Amalfi Coast, Italy April 29th-May 4th, 2010

Our last ‘new adventure’ from our homebase in London took place over the first bank holiday in May and landed us on the beautiful Amalfi Coast in Italy.

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And so the trip began...we arrived on Thursday afternoon. Step 1 Eric gets yelled at on the shuttle bus for making a work phone call. Ace. Pick up rental car (Nissan Micra) that had been in at least 1 front-end collision, 1 left-rear collision and was the victim of a keying. And everytime he let up on the gas there was a hissing noise. Not too sure the car was going to make the 1-hour journey to Amalfi.

Tom tom led the way and we arrived in Il Saraceno Grand Hotel, 3 km outside of Amalfi, about an hour and a half later. Hotel was unique, had a lot of character, a lot of branding (down to the hangers in the closet) and was likely quite a luxurious accommodation back in the 60s when it was likely last renovated. We struggled to communicate with the girl at the front desk, but were soon shown to our room. It was spacious with a gorgeous sea view, but had very thin walls, was very dated and gaudy accents were everywhere. Busts, armoires, chairs (one that resembled a throne in our room) filled every nook and cranny of the hotel. It was funny, but a bit creepy.

Set off for Amalfi Centro. Explored some of the town before sitting down for a late pizza lunch. Can’t remember the name of the pizzeria that also served hamburghers (sic) and chicken ‘gordon’ bleu, but the pizza tasted like school cafeteria, but was 5 euros so can’t complain too much.

From Il Saraceno

Continued to wander, did a bit of shopping (pesto, sundried tomatoes, lemon drops, a bottle of local red, and a 3-pack of mini-proseccos) then tried to find a place we could reserve for dinner. After settling on a nice place called Da Gemma, we strolled down to the marina, took a rest on the toy ‘jack’ looking rocks for a look at the view before heading back to our car.

Our hotel is just below the big cave

 Drove back to hotel for a rest and 2 of the 3 proseccos, then headed back into town via the local bus (2.40 euro/ride or 7 for 24 hour) that stopped right in front of our hotel.

Da Gemma turned out to be a find! We sat on the terrace and had some delicious food. A caprese salad to start followed by two pasta dishes (which we were told were small) and a fish for two with a salt crust. This massive whole fish (local white fish) arrived with a 3-inch layer thick crust of salt, which then was taken off by the waiter and dissected before he put a few pieces on each plate. The fish was perfectly ‘salted’ and literally melted in our mouths. After a complimentary limoncello shot, we paid the bill and stumbled back to the marina to find a taxi.

Capri

Day 2 started early with breakfast on the terrace of the hotel overlooking the sea. The breakfast buffet was somewhat limited. Heavy on the carbs with some suspicious-looking juices and meat/cheeses. The night before we had learned of a free hotel shuttle bus (branded of course) that made runs into Amalfi beginning at 8 a.m so we hopped on the 9 a.m. bus and headed into town to catch the boat to Capri for the day.

Capri

The weather was gorgeous and Capri didn’t disappoint. We immediately skipped the harbor chintze and found the stairs to climb to Capri centro. The climb was steep but worth the exercise. The small centro, with a gorgeous view of the port, offered cafes, expensive boutiques, and was buzzing with activity. We then did what we do best, climb upward and get lost. Our destination was a castle at the very top of Capri, but instead we took a wrong turn somewhere and ended up at a look out point across on of the many inlets on the island. Equally beautiful and less of a hike= score!

At this point, we were getting a bit hungry, but couldn’t decide on for what so we went for a wander along some of the backstreets. Next to a few high-end boutiques and souvenir shops, we found Ferrara’s, a small grocer selling goods of Capri. So, in true Wilson fashion, we rounded up some fixings for a picnic lunch (salami, pecorino cheese, bread and sundried tomatoes) and found a spot along the path down to the harbor to sit and eat.

