Vietri!

View of Amalfi Coast from Shop Area - Notice also the ancient building in the forefront bottom and the italian clothes hanging to dry -- can you imagine this being your home?

Ceramiche Pot with Running Water

Handpainted pottery adorns each shop -- inviting you to come inside!

Vietri street - This famous city is full of tourists and locals. 

The ceramiche tiles are even on the street walls -
with every turn you discover something new and amazing!

One street lead right up to a beautiful church!

A beautiful fountain, amazing painted tiles,
and villa for an italian family in Vietri

The city Duomo peeks out above the
architecture

The Amalfi Coast - Amazing Beauty

Vietri is one of my favorite amalfi coast cities -- full of hand painted ceramiches - shop after shop after shop!  A shopper's paradise, really - it becomes overwhelming after about the 5th shop and you can't remember which design you liked best - or where it was located.  The town itself is situated towards the end of the amalfi coast.  You have to start your shopping day off with a cafe', and then away you go.  The shop owners are eager to show you their products, many of them are the artists themselves.  Beautiful, detailed and colorful works of art hang from every shop owners door enticing you to come inside.  Not many of the items are priced and the constant asking "Quanti Costa?"  or "How much is this?" is determined in a split second by the owners -- I always wonder if it's the same price for everyone who asks.... or how they can remember as there are hundreds of patterns and sizes and shapes of bowls, platters, plates, antipasti sets, tiles, urns, lamps, wall hangings - anything that can be painted.

With every turn, and down alley ways, other discoveries await you and your senses -- like the beautiful church that was nestled up at the top of a walkway - you have to explore, or you would have missed this!  Beautifully hand-painted tiles adorn the street walls with scenes of typical Italian motifs and daily routines.....

After about 15 shops, I had found my favorite, and of course the most expensive.  The owner could speak broken English, and with my broken Italian, we were able to communicate colors, designs, and patterns, ... and cost, of course.   A biscotti jar had my name on it - but I will wait until we move into our villa -- buying a piece of art, meeting the artist, traveling these streets -- it all provides the memory that goes along with the art piece.   It gives "Made in Italy" an entirely new mindset.  I will return to Vietri soon.  It was a great day......

A Trip to Procida

Island of Procida
Many islands are accessible by ferry and hydrofoil from Naples.  Of course there is the well known island of Capri, and then there’s Ischia with its legendary Roman spas and baths which we went to many times before (heavenly!), and the Amalfi Coast (Sorrento and Amalfi) are both accessible by ferry boats.  One island not often heard of is Procida.  Some of Troy’s Italian staff have rented two wonderful vacation villas on this island for the summer, and invited us to join them.  We went first in early July for a day, enjoying the beautiful beach and serene views and were treated to homemade mozzarella di buffala, fresh tomatoes and basil (caprese salad) and spaghetti alle vongole’.  Such a simple dish to make but so fresh and wonderful right out of this little kitchen and onto our plates.  I wonder if it will taste the same coming from my own kitchen (I took notes!).

We promised that if we returned, we would bring American food – and that we did!  A suitcase, and 3 bags full!   Hamburgers, hotdogs, chicken with BBQ sauce (specially requested) and wedged potatoes/chips/dip and all the fixings.  Chips Ahoy cookies for dessert!  You would have thought those BBQ Lays were a delicacy!  There were many “Mama Mias!!” being thrown around as all 9 of us dug in….  it was great to see their Italian version of potato salad and a wonderful peppers and olive oil side dish as well – wonderful!  Cooking outside with charcoal drew a crowd as Troy showed them his BBQ skills on the grill! 
The rest of the day was spent with the women at the beach (with lovely views of Ischia and the coast line) and the guys tulled around the island in a motor boat.  The sand is almost black due to the volcanic ash that is part of the soil and rock content.   Italy is the land of the bikini – and even grandmas (old ones) and little girls go topless at times, and are always in a bikini.  The men, for the most part, wear speedos.  People watching is a favorite past time of mine here ….. as I continue to discover and learn from this culture.  I practiced my Italian with these families, and tried to discern and pick out words as they spoke to each other.  The language is like music, full of long tones and up and down rhythms.  It’s beautiful to listen to.

After dinner, we walked around this island where the streets were not made for cars, and the philosophy is that if you have an inch to spare driving up and down these ancient roads, there is plenty of room.  The taxi drivers are experts and can race down these streets that I would be inching my way down, expecting to scrape the sides of my car all the way.   Families were out walking along, there are few or no cars as they are really not needed – taxis can get you where you cannot walk to.  Seaside restaurants were full of patrons at 10:00 p.m. and the gelato and café bars were full – the summer excitement was in the air.  The sun had set a beautiful pink and blue, and the lights of the city lit the ancient pavers in the streets.  Flowering Bouganvilla, lemon trees, lime trees (limes the size of oranges!!) and vining ivy and other floral wonders decorated the ancient walls at every turn.  Musicians were playing in the distance, and laughter sprang up from every corner.  Noone was in a hurry to do anything but relax.
The ferry ride alone is full of beauty and discoveries.  Not a bad way to spend the weekend! J