On our first day we flew into the Rome airport and took a shuttle down to Sorrento. The bus ride was over three hours long and by the time we arrived at the hotel we all had sore necks from hours of bobbing sleepy heads. Guy however, chatted with the driver the entire way. Arriving at the hotel, we had to haul all of our luggage up one floor to the lobby of the hotel plattazo abinale. It was more of a simple boutique hotel which meant is was quite plain except for some quirky decorations, but was clean and nothing nibbled on me as I slept.
So we have to talk about food. After a nice hot shower, we all dressed for dinner and ate at a restaurant we had been to at our last trip to Sorrento. Rosalie and I both had the gnocchi sorrentina which was just as good as we remembered. Our next stop was the gelato shop ... Because a day in Italy is not complete without at least one cup of creamy heaven.
As usual, after a good nights sleep, everything looked better in the morning. However, having the room right next to the reception/breakfast area meant we heard every noise, phone, check-in, and our favorite...setting up for breakfast before it was fully light outside. ;). I think most of us got a full 12 hours of sleep in attempt to turn our internal clocks around. Breakfast is over at 10 am, which meant I never experienced breakfast at the hotel. I'd rather sleep and eat crackers in my bag later!
Heading for the train station we stopped to cash in some US dollars for Euros. I love to hand someone a $100 dollar bill and only get $68 euros. It gives me a warm fuzzy feeling (not the kind you may be thinking). But you smile and say "grazie anyway. We hop on the train to pompei to see the sights with the kids. Having been there before there was no longer the same wow factor, but I took lots of photos to document everything because I think it is safe to say Guy and I will not be back. For lunch they let John out to go across the street for pizza. It was just enough to refuel us for the second leg of the ruins. When everyone had their fill of unearthed ruins, molds of dead bodies and even a few real skeletons, we headed back for the hotel to rest up before dinner. I think everyone had equally achey legs and needed some real food.
We headed for a little outdoor cafe called Bar 2000. The service and food were both excellent, but the live entertainment made the night even better. One older gentlemen was on the piano while the other man sang (he maybe thought he was pavarotti and when I whipped out the video, he became very animated with his arms. But let's get back to the food...Grace ordered her meal in Italian and the waiter was quite impressed! I had risotto with mushrooms, but the table had an array of freshly table side prepared fish dishes, pastas and the youngest of our Johns indulged in a lobster tail. Again headed for the gelato stand after a bit of shopping and back to the rooms.
Each night I downloaded my pictures as a backup for my camera and we were fortunate to have such good Internet at the hotel. The best part of my evening was a Skype visit with my Dad. Luckily he was at his computer preparing for Wednesday night bible study and he heard my call. The lag was about the same as when we tried it from home, but we know there is a delay so we just wait to talk.
Up again early by the hotel staff preparing the breakfast area, but I still laid in bed as long as I could. We had to be up to catch the 10:30 boat to Positano. It was a day planned for shopping and the beach, so swimsuits and credit cards were packed. Even tho VERY beautiful, as well as a place Guy and I often thought we may go to for a week long retreat, we decided the effort involved in getting there, then negotiating the steep town hauling luggage may not be worth it. It is very touristy and very expensive. I didn't buy anything, so that is an indication of the prices.
We ate outside in a beachside cafe and had pizzas, pastas and Gabby had rice balls. She said they were good, but wouldn't order them again. The kids are certainly not afraid to try new things and it is fun the watch them see the food come out. Sometimes their selections make the cut again, other times they do the best they can and chalk it up to a new experience. Usually there is an adult nearby that can help them finish things off. In the Positano photos, see the green pasta. The menu didn't say pesto sauce, so that was a bit of a surprise for Gracie.
After lunch, everyone took off for the beach but I headed up the hill to look at the shops and take some pictures. After confirming everything was too expensive and had all the photo ops I needed, I went to an Internet Cafe to blog about the trip. After blogging for nearly 45 minutes, I went to post my blog and I had been kicked off the Internet and all my blogging disappeared. With tears in my eyes and totally disheartened I decided I'd just upload pics this trip and forgo the blog...
