This very belated post is about the weekend we traveled to the Amalfi coast to meet up with Ms. Wendy, Ms. Becky, and Ms. Leigh. They had already spent a couple days there, but we joined them that Thursday night. We took a train from Florence to Naples, and then a van transfer from Naples to our villa outside of Ravello. The transfer took about an hour and was much like a roller coaster ride. The roads are all on the very edge of a mountain and take hairpin turns every couple of feet. They are also super narrow and hardly have enough room for 2 small cars to pass each other! It’s common for the drivers to honk their horn before every turn, just to make sure there’s not a head-on collision. Yikes! When the wild ride was over, our breath was taken away by our gorgeous villa. The view from the porch was unbelievable, and it even had a little trail down to access the Mediterranean Sea!
The next morning, before taking the bus up to Ravello, I drank my coffee while enjoying our gorgeous villa view. What a dream!
Ravello was a beautiful little town. We loved watching as the locals prepared for a festival the next day to celebrate their patron saint. They were decorating the streets with flower petals organized into different designs. Ravello also had many stores filled with hand-painted ceramics. The Amalfi coast is known for their lemons, so most of the ceramics are covered in a lemon print! I was tempted to buy it all, but thankfully there was no way I could fit a huge ceramic platter in my suitcase home. However, we did bring home one giant lemon to eat in Florence. You are supposed to cut it up and cook it in the oven with olive oil. The locals call it lemon bread!
After some shopping, we went to a highly recommended lunch spot – Salvatore. Let me just tell you, this was the lunch of your dreams! Every course was so beautiful, I had to photograph it all.
Cheers to Ravello!
The first course, goat cheese with fruit and granola. Don’t forget the silver flake for decoration!
My main course, risotto with egg soufflé and bacon. Someone please tell me HOW they cooked an egg that way !!!
And last but not least, our desserts. Chocolate cake with pudding, and a lemon tart. I still cannot look at these pictures without drooling, so I will move on. Next we visited one of Ravello’s gorgeous gardens, Villa Cimbrone. The gardens had beautifully kept flowers and breathtaking views of the coastline. In fact, the highest point of the gardens made me a little woozy to look down.
Next we took the bus to Amalfi and ate at a restaurant the ladies had already eaten at twice. Yes, it was that good! If you ever find yourself in Amalfi, make sure to stop by Da Gemma. I got the truffle pasta, and it was to die for. The following day we took the ferry from Amalfi to Capri, where we took a private boat tour! This was definitely a highlight of the trip. Seeing the coastline and different grattas (small caves) from the water was an amazing experience.
The water surrounding Capri is so blue it almost seems to glow! After sun-bathing all day, our captain let us take a little swim. The water was ICE COLD, but we sure didn’t mind. Look at those grins!
The next day, we finally had to leave paradise. Before taking the train home, we had a little time to shop and grab a quick lunch in Amalfi.
But mostly we just soaked in all the beauty around us.
%d bloggers like this: