The Trios adventure in Poistano

Positano Day I: Monday morning, a week since we left California, and we are on our way to the central train station in Rome. Our destination today is Napoli where we will meet a driver who will take us further south to Positano perched on the Almalfi Coast. It was Judy’s first experience with European trains, and although not a long ride, she was pleased. She left Rome kicking and screaming but it seemed when our drive progressed down the Almalfi coast she adjusted quite quickly. If you have seen pictures of this coast line you will understand why her adjustment was easy. It is one of those very special places in the world. We were referred to Casa Celeste by a former member of Francesca’s staff who came from Positano. It is perched right on the cliffside with full views of the coast and offers million dollar views. Our driver couldn’t take us to our pension because it was just a little walk way and not drivable. Breakfast is served everyday by Mama, another tiny little 80 some year old lady. The down side is it is a pension and with that said you can pretty much figure out the rest. Folks, this is no Hilton Waldorf Astoria so the transition is a little tough. But it is ‘charming’ and I’m sure it will be basis for some great stories. Let’s start with Judy washing her laundry in the bidet this evening and hanging it on the line from our balcony with the clothes pins conveniently provided by our hosts!

It may seem that we are talking about food a lot but we ARE in Italy! Truth be told we eat two meals a day and today our dinner was here in Positano with a spectacular view. We were referred by our host to a great spot that we later learned was owned by “Mama’s” grandson. Nevertheless it was a great referral. We stuck to the house wine and scored again. Judy had Gnocchi (we have to get her off this fix at some time), while I had homemade spaghetti w/clams in a sauce unsurpassed by any I have had. John opted for Tagliano (fettuccini noodle colored black with squid ink) tossed with sliced sea snails. John & Judy finished with some kind of Lemon Cream Cake that they assured me was the bomb! We shopped after our late lunch/early dinner and then walked home to our humble abode. We are on the ‘upper side’ of Poisitano so you can (or maybe you can’t) picture the hike we had back. Let’s just say we didn’t feel at all guilty about the pasta. As we walked into our little pension “Mama” greeted us with an enthusiastic “Prego….Prego….” insisting we join them on her patio, overlooking the Mediterranean and beautiful Positano. We obliged and were treated to a shot of her homemade Lemoncello. Not bad for our first post-Rome day.

Positano Day II: We woke up this morning to a rainy day, and some of Judy’s clothes missing. When we showed up for our humble breakfast of toast and coffee our hosts returned her shirt which had been found on the road (lane) below. Speaking of breakfast, we had been anticipating Mama’s breakfast and learned she had left on a pilgrimage to the Shroud of Turin so Papa and son were left to man the house and we were left with loads of toast and coffee. Now our humble but charming pension had become cold, with shredded rags for towels, no soap and finally no breakfast. We have begun reaching to find the charm!

Of course we were not happy about the rain but had a day planned to spend on the coast. Some of you know we are pretty good at rolling with the punches and today was no exception. We arranged for the same driver that drove us from Napoli, Vincenzo, to pick us up and off we went rain or shine. Our destination, Paestum the site of ancient Greek ruins dating back to 550bc. When we arrived in Pasestum Vincenzo took us to a place for lunch, and he joined us. He recommended the antipasti, the pride of the region, Buffalo Mozzarella. You can only imagine when our waiter arrived with a platter of 4 mozzarella balls that were the size of a soft ball each. I don’t know what John was thinking but Judy and I looked at each other wondering what the heck we were going to do? So we had to do as the locals do and began to make our way through this huge antipasti. If you have never experienced the mozzarella served this way the milk actually runs out with the first cut. And, little did we know (call us naïve) that it is really made from buffalo milk….once again our eyes got big and Judy said “I want to meet the guy who milk these buffalo! And so the giggles began…….
The three of us donned our umbrellas, and braved the rain and a plethora of pubescent Italian and French school kids, to walk where the ancients walked. Paestum is among the best preserved Greek ruins rivaling those in Greece itself. The temple of Neptune dons 40 columns, is 2500 years old and almost completely intact. Although we did not have a sunny day it was described to us that on sunny days the temple gleams like gold in the sun and so we imagined. Once leaving the ruins Vincenzo drove us slowly, and necessarily so, along the spectacular Almalfi coast back to Positano. Vincenzo is a man who “loves his job” and that is a direct quote! Not only that, he loves the area and loves to share it with folks like us. Just making this drive takes a master but he made sure we “made a picture” at the exact points he thought would be best. Our first stop filled me up again and the tears came. Vincenzo was immediately concerned with what could be wrong with me and said “No…no….no Madame…..” Judy and John, being used to this reaction, tried to reassure him that I was fine and that is just what happens to me once in awhile. Each stop after that he asked me to promise I wouldn’t cry, but I think secretly he understood and appreciated the reaction. He fussed and worried over us and our arrangements to get to Tuscany and just generally took care of us for ten hours. This last portion of our day on this drive is likely impossible to describe but an attempt would be to picture yourself on a narrow road on the edge of cliffs requiring mirrors to see around the upcoming corners, and once turning the corner another breathtaking view, one after another and another. We loved every minute and could only wish that all of you reading this have an opportunity to make this same drive one day. It was a long day and we had little time to freshen and find a place for dinner so we picked a place near our pension. Again the food was amazing. We have learned that this area is well known for it’s cherry tomatoes and the locals know it! These unsurpassed tomatoes are used in the best bruschetta, Margarita Pizza or Caprese Salad we have tasted and it doesn’t seem to matter where we order it. The area is also known for their lemons which translate into anything sinful including Lemoncello and decadent desserts. And let us not forget the ever present and superb regional wines. Finally, on our return back to our pension, which was feeling more and more humble as the hours progressed, I convinced John to take a look at another spot for our final night. We stopped in at a real hotel yards away from where we had stayed the past two nights and found a delightful room offering what one should expect plus a better view than we had at the pension. This with a full breakfast at 5E less than the previous lodging. We booked on the spot and moved the next morning. Ahhh……life is good. Closing this day wishing you all a day on the Almalfi coast in your future.

Positano Day III: Today was moving day to Hotel Posa Posa. We learned this rather odd name was related to a legend which I won’t try to repeat in this writing. We were like kids in a candy shop after our more than a bit humble pension for the past two nights! After settling in we purchased tickets to Capri (pronounced CAP-re) which was a short 45 minute ride. It was a great ferry ride and the island was beautiful but very heavily touristy and filled with groups with little matching stickers on their shirts as identification. We learned from a cab driver that the locals call these folks goats because they are being shepherded around. Although we couldn’t imagine being so close to Capri and not going there we felt the beauty of the Almalfi coast far surpassed anything about Capri. If you have seen pictures of this coast line you know the houses and hotels are perched on the edge of the cliffs and our hotel was one of those at the top so our walk/hike back from the beach relieved some of our guilt over what we had recently been eating. We decided this evening’s dinner would be a light picnic in our room and stopped in route in a little shop to pick up some bread, salami, cheese and of course wine. The old lady running this shop was, shall we say, a bit on the crabby side. It would not be an exaggeration to say she was hardly 4-1/2 feet tall with a 6 foot attitude. She tickled us so much! Little did she know how she enriched our shopping experience with her attitude. When we arrived in our room we simply perched on our bed with a straight on view of the Almalfi Coast and enjoyed a picnic accompanied by great regional wine. As we closed our evening all three of us found it difficult to anticipate leaving Positano in the morning.