Sorry we haven't posted anything for a couple of weeks. We have just been revisiting favorite places along the Amalfi Coast, like Ravello and Cetara and back to Naples a few times, just enjoying being on the sea and not wandering too far. We'll try to post some photos of these places and also some watercolors, since I haven't posted any of those for a while. Partly I felt a little burned out for a bit there, maybe just tired, but for a few weeks I didn't do too much. Then I decided to carry one of the little Moleskin journals with me and started doing what I call "drive-by sketching" and I have been having a lot of fun doing quick sketches of what we see as we drive from place to place and putting in washes of color later when we get home. It's a lot like a coloring book for grown-ups! Mostly just quick impressions but it has taken me back to the watercolor journaling that I enjoyed so much before. (check out our archives if you want to read about when my journals were stolen from our car in Sicily, around February 2006)
Road Trip to Puglia
This week we took what we think may have been our last road trip, to Puglia. We didn't want to leave Italy without seeing the trulli, the little houses with circular pointed stone roofs unique to this area. I did some research and planned an itinerary that included 3 nights in Ostuni, a beautiful white city with a view of the Adriatic Sea and not far from the trulli towns of Alberobello and Locorotondo where the largest concentration of these buildings can be found. Check out this website: http://www.viaggiareinpuglia.it/
We left early in the morning on Tuesday, the 13th and drove through the Basilicata. This region southeast of Campania, we have discovered, is absolutely gorgeous. We had our first experience there when we went to visit Pino's hometown and were happy to drive through it again. It is the region that straddles the instep of Italy's boot and touches both the Tyrrhenian Sea and the Adriatic. It is filled with majestic mountains, the castles of Frederick II, forests, and cave-homes and the latter were the reason for our stop here.
Matera and the Sassi
Matera is known as the "city of the sassi," cave-homes cut into the tufa rocks. On one side of the ravine you can see the rough caves inhabited in Paleolithic times.
We learned that until the beginning of the 20th century these homes functioned quite well for the local inhabitants, who also carved churches out of the rocks, being easier to do that in the soft tufa stone, than to cut the stone and build with them. They had an ingenious system of canals that regulated sewage and rainwater and apparently everyone lived in harmony with the land. But in the period between the wars it became overcrowded, overburdening resources and throwing off the delicate balance. It became unsanitary and unhealthy and the Italian government finally relocated the inhabitants to other parts of town.
Since then, it has become a UNESCO World Heritage site and the Italians have been working to clean it, renovate and repopulate it and in fact it is one of the more visited sights in this area. Fascinating and beautiful, it is like a neighborhood museum - 3.3 million square feet (300,000 square meters) of homes, in a tangle of streets that are well worth spending more than the few hours we had to spare. Not the reason we came, but we learned also that Mel Gibson filmed his "Passion of Christ" movie here. There is also a novel we want to read by Carlo Levi, called "Christ Stopped at Eboli" an unflattering account of this region I believe, published in 1945. He was vocal in his opposition to the Fascists and banished here during that period. It really does seem like a city lost in another time.
We think the Basilicata is worth exploring further but unfortunately we are running out of time for getting to know an entire new region!
It was pouring rain when we left Vietri sul Mare and rained for most of the drive through Campania and the Basilicata. Luckily, the clouds parted, although the sky was still white and grey with them, while we clamored around the stone steps and in and out of the incredibly cool cave churches, visiting the museum, a fully furnished home where we saw the way people would have lived up until the 1950s. Fascinating stuff.
On to Ostuni
By noon we were picking up some panini at a local alimentari and continuing our journey towards Ostuni. The rain resumed again but the sun broke through the clouds long enough for us to appreciate the sight of this white city on a hill as we approached. We got a little lost entering the town (frustrating!) and eventually had to call the man we were renting the apartment from to come and find us and we followed him to where we could park the car and take our bags up to the second floor apartment (that's first floor to the Italians). We found a very comfortable, modern, fairly well equipped kitchen with dining table, a soggiorno (small living room) and a loft bedroom - an ingenious way to make two rooms out of one with a high enough ceiling to split the space. Not much of a view, but a tiny balcony onto the street, off one of the main squares in town, well insulated and quiet, with very efficient heaters which was appreciated.
We dropped our stuff and went off to explore, the rain having subsided, liking this town very much. In truth, it was love at first sight! Gleaming white wash, doors of bright blue and green, a tangle of streets, lots of steps leading this way and that and just interesting at every turn of, it seemed more like Greece to us than Italy. When rain threatened again we hurried back to the apartment. Bob ran out to pick up some bread while I stayed in to "color" in my sketches from earlier in the day. A nap was definitely in order and we slept for a few hours before braving a torrential downpour to walk around the corner to the only open restaurant we passed!
The Locanda dei 7 Peccati
What a find! Francesco welcomed us warmly and ushered us in to his restaurant called "Locanda dei 7 Peccati" which translates to the "Seven Deadly Sins" basically and illustrated with paintings on the wall. The atmosphere reminded me of the interior of the sassi home we had seen earlier in the day at Matera, with tools and baskets, ceramics pots over the doorway and furniture, an eclectic mix too, with old Tvs, chiming clocks and religious paintings that seemed more secular in their placement as decoration, than pious icons for worship. In the center of the room there was a fireplace and he motioned for us to sit next to it. We were the only customers in the place and normally I would take this to be a bad sign, but as the night was cold and wet and it is so completely off-season, we were just happy to have found it to be open and grateful for the warmth of the fire and the conversation with this very lovely man.