Grotto Azzura

After lunch, we took a stroll back down to the harbor and sat on some rocks by the sea (after testing out the frigid, yet aquamarine) water. Soon enough, it was time to hop on our tour boat to take us to the Grotto Azzura (Blue Cave). It took about 20 minutes to get there and once we arrived, we had to take turns (there were 12 of us) boarding a small rowboat with a guide to take us into the cave. The entrance to the cave is so narrow and squat, Eric and the other male in the boat (other than the guide) had to duck at the entrance. Once inside, the scene is spectacular. The cave wall basically floats on the surface of the water, the white sand reflects the sun on the water and the blue of the water is a beautiful azure color. After two paddled loops around the dark cave and a serenade by the rower, we hopped back in the main boat and were driven back to port.

We had another hour of time to kill before boarding the boat back to Amalfi, so for more exercise, we hiked the steps to the centro once again. This time, we took 5 minutes off of our initial descent. Great butt workout: check. We then headed back down, in time for a lemon sorbet before hopping onto the boat.

The boat back to Amalfi was packed, and we ended up standing next to a single American girl who was stunning. We had seen her on the way out to Capri and she was not short on attention from the waiter on-board. This time, it was the locals’ turn to ‘chat her up.’ Some of the pickup lines were incredible. Others were subtler with offerings of a seat or a coat (the wind was a bit chilly and she was wearing a sundress). Poor Eric was embarrassed for the male species, and I was more fascinated with how well the girl was taking the attention. It turns out she was from Seattle (Eric thought about having a go next), but he missed his chance as the ‘security guard’ on the boat whisked her off into the wheelhouse to meet the captain of the boat and even sound the horn. She stayed in there for the remainder of the ride (about an hour) and to the disappointment of the 30 teenage boys on-board hoping to have a chat with her.

We disembarked (with the hot girl) at Amalfi and (as promised) the hotel driver (who we dubbed Herb since he looked like Eric’s grandfather) was waiting to take us back to the hotel.

After a quick pit stop, we decided to try one of the recommendations we had received from ‘Luxury dining in Amalfi’ off the web and head to Maiori for pizza at La Vela. Supposedly, it was a place that ‘locals love and visitors often make a ‘pilgrimage’ to year after year.’ I definitely wouldn’t go that far. It was okay, and the weird fried dough balls were an interesting ‘on the house’ starter, but I likely won’t be recommending it.

Grocery shopping with Vinny

Saturday, we were in for a special treat. One of the items listed on the ‘top ten things to do in Amalfi’ according to the Trip Advisor website, was to take a cooking class with Vincenzino. So, we signed up via Wagner Tours and met Vincenzino at the tour office in Ravello at 10 on Saturday morning. When we found out it was going to be a private cooking class in his home, we were excited. He took us first to a local fish shop to pick out our main ingredients. Poor guy, when I told him I didn’t eat: squid, anchovies, mussels, or any other shell-fish for that matter, he was gutted, asked that I at least try, and then got me a Dorato (a fish which Baldo had made for me in Croatia).

We then made our way through the winding streets, stopping every few minutes when Vincenzino was greeted by a local (he was born, raised and had lived in Ravello all his life). At last we reached our classroom, a 12^th century villa once owned by a famous Italian writer. It was fabulous with spectacular views of the sea.

We got right to work, chopping veg (from his organic vegetable garden and only veg in season) and herbs. Next we had to clean the anchovies. Obviously part of the cooking class is prepping the food so reluctantly (me) and excitedly (Eric) we followed V’s lead and began squeezing the heads off, removing the guts and filleting the anchovies. Horrible, horrible feeling of squeezing an anchovy head. Of course, I couldn’t keep my big mouth shut and told V about the time I mistakenly ordered an anchovy pizza during another trip to Italy and mentioned how salty it tasted. He then brought over a piece of anchovy filet, stuck it in my mouth and said, ‘See no salty. Very fresh.’ Still as gross as the first time I tried them.

V talked and talked about life in Ravello, his kids, his passion for food and ingredients and his love of life. 

