Lunch on your own ~ Minori, Italy

After a visit to Ravello, a hill town on the Amalfi coast, we returned to Minori, where we are scheduled to have "lunch on your own".

For starters, I chose pistachio and nocciola.

For main course, I stopped into a pastry shop.

I photographed with an Altoids tin to give an idea of scale.  

I'll save some to eat in the airport.  On the way here, nothing appealed to me, so this should be great.

(This is why I always pack zip-lock bags!)

For dessert I was glad to be in my room.  The pear was so juicy that it dripped down my arm.

I have enjoyed the fresh fruit in both hotels.  

Others in the group had lunch in a cafe or trattoria.  I am pleased with my choice!

You may notice lots of food blog entries.  They are easier to do, since it is a matter of selecting just a couple of pictures.  In places like Pompeii, Herculaneum, and Paestum, I must select from hundreds.

Italy, Day 7, Isle of Capri

Day Seven: Monday, April 21 - Full Day Excursion to the Isle of Capri

                    Board a boat to Capri. Indulge in a full day on the Mediterranean's most lush island while roaming the intricate cobbled laneways and the chic neighborhoods.  

We took the hydrofoil from Marina Piccola   to Capri.  It's a twenty minute ride.  Then we took the funicular to the town of Anacapri.  There are no cars in this wealthy resort town.

Guided visit to the villa of Axel Munthe.  This villa has spectacular gardens.

It is a site. worth missing.

Weather permitting enjoy the scenery from the convertible car with the top down.

Now this was cool!  The convertible taxis hold six passengers, and the views are spectacular.

 The roads are switchbacks, and there were times it was essential to back up to make the turn, to honk to alert oncoming traffic, to pass with inches to spare.  I could see why the guidebooks recommend against planning to drive in this part of Italy.  Leave it to the experienced drivers and enjoy the view.

 

Lunch was salad, ravioli,
 

and a chocolate torte

 

 In the afternoon, an optional boat excursion was available.  It is not included in the program, partly because it works best on a day like we had.  Sunny and in the 70s.  We were not going to the Blue Grotto, but instead to the emerald and red grottos and to the Faraglioni rocks.

  The water is just magical.  

This water looks red because of the corals, reflected or seen near the surface of the water.

  

Can you see the boat that is going through the arch in the Faraglioni?  We will go through after them.

It was a wonderful boat ride.

We returned on the hydrofoil by 4PM.  Dinner was "on your own".  I was exhausted from our day in the sun and wind, so I snacked in my room and enjoyed my balcony.

Lest you feel sorry for me, in addition to breakfast and lunch, there was time to sit on a patio.

Easter Dinner at Grand Hotel Cesare Augusto

The hotel provided a special Easter Dinner for us.

The antipasto came first.

Salami, prosciutto, hard boiled egg (I wonder what the chickens eat.  The egg is so orange.), ricotta, green olives.

The pasta course was ravioli stuffed with ricotta and asparagus.

Note the room key to the right of the plate.  It is solid brass and is left at the desk if you go out.  It weighs a ton, and I can tell you from personal experience, if you drop it on your toe, it hurts!

Secundo piatto is lamb, peas, roast potatoes.  The lamb did not need a knife.

We had a traditional Neopolitan Easter dessert.  And a member of the group had brought German Easter eggs for everyone.

The dessert is called Pastiera.  It is heavy, but quite moist, and not too sweet.

It has orange peel, citron, ricotta, eggs, and the essential ingredient is cooked wheat.  There are lots of recipes and lots of information on the web.

I'm ready for a nap!

Italy Day 4, Pompeii

INFORMATION FROM ROADSCHOLAR
Day Four: Friday, April 18 - Explore Pompeii
                  Note: The ruins of Pompeii reveal cobblestone streets, sidewalks and dirt paths. Pompeii was a city, so be aware of the size of the archaeological site. Its uneven terrain with inclines and steps makes walking a challenge. The stone pavement can be slippery when wet. Note there are few benches to stop and rest.

Breakfast: Buffet breakfast at hotel

Morning: Guided visit of Pompeii archaeological site. Explore the streets of the city frozen in time in August of 79 CE. Walk into the amphitheater, see where the gladiators trained, walk down Via Abbondanza, the main street, observe 1st century political grafitti. Notice the similarities between Pompeii where bars, restaurants, shops and bakeries line the streets, and that in any modern city in Italy.