The meal that followed was fabulous! We had a local white wine and he made the most incredible orrechiette (the ear shaped pasta this region is famous for) in a mixed vegetable sauce that was light and a bit spicy and absolutely perfect! He also fixed us a plate of the most scrumptious fried potatoes ever and a bread that seemed more like a doughy pita, drizzled with olive oil and rosemary. We were full at this point but he talked us into a secondo and I had a pork dish with fresh tomatoes and Bob, the grilled lamb. They were good too, but the memory of that orrechiette lingers on. He spoke pretty good English too and it was nice to be able to just chat with someone (besides each other!) in our native tongue for a change.
I Trulli! Alberobello and Locorotondo
On Wednesday, we got up and out early (in spite of a bit of a hangover from drinking an entire bottle of wine!) and headed for Alberobello, by way of Locorotondo. We were thrilled to see a brilliant blue sky overhead and couldn't wait to get started. It is impossible to describe the feeling of driving through this area and seeing these little houses in clusters everywhere. For one thing, they seem so simple and lovely, sometimes a single one standing along, usually in clusters of 3 or more. Some are dark stones, other more tan, golden. Some have white tops with decorations on them, some are plain. They say that it is just easier to build another one when you need more room, so some of the larger farms seem like an entire little borgo, with at least 10 or 12 of varying heights, clustered around a more box-like house. White is the color of these homes, unless they are made entirely of the warm, pink/tan stones of the area. Low stone walls surround the farms, reminding us of Ragusa and there are olive groves and vineyards and broad stretches of rolling farmland, a bright chartreuse green now.
But nothing is like arriving in Alberobello and seeing an entire little city, two huge neighborhoods on either side of a main drag, built completely of these trulli. The people themselves seem built to fit in them as so many of them were small of stature as well and we wondered which came first! They were for the most part friendly and proud of their little homes but we can only imagine how it must be in the summer when their world is invaded by hordes of tourists. It really is like stepping into a fairytale and you fully expect to see Snow White appear, because surely, Sneezy, Grumpy and Happy must be nearby. We loved it. We took copious amounts of photos. I sketched.
Later in the afternoon, when we had our fill of the trulli, we tried to find a local beach but found many of them to be private, associated with a campground or just closed for the season. We did find Marina di Ostuni, and maybe we weren't in exactly the right place but at this time of year it didn't really impress.
Another Yummy Meal
Back to Ostuni, a nap was in order and we decided to go back to Francesco's place to see what else he could do with the orrechiette! This time we decided to skip the secondi and he fixed a huge platter of roasted vegetables, another of those potatoes we liked so much and we each tried a different pasta. Bob had one with melanzane (eggplant) and I ordered one with fresh tomato sauce and ricotta salata. Both were yummy but Bob's turned out to be a bit too picante for him and mine a little mild for me, so we switched and were both happy. It was nice again to talk with Francesco and he offered tips for other places to go in the area. It turns out he also rents apartments in Ostuni and invited us to come by the next afternoon and he would show us his place there.
Thursday we had planned to spend entirely in Ostuni, exploring the city. I made Bob get up earlier than he would normally have done so we could drive away from the city and catch the morning light. We realized that the city is not very large and found our way around fairly well. One of the things we absolutely loved was how incredibly clean it is. Spotless! Litter has been one of the things we have complained about all over Italy and especially in the south. But not here. The city was completely litter-free, dog-poop free, white and clean, no visible graffiti even and just a delight. We wandered around the streets, up to the highest point, had a history lesson from the man in the shop where we bought postcards, admired all the potted plants, succulents and flowers and the view of the Adriatic and dreamed about buying a place here! It is evident that the Brits have discovered it and are buying up property here. I suppose that will raise the prices for everyone but we can certainly understand it.
We met Francesco in the late afternoon for a tour of his property and found a wonderful apartment with a roof-top terrace and a view of the entire city and the sea! It can accommodate anywhere from 2 people to 8 (in a second apartment one floor down) and he rents it for 25 euros per person per night in season. A good deal. He can be reached at +39 0831339595 and the apartments can be seen on the web site www.bbcasevacanze.it, under the following names: Villa Preziosa, Casa di Sara, Casa Teresa A & B, Casa 7 Peccati and Casa Giosue. You'll get the better deal if you telephone him directly and his English is great. Tell him we told you about it! You won't get any better price for it, but it will be fun for us to know that we were able to spread the word.
After yet another afternoon nap we returned to Francesco's Locanda dei 7 Peccati for our last meal. We thought about trying one of the other restaurants but it didn't seem necessary, we liked this one so much. By late afternoon the clouds had formed again and rain seemed imminent. We took our umbrellas with us and I asked Francesco if he had soup and he asked "What do you want?" and threw together a vegetable soup with a light tomato base and a bit of a bite that was exactly what I wanted. Bob had to try the pizza and we each drank a glass of wine. With the fire burning next to us, we savored the meal, the company of this friendly man, the warm atmosphere and the rain washing down the streets outside until well after 10pm when we walked back to where we were staying for our last night in Ostuni.
Polignano a Mare
On the way home the next morning we stopped in Polignano a Mare at Francesco's suggestion and found it delightful as well. Right on the Adriatic, this cluster of white building blocks sits on a cliff jutting out into the sea with caves below carved out by the rushing water no doubt. It seemed definitely geared to and discovered by tourists and well done at that. Signage was attractive, professionally done, the historic center is extremely well-preserved and extremely charming.
