Postiano

​Postiano has my heart. The pastel colored cliff side buildings. The bluest of blue water. The oleander and bougainvillea. I get the hype. 

But before we got to Postiano we started the day in Maiori where we hiked on the Lemon Trail to Minori. 

The trail takes you among the lemon groves, olive trees, and vineyards. People say the smell is fantastic!

The trail was steep. I have no idea why anyone would live on these terraces and walk the path every day, but people do. Donkeys carry the baskets of lemons down the steep steps to the streets. 

After our pit stop for smoothies in Minori, we climbed back the opposite direction and stopped to pet every feral cat on our path. After climbing lots of steps, I asked Keagan how his knees were holding up. He said, “Not well; it’s much like that ox tail I ate where the meat was falling off the bone.” 😂😢

Keagan says forget couches. His first purchase in January post-graduation will be a cat.

From here we drove along the Amalfi Coast hitting the villages of Atrani, Amalfi, and Praino. The crowds from the ferry were crazy in Amalfi, so we kept driving. We were stopped in Furore for some time for traffic, so I got out of the car and grabbed this picture. 

Just stunning!

And then Postiano! 

We had a delicious lunch with polenta sticks

Fried pizza dough with radish

And pasta

I mean how beautiful is this cannelloni!?!

For dessert I had caffe affogato. 

And all of these pictures of my food prove I’m American because only Americans are left swooning with the quality of the food in Europe.

We tested several seasoning mixes at a fruit stand. They all called my name, so I bought them.

Keagan heard the sirens’ call for fresh fruit juice and purchased.

The food was so good that I didn’t give a second thought to our parking ticket. But in all honesty, parking is hard here. These villages were not built with cars in mind. 😂 We have to go to the post office before we leave the province to pay it. Or the price doubles.

We braved the traffic to head back home to Raito. Traffic is a beast!

And growing bougainvillea is my next home project. I’ll throw in oleander for good measure. Or I could just move to Italy where it’s already growing strong. 

By the way, the spritz challenge is going well. The spritz con fiori di sambuca is my favorite. I love playing games when I win, and I’m winning at life this week!

Sorrento

​We left Rome and headed for the Amalfi Coast. On the way we stopped in Naples to see the soccer stadium. Can you guess who added that to the itinerary? 

I was in no way excited to see Naples, so we were in and out in a half hour. The Italian drivers here are crazy, and it’s even worse in the cities. The drive in Naples was the reason I bought extra insurance for our car rental. 

Our first stop on the coast was lunch in Sorrento. Keagan and I ordered gnocchi with seafood. The pasta was light and fluffy, but it wasn’t the best meal of my life.

Sorrento has a charming shopping area where everything for sell is yellow and pays homage to their famous lemon groves. Lemon drops. Limoncello. Lemon cookies. Lemons on clothing. Lemonade. You name it.

These lemons are not the same ones you find at Wal-Mart; these are three or four times the size. And you are not allowed to touch them. I guess you point and the shop keeper bags them for you.

I wanted to stop at Limonoro - a shop that sells food products made from lemons. The store provides free samples, these samples speak to you, and you then buy it all. It wasn’t hard to persuade me - especially the lemon chocolate candies. 

There were a few places where you could catch views of the water in the distance.

And of course, the town had a basilica.

Our afternoon ended with lemon gelato stuffed in a lemon. 

We back tracked through the winding coast line to our AirB&B in the much quieter town of Raito. Our villa overlooks the water, but I booked it for the bougainvillea garden. I mean who wouldn’t? I think I can smell it, too. Or maybe it was the limoncello shots telling me I could smell again.

We weren’t here five minutes, and I look out the window to see this.

Keagan spotted a pitch in the distance and wanted to go play. Ten minutes later he was there. 

Watching the sun set over the water tonight was a special treat. 

As for my aperol spritz challenge, I’m another flavor down. I’m real good at this game.

When in Rome

​I’ve done extremely well with my pursuit of trying every spritz flavor in Italy. The Hugo spritz is currently in the lead.

I have also done very well with trying Roman foods. Caccio e Pepe is my new favorite meal. 

And I don’t drink coffee. Like ever, but give me a granita di caffè alla panna and I’ll be your best friend. Who needs Diet Dr Pepper when you can consume this concoction? 

Keagan has also mastered the art of Roman food. He ordered ox tail in a red tomato and carrot sauce. The waiter had him use gloves and a bib to protect his clothing. He said it was finger licking good and tasted like more.

We started our day at the UNESCO site of Hadrian’s castle where the Roman Emperor built a mausoleum for himself and his family.  It later served as the pope’s residence, a fortress, and now serves as a museum. 

This was a miss for me, but the boys seemed to be intrigued by the engineering and construction of the castle. The view from the top was stunning, though.

We also visited the Pantheon. It was free the last time we were there, but now people queue in long lines to buy tickets at an electronic kiosk. How things change and stay the same!

We walked over to the Trevi Fountain. Keagan said, “What in the world is this?” Come to think of it, I’m not sure I really know besides the fact it is an example of Baroque art and famous. I’m sure it served as a water source at one point. I urged him to toss a coin to ensure a returned trip to The Eternal City, and he said no coins were needed to make sure that happened. 

Then we walked just five more minutes to the Spanish Steps where we filled our water bottles with fresh water.

And then to the guys demise we walked 45 min to Vatican City where we toured the Vatican Museum. I can’t believe people come here and then stand in line to buy tickets. It was hours long - truly. The pictures don’t do the art in this museum justice. 

After hours on our feet, it was time for appertivo. I suggested we head to Piazza Navona to people watch and have a drink. Forty minutes later we arrived. The boys were not happy with more walking, but a couple of drinks later they forgot their sore feet. Keagan was hungry and ordered veal. It was too beautiful to eat!

The Roman plazas are bustling with people and activity, but I love the dark side streets and alleyways of Rome. The hidden boutiques, specialty shops, the flowers in bloom, the gelaterias, and the local trattorias are just so pretty.

The boys refused to walk another 40 min to the apartment, so we stood for 40 min waiting for a bus to take us back to Testaccio. We ended the evening with croissants and maritozzo alla panna.

Both were misses for me. I’ll stick to the gelato. We leave Rome tomorrow morning. I would love another day here, but other places are calling my name. I bet the boys are hoping these other places aren’t requiring 20,000 steps a day.