The Countryside of Italy
What a pleasure it was for me,Saskatoon girl that
I am, to escort 10 enthusiastic ladies from rural Saskatchewan into the
countryside of Italy this spring! We started our adventure at Anna’s La Vecchia
Quercia in the hills above Salerno on the Amalfi Coast. Anna opened up her
villa early for us this spring and as polite Canadians we tolerated the rather
chilly temperatures in the rooms for the first couple of nights only to
discover that the heating system had malfunctioned – we were toasty for our
last night! Of course Anna’s warm welcome with Napolitana cuisine , a tour
through her garden and an adventure in cooking gluten free pasta made for a
heart-warming stay. Closeby at Rivabianca Bufalo farm we appreciated the process
to make this succulent pure white ball of mozzarella cheese. We all had a
squeaky taste of this cheese as it was being formed into balls or braids by the
Mozzas ! We took in the Greek and Roman
ruins as we walked through Paestum and learned all about olive oil production
from our friends at Casa di Baal. One of the highlights of our visit to
Campania wine region was the personal guiding of owner and wine-maker, Roberto
di Meo at his family winery di Meo. In his 17 Century Prince’s palace we
enjoyed a lunch of antipasti accompanied by copious amounts of Di Meo wine – Aglianico,
Greco di Tufo and Fiano di Avelino! To top it off Roberto offered us some of
his special brandy – 40 % alcohol – all this called “ lunch” in Italy!
At the beginning of April, surprisingly we lucked out with
some beautiful weather all along this tour. On Sunday we made a partial visit
to the Amalfi Coast visiting Vietri sul Mare for ceramics and Ravello for lunch
and the beautiful gardens of Cimbrone with a precipice overlooking the
Mediterranean! Nicola our guide in Pompeii had us visit some newly opened
exhibits of Villas and Gardens with frescos still on the walls of this Roman
city devastated by the Volcanic eruption of Mt Vesuvius in 79 AD. Then we slowly, very slowly (due to Sunday
traffic) made our way to the Hotel Transatlantico in the old port of Naples –
my favourite hotel in all my travels! Our chauffeur GP offered to dine with us
on the terrace of this hotel and then stay overnight to transport luggage up to
Florence for us – what a lifesaver!!! Thanks GP. Anita Silvernagle our 10th
guest arrived in Rome that evening so GP and Chandra made the trek to Rome
airport to pick her up and carry on to Florence. Quite the logistics of
planning!
At the Pensione Bencista, a former convent (and yes some of
the beds were that hard!) we were welcomed by the Simone family whom I have
known for 13 years now! What a beautiful setting in the hills overlooking the
city of Florence. Our Florence stay had us enjoy the food and leather market
before seeing the sights like that handsome “David”! Soon we were off to Cinque Terre for our stay
in the beach hotel in Monterosso – what a cute little village! Somehow the
beach bar and the Mediterranean Sea captured the group as the enjoyed an
afternoon of sun! Chandra even went swimming!!!! A true Canadian! The next
morning 4 of us climbed the 700 and some steps on the path from Monterosso to
Vernaza! Yes, we had a wine break at the top and met the rest of the gang who
arrived on the train in this village for gelato. Further along on the train to
Riamaggiore for lunch and soon Maronibus whisked us off to Lucca, the roman
walled city which resisted any invasion by the Florentine Medicci family.
One of the restaurant owners in Lucca entertained our
Canadians so well that they went back 3 times for pasta! What a find! And they spoke perfect English!
Lucca is one of the best little places to shop, this resulted in buying another
suitcase for some! Oh yes, and we did
see a glimpse of the Leaning Tower of Pisa – fascinating! Although most of the
time in Pisa was in Macdonald’s getting a fix of North American food!
Before taking the fast train (around 300 km/hr) to Venice Franko
drove through the rolling hills of Chianti (Linda’s wish) where we tasted wine
and walked through the vineyards with Mathio of Croce di Bibbiano. Farmers
talking to farmers – what we didn’t learn about growing grapes!! The train ride
went without a hitch as we were prepared for the luggage ordeal. Thanks to
efficient packing most of the gals had no difficulty with their bags on the
train as this time we did not have GP to come to our rescue! The Locanda Fiorita was a stone’s throw away
from the San Angelo Vaparetto station and our Prosecco reception was welcomed
after our voyage. Venice was a delight and the weather was perfect! Our last
day we pooled our coins together and bought a private taxi to the island of
Murano to see the glass blowing. Of course you are obligated to visit their
show rooms after the demonstration, but they quickly learned that we were not
about to buy a 35 000 Euro chandelier and guided us to the Murano glass room
full of affordable jewelry. Everyone seemed to pick up a little souvenir of our
visit. We persevered the vaparetto to Burano, the lace making colourful houses
island for the rest of the afternoon and then decided to hire another taxi to
take us home.
A final Prosecco and feedback evening on the terrace of the
Locanda and our final Italian pasta meal finished off our tour to Italy! Thanks gals ! It was a real delight for me to
share the countryside of Italy with you!
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