A Visit TO St. Nicholas
We hurried then to reach Bari before 1pm as we wanted to see the church of St. Nicholas, whose remains were stolen from Turkey in 1087 and lie in the crypt there. The city on first and very fast look seemed important and dignified. It has one of the most modern commercial centres in the south, according to our guidebook and looked quite prosperous. When we asked someone to help us find the church, he advised us to be careful and watch our belongings. It's a large city. I guess that goes with the territory. We found the tomb of Old St. Nick (aka Santa Claus)and the church is lovely, gothic, with beautiful Byzantine style paintings and mosaics, built in the 12th century and not fancied up with too much Baroque detailing in later years. Unfortunately we barely had time to look around before the caretaker was turning out the lights and throwing us out. We would have liked just a few more minutes to wander around and admire the art but we have to be satisfied with what we saw.
That was the last planned stop on this limited tour of Puglia and we stopped this time at a supermercato and picked up the fixings of a lunch and ate in the car, on the autostrada, in the direction of Salerno and Vietri sul Mare, where we found ourselves around 2 hours later, tired but very satisfied with our little road trip to the other side of the boot.
Ci vediamo dopo,
Rosemary e Roberto
(photos to come)
Monday, February 19, 2007
Friday, February 09, 2007
More views of Napoli
Looking into the Santa Lucia neighborhood
Beautiful lamp detail on store front, Via Santa Lucia
Piazza Plebiscito and the church of San Francesco di Paola
Mt. Vesuvius and the Bay of Naples from Castel dell'Ovo
The Harbor Master's Headquarters (near where we parked our car)
Beautiful lamp detail on store front, Via Santa Lucia
Piazza Plebiscito and the church of San Francesco di Paola
Mt. Vesuvius and the Bay of Naples from Castel dell'Ovo
The Harbor Master's Headquarters (near where we parked our car)
Napoli
Castel Nuovo with horse and wagon
Castel Nuovo detail
The Kiosk known as the Cassa Armonica (sound box)
Kiosk detail, Villa Comunale gardens
Galleria Umberto I, and its gorgeous iron & glass ceiling
Castel Nuovo detail
The Kiosk known as the Cassa Armonica (sound box)
Kiosk detail, Villa Comunale gardens
Galleria Umberto I, and its gorgeous iron & glass ceiling
Napoli 2.04.07
Vietri sul Mare. Monday February 3, 2007
It's a gorgeous sunny day today. The light is brilliant reflecting off the sea outside our doors, which are wide open. The air feels cool and fresh with a slight breeze blowing. Our laundry is hanging on the line and on the drying rack. There are no clouds in the sky. An occasional car zooms by on the street below but other than that it's very quiet.
Yesterday, a Sunday, we spent in Napoli. We decided to take the car instead of the bus and park at the port, since the area we wanted to explore - Toledo and Castel Nuovo - were nearby. It has been our experience that traffic in this region is usually light on Sunday mornings and it only took us half an hour to get into the city. The parking lot next to the port where the ferries leave for Sicily and the islands of Capri, Ischia etc, was wide open and we felt safe leaving the car in a lot that has attendants and wandering the city by foot.
Each time I visit Naples I love it even more. Armed with our Eyewitness Guide and a walking-tour itinerary, we headed for Castel Nuovo, begun in 1279 by Charles I of Anjou and was built and rebuilt again in 1443. It is massive and impressive with its five rounded towers and fancy triumphal arch. It houses a museum that was unfortunately closed on Sundays but to which we would like to return.
This area is jam packed with impressive buildings and we walked through the nearly deserted Piazza Plebiscito with its Pantheon-inspired church of San Francesco di Paola and Palazzo Real. We looked up to see Castel St. Elmo above us and wandered through the beautiful shopping mall Galleria Umberto I, whose glass-domed ceilings fill this cavernous space with light. A "right to life" crowd was holding an event inside and everywhere young people and old were handing out flyers while a group of not-so-talented young girls danced on a stage set up in the center. Some of them surely must have their eyes set on a career in TV game shows. We will have to return when the shops are open and we can appreciate better the beauty of the space without being accosted by groups of fervent believers.
Across the street from the Galleria Umberto is the 18th century Teatro San Carlo and we could have taken a tour but decided to wait until Jessica comes in March. She will really appreciate seeing it.
We stopped for a coffee and a cornetto and a sfogliatelle (a delightful pastry filled with ricotta cheese) and admired the views of Mt. Vesuvius across the bay and the handsome young man who served us.
We walked through the famous Santa Lucia neighborhood to the Villa Comunale, the public park in the Chiaia neighborhood.
We had pizza at an Antica Pizzeria off Via Chiaia, the shopping street in this neighborhood and found ourselves back where we started, at the Piazza Plebiscito and Castel Nuovo, now lit with afternoon light, and headed back towards our car and home.
Yesterday was mostly a day for walking and getting acquainted with the area. It is one of Naples loveliest. And, as it was a Sunday, all the Napolitani were out enjoying the seaside and strolling along the Lungomare near Castel dell'Ovo, in all their stylish clothing, fine leather coats, boots and furs. We climbed around the castle again as we had done a little more than a year ago before our ferry left for Catania and the start of our six months in bella Sicilia.