That night we ate at a pizzeria we had been to at our previous visit to Sorrento and there were no tables outside, so we sat inside across from the older gentleman making pizzas in the wood burning oven. It was entertaining, but also beautiful inside, so that was just as fun as eating outside. This is where Gabby discovered her love for muscles in pasta and where Gracie put Uncle Guy in "time out jail" because he ordered for her and she wanted to order herself because she "knew the words". At this restaurant we got complementary bruschetta and it was fresh out of the wood burning oven. FABULOUS! Again various things were ordered and I had the fresh thick cut pasta with eggplant. The tomato sauce is my favorite, which is more if a puree than chunky and appears to have just a touch of cream in it. For dessert, since we had our daily serving of gelato in Positano, we went for the beautiful profiteroles we spied on the dessert table. Cream filled puffs of heaven covered in the most delicious chocolate sauce this side of paradise. Guy had a bite, but I honestly didn't want to share, no really...I didn't. A small informal survey indicated we would eating here again tomorrow night.
Back to bed and tomorrow the plans are to sleep in and just hang around Sorrento. We contemplated Capri, but having been there before we figured the kids would be a bit bored. I had myself all psyched to go into the blue grotto, but there is never a guarantee it is open, so we didn't pursue it. So obviously on a day with no set plans there is no chance I'm going to make breakfast! Rosalie and Cara did up some laundry, Betty did some reading and Guy and I slept (I had shoved a damp towel under the door, but it didn't knock the noise down by much).
We met for lunch and today we were looking for sandwiches. As usual, nothing was bad, and Gabby's minestrone looked fabulous. We took a little train around the town and then walked down to the marina. The girls stayed back to shop, but I caught up with them after the marina trip and bought a few things. Didn't do as much shopping as usual because the prices were high and there just wasn't that much of a selection for things under $40.
The next morning we got up early to catch the train to Sicily. We allowed plenty of time to get to the train station because we were loaded with luggage. But we did great and made it to the train station with an hour to spare, so we caught the early train to Naples where we got a bit to eat before our long train ride. The train from Sorrento to Naples was more of their public transportation. No bathrooms and no compartments. Maybe a bit on the dirty side. The train from Naples to Taormina was more of the passenger train type with compartments. But no food or drinks. It was approximately a 5 hour ride including the always entertaining trip across the water, train inside the boat, to Sicily.
We arrived at the Taormina train station and the hotel had sent cabs for us. We twisted and turned up the roads to the town. Our hotel, piccolo Giordino, is a three star hotel with a tiny pool on top, and sits just off the main road, which is handy when you need an emergency gelato. And as Gabby said last night at dinner, "It's not just ice cream, it's G-E-L-A-T-O!" The look on her face was priceless and it could have been a commercial.
Our room is small, but again very clean. The brown ceramic floor is a nice change from our more sterile white room in Sorrento. There is a beautiful garden area out back which quickly became the meeting place before all meals and excursions. On our first night we ate upstairs in a cute side street restaurant Guy and I both had spaghetti with clams, mine with tomato sauce and his with a butter type sauce...both very garlicy but very good. But it was the type of overpowering garlic that almost made the dish seem spicy hot. Luckily, no indigestion followed. Gracie ordered minestrone fresco and the waiter was pleased with her Italian. Several pizzas were ordered and lots of swapping and deals are made at the Alongi dinner table. After dinner we walked around a bit and had our evening gelato, which was fabulous.
Day 6 was exploration and beach day, so after breakfast at the hotel (yes, I made this one...toast with jelly and yogurt) we took off to climb the mountain to see the castle. The hotel guy said 10 minutes walk. We aren't sure where he was going, but our 30 minutes (minimum) straight up the relentless stairs lead us to a beautiful little church where we all prayed. Along the trec up to the church were the stations of the cross represented by sculptures, and Gabby told the stories as we climbed. Even though more of the Easter story, we all agreed the meaning of the story was important to remember every day. Continuing up the seemingly endless stairs to the castle, we finally reach the top and the gate to the entrance...well ...was locked. Covered in sweat we all stared at each other for a minute, had a photo op by the locked gate, and got some water. The girls were happy because by the castle gate was a family of cats with 4 kittens. Somehow the kittens could walk on the cactus plants and not get stuck. The girls know they can't pet the cats here and so they are content with just looking. Guy and Betty convinced some Canadians to give them a ride to the top, but walked back down with us. The views from the top made it worth all the sweat and lots of pictures were taken.