Vincenzo's balcony 

His excitement was contagious, but it was quickly forgotten when it was time to clean the squid. I physically couldn’t do it. I saw what was coming out (a brown liquid that squirted onto Eric’s nose) and almost hurled. Luckily, V didn’t press his luck and let me just ‘watch’ in the corner. The next few hours were filled with laughs, food prep and finally tucking in to our delicious and fishy 4 course meal out on his terrace complete with a bottle of crisp Amalfi Coast white. When the prep was done, V dressed the plates (besides cooking his passion also includes food styling) and serving us on the terrace. Course 1: anchovy fillets cooked in lemon and sea salt on a bed of zucchini. I ate a few of the anchovies out of respect, but ended up shoveling a few onto Eric’s plate when V wasn’t looking. Course 2: vegetable pasta for me and mussel pasta for Eric. Oh yeah about an hour before, Vincenzino asked me to try a mussel. Not quite like sucking phlegm off a rock (eating an oyster), but not good. I told him to give all of the mussels to Eric and he obliged. Course 3: bruchetta – yummy! Course 4: squid on toast – no thanks. Course 5: Dorato; it was delicious!!

What an incredible day. Such a fabulous and memorable experience that we would happily recommend to anyone. V sent us home with some recipes, a book on Ravello that he helped to write and two full stomachs. In order to walk off lunch, we decided to take two of the recommended walks around Ravello from V’s book. They were very scenic and included more stairs! As the sun began to set, we sat for a drink and a snack at one of the outdoor cafes in the main square before heading back to Amalfi.

We literally collapsed once we got back to our room and decided to dig in to some of the left over bread, the jar of pesto and the sundried tomatoes we had purchased the day before and called that dinner before calling it a night.

Wandering the outskirts of Ravello

Sunday morning, we woke up early and went for a very hilly run into Amalfi and back (took about an hour with the killer hills!), feasted on breakfast and decided to relax at the hotel’s private beach. The weather was beautiful and we spent a few hours soaking up the sun before deciding to head to Positano. From the beach, back to our room, we explored parts of the ‘castle’ below the hotel. Such a weird, but incredible structure that had so much untapped potential. Apparently the hotel is for sale. I really hope the new owner has a lot of creativity and a lot of cash because that hotel is a gold mine if put in the hands of the right people. Eric and I predict that in a few years time, we’ll read about the hotel and how it is the new jet-setter’s playground.

At Buca di Bacco

Positano is a very cute, but small and vertical town with lots of shopping and restaurants with a crowded beach. Our first stop was lunch at a great spot called Buca di Bacco with a terrace overlooking the beach. Eric had shrimp walnut pasta and I, finally, got my sought-after pesto! Everything from the breadbasket down to the wine was delicious and relatively affordable (apparently rare for Positano). Buca di Bacca is a place to try.

After a bit of a wander around the town and a lemon ice to go, we hiked (and I say hike because it was one continuous hill for a few kilometers) back to the Micra and back to Amalfi. But instead drove past Amalfi and decided to check out Salerno. About ¾ of the way to Salerno, the traffic and bad radio stations finally got to us. We could see Salerno in the distance and it looked like a sprawling city and not the quaint little coastal town we had imagined so we didn’t feel like we were missing much and turned around. The winding roads and tight corners shared with giant buses lead us back to our hotel. Again, we weren’t keen on going back into Amalfi for dinner so we stopped at a take-out pizza place near our hotel called Jotsy Pizza. The man who helped us order turned out to be born and raised in the Bronx. What a small world.

The pizza was actually the best we had in Amalfi (likely because of the American influence J) and was a great complement to the wine we had purchased a few days before. With a backdrop of CNN, it made for a great night in.

Everything was branded at Il Saraceno...everything.

Our final day on the Coast, we headed out early to Sorrento and unfortunately didn’t have much time to spend there before heading back to Naples to catch our flight. Eric finally got his gelato in Sorrento as we rushed around the stores looking for the perfect souvenir to remember our trip. Sadly, all we’ll have are our memories and photos as we didn’t want to force a ‘lemon the size of your head’ purchase or a lemon/florally/patterned ceramic piece.

It’s bittersweet to think this is our last new adventure from London; however it was certainly a great way to end. Top recommendation: rent a small car for the tight turns and narrow winding roads. We quickly learned why our Micra had so many ‘war wounds.’