It's so hard to believe we are now counting down to the end of our time in Italy. It hardly seems possible that two years have almost passed and we have very mixed emotions about leaving. On the one hand we are ready to go, to be "home" in our own country, speaking the same language as everyone else, spending time with our kids and granddaughter, our families and friends, going to the movies, exploring the east coast, which in reality is the start of a whole new adventure. But Italy. Italy with its ancient cities, breathtaking scenery, lovely people, fresh tomatoes, cheese and pasta, the pizza of Napoli (we are spoiled forever!)...the sea...the volcano...will remain forever in our hearts. Each place we have lived in has become a favorite for a different reason and each time, when the time grew near for us to say goodbye, we asked ourselves "How will we ever leave (Perugia...Marina di Ragusa...Verona...now Vietri sul Mare)...???" The question remains unanswered.
Or answered simply "we will leave because we have to leave, because the time has come for us to leave. Because we look forward to what comes next. Because we continue to have a thirst for new adventures. But we will keep the old ones with us and they enrich us and fill us with joy and appreciation. There are still eight whole weeks in front of us and we plan on making the best of every one!
Thanks for coming along with us. We hope you've enjoyed what we have put in front of you and appreciate knowing you are out there.
Baci, baci,
Rosemary and Bob
It's a gorgeous sunny day today. The light is brilliant reflecting off the sea outside our doors, which are wide open. The air feels cool and fresh with a slight breeze blowing. Our laundry is hanging on the line and on the drying rack. There are no clouds in the sky. An occasional car zooms by on the street below but other than that it's very quiet.
Yesterday, a Sunday, we spent in Napoli. We decided to take the car instead of the bus and park at the port, since the area we wanted to explore - Toledo and Castel Nuovo - were nearby. It has been our experience that traffic in this region is usually light on Sunday mornings and it only took us half an hour to get into the city. The parking lot next to the port where the ferries leave for Sicily and the islands of Capri, Ischia etc, was wide open and we felt safe leaving the car in a lot that has attendants and wandering the city by foot.
Each time I visit Naples I love it even more. Armed with our Eyewitness Guide and a walking-tour itinerary, we headed for Castel Nuovo, begun in 1279 by Charles I of Anjou and was built and rebuilt again in 1443. It is massive and impressive with its five rounded towers and fancy triumphal arch. It houses a museum that was unfortunately closed on Sundays but to which we would like to return.
This area is jam packed with impressive buildings and we walked through the nearly deserted Piazza Plebiscito with its Pantheon-inspired church of San Francesco di Paola and Palazzo Real. We looked up to see Castel St. Elmo above us and wandered through the beautiful shopping mall Galleria Umberto I, whose glass-domed ceilings fill this cavernous space with light. A "right to life" crowd was holding an event inside and everywhere young people and old were handing out flyers while a group of not-so-talented young girls danced on a stage set up in the center. Some of them surely must have their eyes set on a career in TV game shows. We will have to return when the shops are open and we can appreciate better the beauty of the space without being accosted by groups of fervent believers.
Across the street from the Galleria Umberto is the 18th century Teatro San Carlo and we could have taken a tour but decided to wait until Jessica comes in March. She will really appreciate seeing it.
We stopped for a coffee and a cornetto and a sfogliatelle (a delightful pastry filled with ricotta cheese) and admired the views of Mt. Vesuvius across the bay and the handsome young man who served us.
We walked through the famous Santa Lucia neighborhood to the Villa Comunale, the public park in the Chiaia neighborhood.
We had pizza at an Antica Pizzeria off Via Chiaia, the shopping street in this neighborhood and found ourselves back where we started, at the Piazza Plebiscito and Castel Nuovo, now lit with afternoon light, and headed back towards our car and home.
Yesterday was mostly a day for walking and getting acquainted with the area. It is one of Naples loveliest. And, as it was a Sunday, all the Napolitani were out enjoying the seaside and strolling along the Lungomare near Castel dell'Ovo, in all their stylish clothing, fine leather coats, boots and furs. We climbed around the castle again as we had done a little more than a year ago before our ferry left for Catania and the start of our six months in bella Sicilia.
It's so hard to believe we are now counting down to the end of our time in Italy. It hardly seems possible that two years have almost passed and we have very mixed emotions about leaving. On the one hand we are ready to go, to be "home" in our own country, speaking the same language as everyone else, spending time with our kids and granddaughter, our families and friends, going to the movies, exploring the east coast, which in reality is the start of a whole new adventure. But Italy. Italy with its ancient cities, breathtaking scenery, lovely people, fresh tomatoes, cheese and pasta, the pizza of Napoli (we are spoiled forever!)...the sea...the volcano...will remain forever in our hearts. Each place we have lived in has become a favorite for a different reason and each time, when the time grew near for us to say goodbye, we asked ourselves "How will we ever leave (Perugia...Marina di Ragusa...Verona...now Vietri sul Mare)...???" The question remains unanswered.
Or answered simply "we will leave because we have to leave, because the time has come for us to leave. Because we look forward to what comes next. Because we continue to have a thirst for new adventures. But we will keep the old ones with us and they enrich us and fill us with joy and appreciation. There are still eight whole weeks in front of us and we plan on making the best of every one!
Thanks for coming along with us. We hope you've enjoyed what we have put in front of you and appreciate knowing you are out there.