The original of this map is found at:  http://www.unicocampania.it/files/mappe/mappa_scavi.pdf

Lunch: Lunch at a restaurant in the archaeological park.

Afternoon: Coach back to Sorrento. Late afternoon classroom session on Customs and Traditions of Sorrento.

Dinner: Dinner at the hotel.  on your own.

Today is Good Friday.

************************************************************************************************************

NOW HERE'S MY DAY

We had to be on the bus at 8AM for the bus ride on twisty hill roads.  That was an adventure in and of itself!

The weather was cool and pleasant as we began our four hour walk.  We had a professional guide as well as the group director.  20 of the 23 of us went on the excursion.  The walk was doable because there were many pauses for information, and not many hilly parts, but the footing was, as you would expect, interesting, with large stones, sometimes sandy, and uneven footing.  

This was the closest we got to my childhood picture, but it's not the same place.

It was certainly much more crowded than I remember.

They have put the body casts together, protected by glass.  The casts were done in the 1800s, when they noticed they had "hollows" filled with skeletons.  They tapped the ground listening for a hollow sound.  When they heard that sound, they drilled holes to pour in plaster.  When they chipped away the volcanic material, they had the shape of the body at the time of death.  

The skeleton is still in the casts.  This is not where they were found.  They were moved here for display.

In the storeroom, you can find the only dog found.  All the other animals escaped, but this dog was chained.

There is a pregnant woman.

There may be more posts from Pompeii. . . 

Tomorrow is Herculaneum.

Symbol of Hospitality

Most of us are familiar with the pineapple as a symbol of hospitality.  It is very frequently seen in colonial  America.

The symbol of abundance and wealth in Pompeii is not the pineapple.

This symbol is seen in many places.

And this symbol can also be used to point you in the right direction.

In this case it points you to the brothel.

It's a different world view.

There is a video available on youtube about Roman sexuality.

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=MEhMb3YAR2g

They missed pointing out that Pompeii was a port city with a large transient population, as well as a large slave population.

Day 4 - Pompeii

We took the bus from the hotel to Pompeii.  During the trip, our tour guide, an archeologist, gave us background information on Pompeii and the eruption of Mount Vesuvius, in the year 79AD.  The eruption of the volcano buried Pompeii under 13-20 feet of ash and pumice.  The toxic fumes killed anyone who remained in the city.

A large part of the city remains unexcavated.  You can get an idea from the following picture.  The storefronts have been exposed, but the ash and pumice that makes the hill today remains.

The fronts may be houses or may be a shop, like the following picture.

It contains holes for amphorae holding food or beverages.

 There is a counter to lean on while you are waiting to be served or where you can stand and eat.

 Various interesting pieces of marble have been inlaid to make a terrazzo type countertop.

The streets from the hill down to the water are designed to carry rainwater and sewage.  Since the street may be wet, there are stepping stones to cross the street.  The space between stones is designed to accommodate the spacing of the wheels of carts and chariots.  This became standard throughout the Roman Empire (and has led to the spacing of railroad tracks in this country today).

The person in the picture is our dynamic group leader.

 Some of the 23 members of our group are in the distance.

Another shop has plain marble countertops.

There is also a superb fresco.

This particular building is closed today - they rotate the number of open buildings depending on the availability of guards.

Note the mosaic floor - note the image in the near part with what looks like an open shutter.   It is amazing to me that we were allowed to walk on two thousand year old mosaic floors.  The square in the middle of the floor is the impluvium where rainwater drops from the hole in the ceiling to provide cooling rainwater in the public rooms.  Note also the front and rear doors to provide air circulation.  There is usually a table near the pool with food and a place to wash your hands.

There are always some white tiles in the mosaics to reflect light at night.

That sounds like a good idea.

~ ~ ~

This is the court in the forum.  

Note that there are no stairs to the "porch".  Since some decisions by the courts are not going to be popular with everyone, it is made difficult for the participants to reach the judges, who sit in judgment at tables behind the columns.  To increase the likelihood that judges cannot be bribed or otherwise influenced, the judge is appointed to the case immediately before being seated.  In that way, in theory, no one can get to him in advance.  

