The Amalfi coast - instalment 1

Arriving in Italy

We are back from a great holiday in Italy, where we stayed with Soni's Dad in Cava di Terreni, a few kilometers from where the Amalfi coast starts at the picturesque town of Vietri sul Mare. Vietri is famous for it's beautifull hand painted ceramics, and I must confess, we buckled and bought a few awesome serving pieces, but that is another instalment...

I'll be blogging about the food on our trip as well as dropping in some pics, just to make you all very envious, of the awesome scenery, classic architecture, as well as some happy snaps.

Oumie and I arrived on Sun the 12th, to join Soni, Stef and Luca who had been at Pappa since the previous thursday. He lives in the hills above Cava, where there are deliciously cool winds in the heat of mid summer.

The view from the terrace is amazing, and just to the right against the hill is a ramshackle ruin than we dream of restoring...

While Soni and the rest of the house hold went for a siesta, I went for a walk with Oumie and the Boys, who were so happy to see us after their ten day adventure with Lu & Co in London. The terrain is very rustic and hilly, so we stopped often, which was another excuse every time for a photo opportunity.

As is custom in these parts in summer, dinner was casual and late for us (9pm). Pappa drove us down to the beach promenade area of Vietri, where we were told they made the best potato croquettes in the world. Crispy outside, soft inside with melting mozzarella centres at Bar . This set the stage for the first meal of many that we shared with Soni's aunts Nelli and Angela.

The angel with Pappa. is ANGELO, Soni's six year old brother, what a gentle, charming boy and what a treat to watch Angelo, Stef and Luce communicate with a mix of pidgin English, Italian and mainly hand signals was refreshingly funny.

The only alternative to the potato croquettes was pizza - either Bianco or Rosso, sold by the slice.

We all slept well after a hour or so of the kids playing at the Gypsy fun fair and the trek back up the hill, there was a week or so worth of adventure, excitement and great meals ahead.....