Baci, baci,
Rosemary and Bob
Thursday, February 08, 2007
Amalfi Coast views
The beach at Maiori
Painting "Giovanna" on the side of a boat
The Mediterranean Sea, Costiera Amalfitana
Fisherman readying his nets
Painting "Giovanna" on the side of a boat
The Mediterranean Sea, Costiera Amalfitana
Fisherman readying his nets
Along the Amalfi Coast
The Badia Santa Maria dell'Olearia, along the Amalfi Coast
Window of the Badia
Buying fish from i Pescatori, the fishermen, in Cetara
Lovely Cetara
The beautiful Amalfi Coast
Window of the Badia
Buying fish from i Pescatori, the fishermen, in Cetara
Lovely Cetara
The beautiful Amalfi Coast
Amalfi Coast drive 1.31.07
After we returned from our weekend in Rome with Andrea and Vincent, we took a couple of days to rest, catch up on laundry and writing, downloading photos and by Wednesday were getting antsy to take a drive. The weather was gorgeous, after the rainy cold days in Rome and we wanted to just be by the sea. We stopped in Cetara for a late morning coffee and were disappointed that our favorite little coffee bar there was already out of cornetti (how can this be!) and a little 3-year old boy nearby was riding on his battery powered mini-motorscooter making an annoying buzzing sound. I don't really understand this as I think it would be much healthier to give a kid a bicycle that they actually have to use muscles to operate than a toy they just sit on where the only energy expended is by the parent/grandparent who has to chase the kid around as they zoom through the piazza! Still hungry for breakfast, we bought some fresh fruit and a few loaves of this most wonderful bread and made a picnic sitting out on the pier with the view of lovely Cetara directly in front of us. This is one of my absolute favorite places here on the Amalfi Coast. Out there it is peaceful and quiet and the views are spectacular. I never tire of it.
After a while we decided we should wander further on and packed up our stuff. There is an abbey along the road to Maiori, which is well before you reach Amalfi and we have been fascinated by it since we arrived here. Finally we decided to just park the car off the road where the turn-off for the cemetery is and walk back to take a closer look. It is the crusty white Badia Santa Maria dell'Olearia and it was unfortunately closed. But it is quite impressive the way it is built right into and under the sheer cliff along the road that overlooks the coast and there is a huge cactus and purple and red bougainvillea growing at its base. Plus it was just fun to walk along the coast instead of just driving by. We stopped to buy some oranges and tangerines from a little stand tucked into a corner of the road and admired the giant lemons he had for sale. We wandered up the road towards the cemetery and down, admiring the views and just soaking in the sun.
There is a wonderful pair of Norman towers along the road after Maiori and we stopped again for some photos and sketching. Bob walked over to get some information about the restaurant in the tower that is right on the sea but it was closed. The hotel was also closed, so no luck there. We thought it might be fun to come here for dinner some time even though we suspect it might be pricey.
Lunch was a panini at a bar with a view of the sea in Minori, the little town past Maiori, just before Ravello.
By the time we finished eating it was after 3pm and we decided we were ready to head home and took our time getting back to Vietri.
We really enjoyed our day, taking our time to savor all the little things and look forward to still more days like this.
Buona giornata,
Rosemary e Roberto
After a while we decided we should wander further on and packed up our stuff. There is an abbey along the road to Maiori, which is well before you reach Amalfi and we have been fascinated by it since we arrived here. Finally we decided to just park the car off the road where the turn-off for the cemetery is and walk back to take a closer look. It is the crusty white Badia Santa Maria dell'Olearia and it was unfortunately closed. But it is quite impressive the way it is built right into and under the sheer cliff along the road that overlooks the coast and there is a huge cactus and purple and red bougainvillea growing at its base. Plus it was just fun to walk along the coast instead of just driving by. We stopped to buy some oranges and tangerines from a little stand tucked into a corner of the road and admired the giant lemons he had for sale. We wandered up the road towards the cemetery and down, admiring the views and just soaking in the sun.
There is a wonderful pair of Norman towers along the road after Maiori and we stopped again for some photos and sketching. Bob walked over to get some information about the restaurant in the tower that is right on the sea but it was closed. The hotel was also closed, so no luck there. We thought it might be fun to come here for dinner some time even though we suspect it might be pricey.
Lunch was a panini at a bar with a view of the sea in Minori, the little town past Maiori, just before Ravello.
By the time we finished eating it was after 3pm and we decided we were ready to head home and took our time getting back to Vietri.
We really enjoyed our day, taking our time to savor all the little things and look forward to still more days like this.
Buona giornata,
Rosemary e Roberto
Tuesday, January 30, 2007
Does anyone know what this is?
During our trip to Basilicata we saw this "fruit" in a tree and all around it on the ground. I asked a very old man what is was and did not fully understand his answer but do know he said not to eat it. So, what is it and why grow it if you can't eat it?
According to Ginger: "It's called an Osage orange(Maclura pomifera)actually native to the US. Not edible. they were used for a thorny hedge plants between fields because they are hard to kill and withstand just about anything M.Nature wants to dish out."
Thank you Ginger
According to Ginger: "It's called an Osage orange(Maclura pomifera)actually native to the US. Not edible. they were used for a thorny hedge plants between fields because they are hard to kill and withstand just about anything M.Nature wants to dish out."
