TakeBetsywithyou

very behind in blogging, in part because there is no wifi at this very hidden agritourismo, Anapama b&b, down a very steep narrow winding dirt road leading into a valley in the shadow of the high walls of the hilltop Palazzalo Acreide.
some highlights:
Anapama – beautifully rescued Sicilian stone farm house with lots of rough hewn stone, tile, wood, ceramics, art, Turkish rugs. Feels exotic and lush. Run by elegant older woman named Vivian who looks like an older age fashion model. She lived on a commune outside Santa Cruz in the 70s and tried organic farming in Tennessee, of all places before moving here at some point after marrying someone from Siracusa ( she’s from Milan) and having three kids and opening a bar in Siracusa. gorgeous place with a pool and horses and many dogs and cats but drive here is challenging and the dogs started howling at about 3 am. Great breakfast.
Noto, Modica, Ragusa– all hilltop towns with magnificent caramel colored limestone baroque cathedrals and chock a block homes tucked into the hillside. As I expected, I liked Modica best. Ragusa was beautiful but a bit too posh. Noto was picture postcard perfect. Palazzalo Acreide is more of a real place but also has it’s astonishing churches.
Coalamosche- beautiful pocket beach between two cliffs jutting out into the Mediterranean. Warm water. I was the only one piece suit on the beach.
Restaurants– too good ones in Pallazzalo: trattoria del gallo, homey place, wehearty food, we were served what the waiter offered. No menu. All good. Tonight went to Andrea — little fancier, excellent. No one spoke English and no translated menu which was sort of refreshing. We did ok.
We had a really lovely drive through the Sicilian countryside to get to Modica. Classic olive-grey and khaki fields with winding white stone fences and crumbling or restored stone farmhouses, olive trees, lemon trees, vineyards, persimmon trees, cactus and agave. Vaguely reminded me of Crete. So glad we came here.

Posting this a few days late…

Epic journey yesterday with many different forms of transportation and only two near disasters: 1) Dirck got lost on a mountain trail after a morning hike to an ATM in the small village of Atrani. Roberto, the proprietor of our B&b nearby came to the rescue in his car. 2) what was advertised as an 11 minute drive from the Catana airport to our b&b Crociferi lasted 2 hours thanks to a limited map and lots of one way streets. at one point things looked grim but suddenly we found the tiny street in the historic district we needed and our amazing little place in an elegant old mansion.

beyond that, other highlights included the ferry ride from Amalfi to Salerno, gorgeous again (and somewhat relieved to depart already tourist heavy Amalfi just as a giant tour boat was disgorging passengers via lifeboats for a little visit (not evacuation); a quick visit to Naples, where we got a taste of the cacophonous street life and some fantastic pizza! The famous place we tried to go to for pizza was mobbed but we did just fine at a little place nearby, Pizza Sorbillo on via Tribinali. We really liked the clutter and clatter of Naples downtown streets, hanging laundry, fish mongers, graffiti, vaguely dodgy at

Expresso at cafe Mexico, Naples

lunch in Naples (what else?)

Atmosphere. Hope to return. it was also very easy to leave our bags at the left luggage office at the train station. Also enjoyed Cafe Mexico by the station where old fashioned guys in vaguely military like outfits served us expresso at the bar (not your typical yank barista.)
We were also impressed by the Naples airport.

Naples

Very stylish, with modern sofas in the waiting area that looked like something out of a shelter magazine ad  and incredible food (an airport mozzarella bar…take note LaGuardia airport rehabbers) and high end high design shops.

Once we finally got to b&b Crociferi in Catania, all was well and we found a beautiful people  crowd at a nearby outdoor cafe, Locanda Cerami, in front of a beautiful old stone church, at 10 pm and excellent food…my first salad in Italy (with small balls of creamy buffalo mozzarella, tuna and corn) and my first braesola with a little olive oil and asiago cheese. Yum.

Our room turned out to be an entire apartment, with  a fresco painted in the high ceiling and stylish modern furniture. We had our best breakfast to date, prepared by our friendly host Teresa and enjoyed the fellow guests, an Australian couple, a Berlin couple and two Vermonters (one of whom lived on a commune in Decorah Iowa, presumably in the 60s.)

Dramatic weather accompanied the dramatic scenery when we visited Ravello today. Just as we arrived in a crowded bus winding up and up a narrow road past mountain sides covered with lush vegetation (olive trees, lemon trees, vineyards), a dark cloud burst with rain. it took about a half hour or so to quiet down and what glory it left behind, with fog lifting from the mountains and sun breaking through to turn the mountainsides even greener and the Mediterranean even bluer.
Ravello is ravishing. I could stare out at the mountains jutting into the ocean for hours. And did. We enjoyed this while also walking through the gardens at Villa Rufalo, where a crew appeared to be dismantling a stage used for the Ravello festival. Cannot imagine what it would be like to watch a musical performance with the Amalfi coast as the backdrop, let alone to be the performer. we had a fantastic lunch at trattoria Cumpa Cosimo — slices of veal in a lemon sauce, a plate of assorted pastas (all excellent), tomatoes sliced into wedges served with a little olive oil, salt and pepper. Simple but who needs more when the raw materials are so outstanding?
We took the long way home, a somewhat treacherous series of steps leading down the mountain to our new b&b, Punta Civita, which is even lovelier than our last across the road and promises to be quieter, since it is off the road.

How excited am I to be back here for the first time since I celebrated my 23rd birthdAy back in 1982, at a crazy party at a trattoria in Positano! So excited! And this place is as stunning as I remembered.

We are staying at a no name bed and breakfast on the impossibly narrow winding road between Amalfi and Ravello. The only way we found it was because Roberto, who runs the b&b Punta Civita across the road, flagged the very crowded bus we were traveling in and my name was passed down through the bus in various accents until it reached us and we got off. We are staying with Roberto’s cousin tonight until our room opens up tomorrow at Punta Civita. No problemo! We have a spectacular view of the Mediterranean and the mountains and a sweet little wrought iron bed with cream colored curtains tied at the corners.

Our fast train from Rome took only two hours and I spent much of it talking to a very handsome Italian from Naples who travels the world selling liturgical vestments and other catholic stuff made by his family’s company. He was full of suggestions of what and where to eat here and in sicily, including the aeolian islands and judging from the wonderful little family run fish place we went to in Amalfi tonight, we are all set. Best spaghetti vongole (with clams) ever (thought of you dad!) and a fresh baked fish in a light olive oil, garlic sauce. Trattoria dei Cartari, bravo! For dessert we had tangy refreshing creme di limone at a tiny stand nearby serving 4 different iced lemon desserts.

In Salerno I had a great pizza Napolino (tomato sauce, capers, olives, anchovies, no cheese) at Atlantide, which seemed to be popular with well -heeled locals. The ferry was well worth the wait …a 35 minute ride hugging the coast and looking out at the occasional cluster of buildings clinging to the mountainside. we shared the open air deck with lots of well heeled Chinese young people and assorted other tourists.

Amalfi was packed with tourists but I am pleased to stay they seem far away now. From our b&b we walked down a crazy narrow steep set of stairs, hundreds of them, all stone, past people’s tiled and flowered terraces, past a lovely village church, through narrow white tunneled passageways to the small unaffected village of Atrani,where we found a tiny bar in an unlikely spot on the beach, tucked under a huge brick aqueduct/bridge. great spot for a beer and we met a nice couple from Northern Ireland who were former Londoners.
tomorrow we will go to ravello proper. Preferably by bus since it is a very steep climb otherwise. So happy to be back in a place I have longed to return!