With two vacation days on the books for Josh, and without any last minute flights that caught our eyes, we were excited to head to the Amalfi Coast with Simonne and Fabio for a relaxing time in Praiano. Fabio's folks have a house in Praiano, a small town between Amalfi and Positano, overlooking the Mediterranean, and the serenity and beauty surrounding this place is unbelievable. Fabio took care of booking us a hotel a few steps away from his folk's place, and we headed down Thursday morning, for a couple nights of relaxation.
The drive, since we got ahead of traffic, only took about 1.5 hours. The ride is full of mountain switchbacks as we traversed over the mountain and along the cliffs of the coast. This drive does tend to make me a bit car-sick, but the views make it worth it. Josh and I laughed about my father's joke when we took my folks there for a visit. As driving along the cliffs, my father said, "My friends don't call me Cliffy for nothing!"..budumpbum!ha
Once we arrived, we met up with Simonne and Fabio for some espressos and chocolate cornettos, and then made our way to their boat for a day spent cruising the coastline, swimming and relaxing in the sun. The water was so warm and clear, the sun was hot, and the views incredible. We anchored in a couple of different spots to jump off the boat to swim, and then just puttered along the coast, checking out the amazing villas, hotels, vineyards, and caves that dot the coastline. It was a great day.
After boating, we relaxed for a bit, then decided to grill out on the terrace at Fabio's place and watch the sunset. We all sipped gin and tonics on the terrace, watched the sky turn to pink and gold as the sun set over Positano, and then indulged in some veggies (peppers, eggplant, pumpkin, zucchini) that Fabio grilled on the BBQ and then tossed in a simple dressing of olive oil, basil and garlic (so delicious)and then dug into some meats--hamburger, steak and italian sausages that were cooked just right over the grill. It was a fantastic night, and we had a great time telling stories, laughing, eating and enjoying the view.
On Friday Josh, Evan and I had breakfast on the hotel terrace and then met up with Simonne and Fabio to head about 35 minutes up the cliffside to a town called Ravello. Ravello is a gorgeous little village with manicured gardens, a pretty piazza, quaint little shops and cobblestone walk ways, and 5 star hotels offering exceptional views of the Amalfi Coast below. We stopped in a Salumeria to get a bunch of fresh sandwiches--Salame and Pecorino, Tuna and tomato, Parmigiana etc, and found a great picnic spot in one of the gorgeous little parks. We relaxed and ate on the picnic blanket, while Evan played, and it was perfect. We had a spot in the shade with just enough of a breeze so that we couldn't have been more comfortable and relaxed. After lunch we strolled the streets, stopped for espresso, found some other vista points to take in the view, stopped again for a milk shake, and then headed back to Praiano. That night we hung out for a quick cocktail with Fabio's parents on their terrace, than went for an awesome dinner at a restaurant next door to our hotel. Every course throughout the meal deserved an "mmmm..mmmmm.." as the food just melted in your mouth. Some of the things we had were tuna carpacio, spaghetti con vongole (with clams), homemade ravioli w/ cheese and eggplant, fish cooked in "crazy water"...a tomato/garlic type mixture that is a typical, neopolitan way to prepare fish, meatballs, pasta w/ pesto and provolone, rolled veal, and of course some desserts of lemon sorbet and strawberry tirimasu. Despite all of this food, the Italian food is just so fresh and cooked w/ simplicity that believe it or not, we didn't have to be rolled out of there. We were all satisfied but not uncomfortably stuffed, and I have to say, it was one of the best meals I've had so far in Italy--excellent!
On Saturday we got an early start after breakfast on the hotel terrace, and are now home, enjoying a full weekend in Posillipo. Josh cooked us pancakes for breakfast...the first batch of pancakes we've had in almost a year, and we are thinking of picnicking in the park by our house later on today. What a great way to spend the weekend.
No comments:
Post a Comment