Thank you Ginger
Monday, January 29, 2007
More Rome
Teatro Marcello (like the Colosseum, but smaller)
Teatro mask mosaic (Musei Capitolini)
St. Peter's Basilica detail
Painting "The Immigrants" (Galleria D'Arte Moderne)
(I imagine the little girl in the red scarf could be my grandmother)
Teatro mask mosaic (Musei Capitolini)
St. Peter's Basilica detail
Painting "The Immigrants" (Galleria D'Arte Moderne)
(I imagine the little girl in the red scarf could be my grandmother)
Images of Rome
Colorful tassels in a Rome shop window
"Dying Gaul" Capitol Hill Museum, 1st century BC copy of a Greek original
Leonardo Di Caprio's ear and Rosemary's arms
(that's Rosemary taking a photo at left and Leo's ear under the blue cap and somebody else famous we think, taking a photo behind Leo. Anyone know who he is?)
Capitoline She Wolf
(Wolf from the 5th century BC, Romulus & Remus were added later)
The Roman Forum at night
"Dying Gaul" Capitol Hill Museum, 1st century BC copy of a Greek original
Leonardo Di Caprio's ear and Rosemary's arms
(that's Rosemary taking a photo at left and Leo's ear under the blue cap and somebody else famous we think, taking a photo behind Leo. Anyone know who he is?)
Capitoline She Wolf
(Wolf from the 5th century BC, Romulus & Remus were added later)
The Roman Forum at night
Rome, January 25-25 2007
Marble Bust in various types of marble
Andrea & Vincent at the Trevi Fountain (look for her coin in the air)
Caravaggio's St. John the Baptist
Capitoline Hill at night
Andrea and Vincent say goodbye
Andrea & Vincent at the Trevi Fountain (look for her coin in the air)
Caravaggio's St. John the Baptist
Capitoline Hill at night
Andrea and Vincent say goodbye
Visiting Rome with Andrea and Vincent 1.25-28.06
It's a very cloudy, grey day here in Vietri and temperatures are definitely lower than they have been. The weather here has been gorgeous, unseasonably warm everyone said but they also warned that colder weather was about to begin. When we headed north on Thursday it was under very threatening skies and we could see a dusting of white on Mt Vesuvius where big heavy snow clouds swarmed above and around the volcano. The tops of the tallest mountains between here and Rome had snow on them and rain fell on and off as we approached the city.
I haven’t done much painting since the Christmas holidays and of course I’m feeling guilty about it! Here I am in Italy, wasting time when I should be working!!! But then I brought along a little sketch book with me and had fun in the car doing these very quick little “gesture” drawings of the passing scenery and putting in washes of color later. This is one of those little black journals (like the one I had taken from me in Sicily) so it’s very immediate, just for me stuff and I enjoyed it very much. No pressure to “make a painting” – just record what I was seeing. The time is passing very quickly now and I just know that before I know it we will be heading back to the states. I want to feel that I have made the best of it and go home with things I feel proud of.
We had reserved two rooms in a small bed and breakfast/apartment near the train station and instead of driving the 3 hours back to Vietri and the Amalfi Coast with our young friends whose wedding we attended in Köln, Germany in July, we decided instead to spend the short weekend with them in Rome, visiting the sights. Andrea had been there before but Vincent had not. We never tire of this wonderful city and have been there now more times than we can count but always enjoy ourselves.
We arrived late Thursday and planned to spend one night on our own there so that the next day we would be rested and ready to sightsee. Of course, we ended up doing our share of walking anyway, visiting the Musei Capitolini and its wonderful view over the Roman Forum (where I walked right past Leonardo Di Caprio and didn’t realize until he and his entourage left and Bob told me “That was Leonardo Di Caprio!” Much to the chagrin of his bodyguard, Bob took a photo of him but only managed to capture his ear!) on Capodoglio Hill and an exhibit of works by Matisse and Bonnard in the Complesso del Vittoriano that is connected to the Vittore Emmanuele monument, next to the Roman Forum. On Friday morning, with rain pouring down, we took the train and walked uphill and down, near the Villa Borghese, to the Galleria D’Arte Moderna and spent a few hours immersed in modern art from the 19th and 20th centuries. The collection consists of mostly Italian artists but with some works by Monet, Degas, Van Gogh and the impressionists, as well. We enjoyed it so much and think perhaps we might have to go back again. Andrea and Vincent were expected around 3pm and we had just finished having a coffee in the museum cafe when they called to say they had landed at Ciampino airport, giving us about half an hour to get to Termini train station and meet their bus. It was still raining when we walked back to our bed and breakfast but by the time we hit the streets again, it has quit and didn’t bother us again the entire weekend.
It was wonderful to see them again and be able to spend even just these few days together. We saw them last, as I said, in July when they were married and you can imagine how busy they were with all their guests, it was not possible to spend much time alone with them. We brought their things to the room and stopped for a bit of lunch then headed first for the Roman Forum which was by this time closing for the day (one hour before sunset) so we simply did a walking tour around it pointing out the sights we knew and walked by Trajan’s Market, the monument to Victor Emmanuel, the Spanish Steps and Via Condotti with its fancy (expensive!) shops. We had a quiet dinner in a little restaurant called Osteria del Crispi, on Via Francesco Crispi and called it a night.
We made them get up early the next morning so that they could visit the Vatican Museum and the Sistine Chapel. We didn’t think the crowds would be as great at this time of year as usual and arrived around 8:30. Andrea had not been to this museum and both of them seemed to enjoy not only the chapel but the other parts of the museum as well. We stopped in the café of the museum for a slice of pizza (mediocre by Italian standards but we were hungry) and a bit of a rest.