Once down we changed clothes and headed for the beach. It was a beautiful beautiful day. Everyone caught the gondola down to the beach but I opted for the stairs. About halfway down I had already decided I couldn't make this trip back up, so I resigned myself to the gondola... I however beat the group to the entrance to the entrance to the beach. We had our walkie talkies on to make sure we all made it to the right spot. Down to the beach we rented two chairs and the kids ran to the water. It was cold and was not sand, but rocks. This is where the fun began! I rock hunted the entire time. They were beautiful and a the waves splashed on the beach, the sound of the rocks tumbling on each other was cool. I shot a bit of video, but still it didn't do it justice.
After a couple of hours we headed back up and the gondola wasn't scary because it didn't get that far off the ground. It went right over the top of a soccer field and we watched someone attempt to make a goal. Back to the top we decided to stop for a well deserved gelato and headed back to the rooms to get ready for dinner. We met out in the garden, but Guy and John were still scouting out a place for dinner. By walkie they called for us to head down and we ate at a restaurant we had been to before. We sat up top on a covered patio, but the air was cool. I ordered minestrone to warm up and several of us got the spinach and ricotta ravioli. The kids and Guy had noodles with muscles, Betty passed around her antipasto plate, and Rosalie had sea bass. Instead of gelsto, we headed for the pastry stand and I had a cannoli while Rosalie had a chocolate eclair. We got back to the rooms a bit early because tomorrow John, Cara, and Rosalie are taking the kids to Mt. Etna. Guy and I choose to stay back with Betty and John because it was $100 each to go. Since we had been there before, we opted to hang back and stay in Taormina for the day.
We slept in until about 10 and started our day with me eating cookies in the room and Guy barely making breakfast downstairs. After that we gathered a few dirties and walked to the laundry. It was a pretty good walk, but the nice ladies working there helped us figure out how to work the machines. :) 2 euros for soap, 4 Euros per washer (we had two going) and 1 euro per 10 minutes of dryer time. But their jumbo dryer held everything and took about 30 minutes.
We walked back to the room and dumped the laundry so we could go eat some lunch. We wanted to eat lunch with a view of the mediterranean and we stopped in the restaurant recommended to us by the guy at the Red Pepper restaurant. De Buca maybe? Anyway, when we got there it was packed, but the only table by the windows was reserved, so we moved on to the restaurant in the square called the Wunderbar. We had a grilled vegetable sandwich with fresh mozzarella which was delish! After lunch Guy headed back to the pool and I went around town taking some photos and shopped. I later went to visit the sun bather and the sun happened to be perfect for several great photo ops, being on the roof of the hotel. Taormina is so beautiful.
For dinner we went to another restaurant we had been to on past visits. I had to have the gnocchi as a farewell to Sicily as we don't know what the relatives will be fixing. This is the restaurant where you can see the "mamas" cooking up in the kitchen. The food was great and there was also several spaghetti with clams ordered again. Our best spaghetti with clams was still at our first restaurant in Sicily, but it was just a bit too garlicy, still...had a wonderful flavor. After dinner we stopped at a pastry shop where two very flamboyant Brits were raving over the pastries there. Rosalie and I tried a small fruit filled square covered in powdered sugar. The Brits told us this pastry could sit out for a month and not go stale. I couldn't tell you because mine lasted about 12 seconds. If it had not been our last night, I would have gone back for more and tried a few different kinds of goodies. Everything was made on onsite. After the Brits left, the store owner told us they were famous British actors. The one guy was very tan, very friendly, and had lots of flashy jewelry on. His shirt was unbuttoned a bit too far and he totally looked like a cross between Barry Manalo and that older actor that is always very tan. They were hilarious. After the sweet snack we headed back to the room we got our things packed and got to bed fairly early. We are to catch a cab at 10am which will take us to the car rental place to get our cars.
Up in time for breakfast, we all got a final bite to eat before saying goodbye to Taormina. We piled in the cab/bus and took about a 15 minute ride to the next town where we got our cars and headed for Cinisi. Sweeter ps ting about a 4 hour car ride. At about noon we pulled into an Autogrille for a potty break and some lunch. From past experience, we knew the Autogrille would have a great sandwiches and snacks galore. We grabbed our goods and sat outside at some tables. After a nice break, the kids played on some playground equipment and we headed back on the road. Traffic wasn't bad until we got close to Palermo, but the views made it all worthwhile.
