Every morning at our hotel ‘Pietra di Luna’ (‘Moonstone’ in English) in the small but bustling town of Maori, waking up every morning to a balcony view of glistening Mediterranean water with the mountainous backdrop was the best way to start the day. Scooters galore sped past down below on the street, followed by mini coopers and fiats, and the odd 3-wheeled truck that sounded like a kazoo. Then comes breakfast, where you were greeted by Raphael, Antonio and Luigi (and one Canadian waiter that randomly showed up partway through the trip) ready and waiting to get your off-the-menu eggs and bacon. Cause you know, what’s better than BACON in Italy?? Freshly squeezed juices, followed by equally fresh croissants, what more can you ask for? A frothy cappuccino to top it all off. Every day for two weeks was a new adventure, but just the highlights will be mentioned in this post because I don’t want to bore you away from Italy… wait, is that even possible? After a day of overcoming most of the jet-lag, we decided to head to the picturesque village of Ravello up in the mountain. Sitting right near the top are Villa Rufolo and Cimbrone, ancient villas bursting with gardens that you could spend hours strolling through. A place known for its music festivals, at night we headed to a little spot where a 4-string quartet was playing classical music. Truly a magnificent way to spend the evening… oh and they served Limoncello afterwards too, which is pretty awesome! If you’re a lover of seafood, you can definitely eat to your hearts content in the town of Amalfi. After my plate of mussels, we headed deeper to see what the bounteous shops had to offer. The amount of gelato shops there are like the McDonalds here in the Americas, and I would gladly take gelato over the golden arches any day. After visiting the oldest paper mill in Europe where my wife was able to make her own paper, we headed back to the hotel for a glorious 3 course meal as we watched the sunset over the mountains. The next day we headed to the ruins of Herculeneum, which was encased in mud caused from the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD. The cobblestone streets lead you through to rooms that were kept mostly pristine, showing off mosaics on the floor and paint still on the walls. Our excellent tour guide Roberta took us to one room that was used as a spa, with a mosaic of the Greek god Poseidon, as well as a pattern that Adolf Hitler copied to use as the well known swastika. After the ruins, we headed into Naples where after heading to a beautiful lookout, it started to rain. Best thing to do when that happens, is go for some pizza and calzones! After the rain let up, we continued our stroll through the busy streets, where we came across a family who creates incredibly detailed miniature Italian scenes with dolls and everything handmade. Once we returned to the hotel, we headed to dinner for more pasta, some seafood, and some of the best desserts you'll ever try. Salivating yet? A day later, after my first time trying anchovies on pizza (which I came to discover I don’t mind) we were on our way to Positano by a picturesque boat ride along the coast. Checking out the shops, we came to find a lot of ceramics once again, and saw more of the Italian clothing styles. Definitely a busy spot in the late spring/early summer, be sure to head as high as you can up the town to get the best pictures of the scenery. Heading home, the sunlight on the town makes it look more like a man-made jewel on the breathtaking coast. Oh and if you enjoy prawns, you HAVE to try lemon encrusted… Truly amazing! Do I have you hungry yet? Have you bought your tickets? If you want to know more about the trip, come back next week for ‘Part 2’ of ‘An Author in Amalfi’… you know you want to!
And if you have any questions, please ask them below in the comments section. If you've also been to the Amalfi coast, I'd love to hear what you thought of it and what stories you have! D. R. J. Borne Mission Blog Complete
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Derek BorneHere you can find my 'Mission Blogs' and news on upcoming novels... and stuff Archives
June 2021
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