Afterwards we joined the queue waiting at St. Peter’s Basilica and after a short while, entered the church. They decided to go up into the Dome while we opted to rest our feet a bit while these youngsters climbed the 500 or so steps and waved down to us from the balcony that surrounds the dome. St. Peter’s never fails to impress with Michelangelo’s Pieta and Bernini’s masterpiece bronze canopy, not to mention its sheer size and the magnificence of its works of art. This really is what I like to call “the Pope Show” because it does seem to venerate the Popes more than God, but that may just be a personal prejudice on my part, born out by all the statues and monuments to them throughout the church.
We never made it to the Roman Forum as by the time we got back there it was once again closing time! (darn these short winter days when the sun sets around 5pm.) We did take them up the Capodoglio Hill for a view of the Forum as the sun was setting, and then another break for a gelato and a well earned rest. We caught a bus to the Pantheon, walking through the lovely Piazza della Rotunda, passing the Spanish Steps again and over to the Trevi Fountain for the obligatory coin toss. Back towards our B&B we walked up more steps to pass the Quirinale, where the president of Italy has a residence and two pretty Italian soldiers (women, not men) stood guard.
We enjoyed our dinner at the Antica Pizzeria Fratelli Ricci on Via Genova, not far from where we were staying. This pizzeria, we were told is the oldest in Rome but after having pizza in Naples, well, that’s a tough act to follow. This restaurant started as a wine store and we did enjoy the crisp, white wine, Est! Est! Est! that they produce. The service was friendly and we thought our waiter was American when he said “there you go!” and delivered our appetizers (really yummy olives stuffed with meat and fried in a tasty batter and deep fried pumpkin flowers). It turned out he is Italian and Dutch but his English was impeccable. Andrea, who speaks not only German and Hungarian, but also French, Italian, English and Spanish, had no trouble communicating with anyone! Vincent, her husband is French and keeps up with her linguistically – it was so fun to listen to them speak to each other in German and then French and English!
They had a noon flight on Sunday and we shared breakfast in our rooms and then walked them to where their bus was waiting. After tearful goodbye hugs and kisses we promised to see each other again as soon as possible and they promised to come visit us in America after we get settled in and we will hold them to it. The sun was shining as their bus pulled away from the curb and we waved at each other until it was out of sight.
We made really good time getting back to Vietri and were home by early afternoon, took a nap and ate a simple dinner. Andrea called to let us know that they had made it home safe and sound and would probably do the same. We miss them already! That is the hardest part of this adventure! The world is too large. It’s too difficult to see everyone when we all live so very far apart. Perhaps someday travel will be faster and easier and we can pop back and forth across the ocean like going across town and have dinner with our friends in Europe as easily as with our friends across the street. But until then we will have to content ourselves with email and the telephone and be grateful we have both.
It meant so much to us and we were delighted that they wanted to come for a visit and look forward to the next time we can be together.
Now the sun is setting on this cloudy day. It has not rained in spite of the clouds and we don’t know what to expect from tomorrow. We stayed at home all day today but who knows what tomorrow will bring!
Buona sera,
Rosemary and Bob
I haven’t done much painting since the Christmas holidays and of course I’m feeling guilty about it! Here I am in Italy, wasting time when I should be working!!! But then I brought along a little sketch book with me and had fun in the car doing these very quick little “gesture” drawings of the passing scenery and putting in washes of color later. This is one of those little black journals (like the one I had taken from me in Sicily) so it’s very immediate, just for me stuff and I enjoyed it very much. No pressure to “make a painting” – just record what I was seeing. The time is passing very quickly now and I just know that before I know it we will be heading back to the states. I want to feel that I have made the best of it and go home with things I feel proud of.
We had reserved two rooms in a small bed and breakfast/apartment near the train station and instead of driving the 3 hours back to Vietri and the Amalfi Coast with our young friends whose wedding we attended in Köln, Germany in July, we decided instead to spend the short weekend with them in Rome, visiting the sights. Andrea had been there before but Vincent had not. We never tire of this wonderful city and have been there now more times than we can count but always enjoy ourselves.
We arrived late Thursday and planned to spend one night on our own there so that the next day we would be rested and ready to sightsee. Of course, we ended up doing our share of walking anyway, visiting the Musei Capitolini and its wonderful view over the Roman Forum (where I walked right past Leonardo Di Caprio and didn’t realize until he and his entourage left and Bob told me “That was Leonardo Di Caprio!” Much to the chagrin of his bodyguard, Bob took a photo of him but only managed to capture his ear!) on Capodoglio Hill and an exhibit of works by Matisse and Bonnard in the Complesso del Vittoriano that is connected to the Vittore Emmanuele monument, next to the Roman Forum. On Friday morning, with rain pouring down, we took the train and walked uphill and down, near the Villa Borghese, to the Galleria D’Arte Moderna and spent a few hours immersed in modern art from the 19th and 20th centuries. The collection consists of mostly Italian artists but with some works by Monet, Degas, Van Gogh and the impressionists, as well. We enjoyed it so much and think perhaps we might have to go back again. Andrea and Vincent were expected around 3pm and we had just finished having a coffee in the museum cafe when they called to say they had landed at Ciampino airport, giving us about half an hour to get to Termini train station and meet their bus. It was still raining when we walked back to our bed and breakfast but by the time we hit the streets again, it has quit and didn’t bother us again the entire weekend.
