Yep, I said it before and I will say it again.  It is all about the food here in Tuscany.  Here is a nice dish prepared by Brenda.  It is simple as most of the dishes are here in rural Tuscany, but delicious.  The sauce, don't ever call it gravy here, that would be an insult, is made from fresh tomatoes picked that day from Pino's Kitchen Garden.  After the pasta we had either chicken or meatballs in a separate dish and then salad.  When we told Anna (Pino's Mother) that we put the meatballs in with the pasta and serve it in the same dish, she couldn't believe it.  So what happenes when you put cheese on the pasta, she said, it will get all over the meat.  That's not right.  NO, I will still do it my way.

She did say, however, that in England they serve it the way we do at home.  Pino's mom was born in Naples and her husband was born in Sicily.  They immigrated to England looking for work before they started a family.  Pino, his brothers, and all the children were born in England so they hold dual citizenship.  Caroline was born in England and that is where she met Pino.  And so the story goes.

Another great dish is pictured on the left.  This is like a tomato/potato lasagna.  Almost everything in that dish came from the garden.  I am so happy that I lost almost 10 pounds before I came to Italy.  The problem is I might have put those 10 pounds back on again.  Oh well, as I tell Brenda:  Worry about it when you get home.

Here is Gabbiella.  She is here to clean the apartments after the guests leave.  She does an excellent job, too bad she not in the U.S.  My two Italian girl friends Bianca on the left and Molly on the right, as you can see, really look forward to her arrival.  That pocketbook hanging from her left arm contains some great treats.  The dogs are unbelievable.  They know just when she arrives and run to meet her at the car where her husband drops her off.  Gabbiella is a great person and is learning some English so we can now kind of communicate.  It is great.

Here is Anna and Lena (Raffaele, Pino's brothers girl friend) playing a card game called Scopa.  This is after we had Sunday dinner at Anna's.  Of course it is Sunday and what do you have on Sunday?  Yep! Pasta.  It is a fast game and they play for money.  Nope you are not going to get rich playing this game with Anna and Lena.  On this day Anna won.  Probably all of 3 or 4 Euros, if that many.  I remember my grandmother and mother playing this game when I was young and at home. As is usual we Americanize the name to Scob.  It seems like we have turned t's to d's and p's to b's in the interpretation. Also we leave off all the endings of words.  For example, we call the Italian ham Prosciutt, but the correct pronunciation is Prosciutto.  And so on.

Believe it or not.  The doctor still makes house calls here in this part of Italy.  Here is Anna getting a check up by the doctor at home.  I don't know if you are old enough, but I remember the doctor coming to my house when I was a lot, I mean a lot, younger.  And I still remember the fish man, rag man, bread man and milk man.  We still have the bread man here.  Being here in this part of rural Italy is like being in the U.S. in the 50's and 60's.  It is so great and so simple.  Family is everything.  We are so lucky that the Nobile's have made us part of their family.

GPS wise, this is where we are in Italy.  You can see we are a bit further North of Connecticut and obviously much further East.  The weather here, however, is much milder than Connecticut.  I think it is the Mediterranean climate influence that keeps it much milder here.  For example, we will close the pool in about a week and will not have to drain water from the pipes.  We will just chlorinate the water and clean the liner and cover it.  It will never get cold enough to freeze the pipes.  They may get a little ice in them but not enough to freeze solid.

Next we will have the opportunity to travel to Amalfi for a few days.  We found a great apartment to rent for a few days overlooking the sea and close to Amalfi center.   I will be sure to take some pictures and gather some history for a future blog. 
Stay tuned, more to come.  Ray