As we pulled into Cinisi, we noted the Alongi photography studio was still there and we quickly found the Marianna and Antoinettes house. They were waiting for us with hugs and kisses (both cheeks). We went inside for just a brief visit before they started feeding us. Cookies, juice, water and pistachio gelato for the kids. On their cells they called the other relatives and slowly but surely began the long parade of kisses, hugs and "com a sti" (how are you).
After about an our they took us to where we were going to be staying. It was John Riccobono's daughter's summer home. It was just recently completed and some of the labels are still on the sinks and toilets. It is simply amazing and I can't believe they are letting us stay here. (I couldn't if it were mine!) the inside paint is beautiful and the decorations are very well done. It has 6 bedrooms and three full baths. This summer home is for a family of 4, so they must expect to have many guests. It overlooks the Med and has a pool, a fountain, an outdoor kitchen, grass (which is pretty unusual), and even an outdoor shower. Hopefully the pictures will do it justice.
They left us alone for only a short time and they all came back just after 7 to get dinner started. Antipasto, fresh bread, lasagna, spedini, salad, fruit,then finally dessert...all served in courses. Just when you thought they were done, here comes more. Luckily Antionette from Michigan is here and could interpret. It was quite an evening. Afterwards,v Guy and I both took showers, leaving a huge puddle of water on the floor... In different bathrooms. We used our towels to sop up the water, then hung them out to dry. Since we have minimal towels, these will have to be our designated sop up towels.
In the morning, we could hear their voices...they were here by 8 with another spread of food. Pastries, cake, cereal, yogurt, juices. Because we take turns in the bathrooms, I went last which means I missed the relatives. I had a pastry filled with a little vanilla pudding, some wafers with chocolate filling and a yogurt. They refused to let us have just a pool day fearing we would be bored, so they are planning an outdoor lunch at the cabin. So we sat by the pool until they came for us.
At 12:30 John arrived and drove us to the cabin. The fire was going and they were frying up an item called pieata which was flour made from garbanzo beans boiled with water, making a paste. Salt and pepper is added, it is rolled out flat, cut into triangles and fried. They resembled pitas, but they used them as the filling of a sandwich. Some of them squeezed lemon on it. That came first, then came pizza. It was more like ficacchia bread with precooked tomato and onions on top with parmesan cheese and bread crumbs, baked in a short sided pan. After this came the sausage that had been cooked over open coals...the best I've ever had. Then salad, followed by melon slices, lemon cello, gelato for the kids, lemon ice for the adults, and finally fresh cracked walnuts and a bowl of cookies. This, by the way, was their light version of a meal...I can't even imagine what is for supper. John Riccobono brought us back to the casa and we all recovered by the pool. With three translators...things are much easier this time.
Within just a few hours they were back with more food. All we knew was to be ready between 7 and 7:30. But again tonight they were bringing dinner to us, which is probably easier than all of us piling into cars. Tonight was a special treat, as they cooked outside grilling fish, frying calamari and sardines. Or first plate was pasta with which I think was sardines. Then we had mackerel from the grill, cold green bean salad, fried calamari, bread, fruit,then of course pastries.
Tonight we passed out the gifts we had brought the ladies, and that was good because Leonardo got a phone call that his uncle had passed away in a town about an hour from here and they had to leave. Therefore losing our two main interpreters. We were all exhausted and convinced the family not to bring breakfast in the morning because we still had pastries, cereal, and yogurt. But about 9am Domniano from Switzerland brought fresh warm bread, but left us alone to get ready. At 10:30 John and Dominao arrived to take us on today's journey, with Suggesta, which had the 400BC ruins and the beautiful seaside castle town of castlemare. For lunch we ate in a town called Scopello. It was a tiny place with chains in the doorway. They had two items, pizza bread and tomato and cheese sandwiches. My guess is they never have the health department stop by...so I tried not to look around too much. Cara discovered a hair in her food and it looked very similar to a cat hair. Luckily I was done...
After lunch we made a few stops for panoramic views and then some gelato. Riccobono bought a warm pastry with ricotta and maybe chocolate in it. Shaped like a little fried pie, it was wonderful and I could have eaten a whole one. On the way back, we went by the old villa, by some of Riccobono's properties and then finally by Domniano's house. It was 5pm when we returned and we were all ready to be back. We headed for the pool to rest up before dinner at 7:30. Looking forward to what they have planned for our dinner.