In 62AD, there was a huge earthquake that damaged or destroyed much of Pompeii.  It is estimated that it was 5 or 6 on the Richter Scale.  The city was largely rebuilt by the time of the eruption in AD79.  What is interesting is that they used the new material - bricks - for the repairs.  Note the column bases (above) and much of the oven (below).  In that way, you can tell, today, what predates AD62.

People did not cook food at home.  That explains the large number of food places.  The  picture below is a communal oven.  

People may have mixed and risen the bread at home and brought it to the oven for baking.  If so, it was marked in some way (perhaps with their initials) so that they could get the correct loaf from the baker.  (There are interesting youtube videos on baking bread as it was done 2000 years ago.  The videos show the shaping and marking as it probably was done then.  They know what the result was because some loaves survived in Herculaneum.)  On the far left of the picture above you can see part of a grinding wheel.  A log was put through the hole and animals turned the wheel to grind the wheat.

~ ~ ~

At the entrance to the excavation, it may be advisable to stop for a potty break.

-

This is a one-person, circular building with a skylight.

Note - there is no toilet seat.

This is the case in most of the public toilets we saw.

It is also a good idea to carry some paper with you, just in case. . . 

After a four hour hike of three miles, or perhaps it was a three hour hike of four miles. . . we were ready for lunch!

Friday morning in Sorrento

Breakfast was hurried because we left at 8AM for Pompeii.  I had cafe latte, OJ, fresh fruit salad, ham, provolone, a delicious cheese similar to Havarti, and, for starch, I chose cookies.  I figured it was not very different from croissants (which I had yesterday, with cherry jam.). Everyone should eat cookies for breakfast.

Then to Pompeii, where we walked for four hours.  It will take me a while to sort the pictures and write about the day.

After Pompeii, we went to a local trattoria where we had prosciutto and melon, salad, and our first taste of Pizza Marguerita.  Dessert was gellato.

I was very hungry,  especially since it was 1:30, but it does not hold a candle to Nina's. (I had already eaten 1/3 before I took the picture.)

Now off to a lecture on the customs of Sorrento.

Dinner on Thursday at the Grand Hotel Cesare Augusto in Sorrento

All this walking leaves me hungry!   I was definitely ready for dinner.

I chose the linguini della donna.

The sauce is tomatoes lightly cooked in oil with capers and olives.  Delicious.

For "secundo" I decided to try the grilled mozzarella.

Look at the size of the portion!  It came with spinach and mashed potatoes.  I could not possibly eat that much, but it was delicious.  

Dessert was creme caramel, but I chose fresh fruit instead.

Our group leader said that we would not be getting fresh fish.  It is too expensive.

I guess I'll have to enjoy them in the market and imagine,

Actually we have two dinners and two lunches "on your own", but my thinking is that a gelato would make a wonderful meal.  Or two. . .

buffet breakfast at the Hotel Cesare Augusto

Even after a large dinner

which began with a beef, arugula and parmesan salad

breakfast was welcome.

The coffee pot of insanely strong coffee was brought to the table with a pitcher of hot, frothy milk.  The rest of the meal is self serve.

There are fruit and cereals, meats and cheeses.

Eggs and breads and sweets.

After breakfast is a lecture on Sorrento.  This will be followed by a walk and return to the hotel for lunch.

Grand Hotel Cesare Augusto, Sorrento, Italy

We arrived in Sorrento on Wednesday.  We will be staying here until Thursday morning.

They gave us our key.  It is solid brass, and it's very heavy.  You leave it at the desk when you go out.

I immediately checked out my room.

The floors in the room and on the balcony are tiles.  They keep the rooms very clean.

The bathroom is large.  Notice the flush buttons on the wall behind the toilet.

The bathtub is large, with a decent shower.

It is wonderful to have a balcony.

Each morning, I can check out the world, and I can sit out during free time to enjoy the view of the lemon trees and the hillside.

The lemon trees are protected from the wind with mesh tarps.  Did you know that the lemon tree can have buds, flowers, ripening fruit, and fully ripe fruit at the same time? 

We Re here from Wednesday to Thursday, when we leave for the Amalfi Drive.