It was wonderful to see them again and be able to spend even just these few days together. We saw them last, as I said, in July when they were married and you can imagine how busy they were with all their guests, it was not possible to spend much time alone with them. We brought their things to the room and stopped for a bit of lunch then headed first for the Roman Forum which was by this time closing for the day (one hour before sunset) so we simply did a walking tour around it pointing out the sights we knew and walked by Trajan’s Market, the monument to Victor Emmanuel, the Spanish Steps and Via Condotti with its fancy (expensive!) shops. We had a quiet dinner in a little restaurant called Osteria del Crispi, on Via Francesco Crispi and called it a night.
We made them get up early the next morning so that they could visit the Vatican Museum and the Sistine Chapel. We didn’t think the crowds would be as great at this time of year as usual and arrived around 8:30. Andrea had not been to this museum and both of them seemed to enjoy not only the chapel but the other parts of the museum as well. We stopped in the café of the museum for a slice of pizza (mediocre by Italian standards but we were hungry) and a bit of a rest.
Afterwards we joined the queue waiting at St. Peter’s Basilica and after a short while, entered the church. They decided to go up into the Dome while we opted to rest our feet a bit while these youngsters climbed the 500 or so steps and waved down to us from the balcony that surrounds the dome. St. Peter’s never fails to impress with Michelangelo’s Pieta and Bernini’s masterpiece bronze canopy, not to mention its sheer size and the magnificence of its works of art. This really is what I like to call “the Pope Show” because it does seem to venerate the Popes more than God, but that may just be a personal prejudice on my part, born out by all the statues and monuments to them throughout the church.
We never made it to the Roman Forum as by the time we got back there it was once again closing time! (darn these short winter days when the sun sets around 5pm.) We did take them up the Capodoglio Hill for a view of the Forum as the sun was setting, and then another break for a gelato and a well earned rest. We caught a bus to the Pantheon, walking through the lovely Piazza della Rotunda, passing the Spanish Steps again and over to the Trevi Fountain for the obligatory coin toss. Back towards our B&B we walked up more steps to pass the Quirinale, where the president of Italy has a residence and two pretty Italian soldiers (women, not men) stood guard.
We enjoyed our dinner at the Antica Pizzeria Fratelli Ricci on Via Genova, not far from where we were staying. This pizzeria, we were told is the oldest in Rome but after having pizza in Naples, well, that’s a tough act to follow. This restaurant started as a wine store and we did enjoy the crisp, white wine, Est! Est! Est! that they produce. The service was friendly and we thought our waiter was American when he said “there you go!” and delivered our appetizers (really yummy olives stuffed with meat and fried in a tasty batter and deep fried pumpkin flowers). It turned out he is Italian and Dutch but his English was impeccable. Andrea, who speaks not only German and Hungarian, but also French, Italian, English and Spanish, had no trouble communicating with anyone! Vincent, her husband is French and keeps up with her linguistically – it was so fun to listen to them speak to each other in German and then French and English!
They had a noon flight on Sunday and we shared breakfast in our rooms and then walked them to where their bus was waiting. After tearful goodbye hugs and kisses we promised to see each other again as soon as possible and they promised to come visit us in America after we get settled in and we will hold them to it. The sun was shining as their bus pulled away from the curb and we waved at each other until it was out of sight.
We made really good time getting back to Vietri and were home by early afternoon, took a nap and ate a simple dinner. Andrea called to let us know that they had made it home safe and sound and would probably do the same. We miss them already! That is the hardest part of this adventure! The world is too large. It’s too difficult to see everyone when we all live so very far apart. Perhaps someday travel will be faster and easier and we can pop back and forth across the ocean like going across town and have dinner with our friends in Europe as easily as with our friends across the street. But until then we will have to content ourselves with email and the telephone and be grateful we have both.
It meant so much to us and we were delighted that they wanted to come for a visit and look forward to the next time we can be together.
Now the sun is setting on this cloudy day. It has not rained in spite of the clouds and we don’t know what to expect from tomorrow. We stayed at home all day today but who knows what tomorrow will bring!
Buona sera,
Rosemary and Bob
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
Pino's family in Ripacandida
These photos of our friend Pino's (of Pino's Pizzeria in Phoenix, Arizona) family in Ripacandida, in Basilicata are for him and for them. Grazie to them all for the kindness to us. We hope they enjoy seeing them here.
Chiara with Gerardo, her papà
Paola (Pino's sister) and her husband Rocco
Pino's mother with her granddaughter Giulia
Pasquale, Pino's papà
Nonna with Chiara
Chiara with Gerardo, her papà
Paola (Pino's sister) and her husband Rocco
Pino's mother with her granddaughter Giulia
Pasquale, Pino's papà
Nonna with Chiara
Ripacandida, hometown of our friend Pino
Railway in the countryside, Basilicata
The well in the Giardini Communale, Ripacandida
View of Ripacandida from above
Giardini Communale, with its canopy of trees overhead
The well in the Giardini Communale, Ripacandida
View of Ripacandida from above
Giardini Communale, with its canopy of trees overhead
Basilicata and the city of Ripacandida
Fresco detail in the 12th century church of San Donato, Ripacandida
The rolling hills of Basilicata
Palazzo Leopoldo Chiari, Ripacandida
The Cathedral in Ripacandida
Giant Sequioa in the Giardini Communali, public gardens
The rolling hills of Basilicata
Palazzo Leopoldo Chiari, Ripacandida
The Cathedral in Ripacandida
Giant Sequioa in the Giardini Communali, public gardens
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