Eat your heart out, Samantha Brown!

 

Do you ever get Travel Channel envy?  You know, where you are watching some cute young thing prance around visiting gorgeous sites with beautiful views and, even if you have been there, it looks better than anything you have seen?  Where you are watching a movie, like Under the Tuscan Sun, and you are sure that it is impossible to find spots so lovely, just waiting to be discovered?

I often feel that my photos are never truly representative of what we have seen; that they either look way better than what we saw while visiting a place, or that they can never capture the beauty and majesty of what we have seen.  But a couple of weeks ago, while touring around with my sister Mary and her husband Bill, we found some places of such extraordinary beauty and simplicity that we had to pinch ourselves to be sure we were really there.  Some of the photos I am attaching to this piece may give you an idea of what a treat we had.

When Mary and Bill landed at Capodichino Airport after a very long series of flights from the States, we headed immediately down to the Sorrento peninsula.  They wanted to take advantage of every moment they had here in Italy and so we wasted no time in getting them into tourist mode.  We arrived at our hotel, the Ulisse Deluxe Hostel, after an adventurous drive from the airport and were immediately pleased with our accommodations.  For 79E a night, including breakfast, we had lovely rooms with large bathrooms, AC, and free wi-fi. 

Our first meal was memorable in that we prepared it in our bathroom!  Mike and I had stopped at a mozzarella shop on the way to the airport and bought a kilo of the good stuff, some rolls and some tomatoes, that we sliced up and garnished with evoo and a sprinkle of salt and pepper.  Mary and Bill were ready for something to nosh on but were totally unprepared for our little feast.  It really hit the spot.  Our first evening in Sorrento was spent walking through the lovely narrow streets that have been trod upon since the Greeks first came and settled there.  We stopped for photos at the Villa Comunale, a public park with fantastic views of Vesuvius and the beautiful Bay of Naples.  A visit to the cloister of St. Francis and Santa Chiara was restful and restorative.  We finally stopped for drinks on a roof-top garden and then supper sitting in a piazza in the center of town. 

Tuesday morning  found us on a boat to cruise the Amalfi coast.  We were picked up at the hostel and were escorted to our port in Massa Lubrense and were immediately boarded onto a nice boat for our day-long excursion.  We have driven the Amalfi coast highway several times but had never done it from the water.  How lovely it was to be able to relax and enjoy the view without any white-knuckles on a steering wheel!  We stopped in Amalfi for a lunch break where we rented some umbrellas and lettini and enjoyed a nice swim and our sandwiches.  We also had a stop in Positano where we indulged in more sightseeing and some fresh pistachio and peach gelati.  After that it was back to the hotel.

So, where does the travel channel envy come in?  We have seen beautiful coastline views before, we have swum on nicer beaches than we did in Amalfi, we’ve eaten great gelato all over Italy.  Well, of course, it involves food!  And water views!  And great wine! 

La Tavernetta Restaurant was recommended to us by our hotel, and Trip Advisor had a majority of positive reviews, so we decided to give it a try.  We were picked up by their shuttle service at 7:30.  On the website, there is a picture of a modern van with lots of seating, but in reality?  The car that met us was reminiscent of a cab ride we once took in Cairo.  It was none too roomy, no AC, quite rickety and gave me pause.  If this is the ride to the restaurant, what will the place be like?  What will the food be like?

No worries!  I understood the need for the tiny car when we headed down to Marina di Puolo, a seaside section of Massa Lubrense.  There was a series of switchbacks such as I have never seen before.  At one point, even our tiny car was unable to manage the turn, so we just went down that stretch in reverse!  After a 10 minute trip, we arrived at the scene and we knew that every part of the trip was worth it.  There lay in front of us a sheltered little cove with white sandy beaches.  There were several restaurants that fronted up to the lungomare, and la Tavernetta was one of them.  Tables were set up right on the sand by the waterfront, but after some discussion we opted to sit on the terrace where we gazed out at the most beautiful sunset imaginable.  Soft music was playing in the background.  A couple of young boys were frolicking in the water, enjoying the limpid, warm sea at sunset.  It defined perfection.

Toninio, our waiter, was helpful in picking out our choices, which were fresh and delightful.  Whenever  we go to a small, family-run restaurant like this one, we just ask them to bring us what’s good.  And boy, did he ever!  We had sea-food salads with octopus, squid, fried sardines, clams….every kind of seafood imaginable.  We then moved on to a variety of seafood based pastas; every one of them was out of this world.  After desserts, out came the limoncello, homemade of course.  Accompanying the sweet liqueur was a cutting board full of roughly chopped dark chocolate.  This wasn’t a combination that I would have thought of myself, but it was so good!  When my brother-in-law asked to buy a couple of the restaurant’s shot glasses as a souvenir, Toninio presented them to him gladly, at no cost.  He also brought out another round of limoncello and chocolate as we waited for our shuttle home!  We rolled out of there, fat and happy with the choices that we had made.

So often, we watch something on TV and are never able to duplicate what in our mind’s eye must be a perfect spot.  That night, Mary, Bill, Mike and I experienced a spot just this side of heaven, and we will never forget it.  So, when you are in Sorrento, forgo the tourist-area restaurants and search out something out of the way and more interesting.  Make it La Tavernetta for a night you will long remember, and then, as we did, count your blessings that you too were able to have a Travel Channel moment!

Sorrento

As lovely as it is in Cervinara, we are always happy to have to opportunity to get away to visit new spots or revisit favorites from the past.  This week, with the arrival of my sister and her husband, we were able to get away for a nice time in Sorrento, just south of Napoli.  While I've been to Sorrento many times in the past, it is always a treat to see the beautiful old town, the gorgeous scenery and the lemon trees.
I booked a couple of rooms in the Ulisse Deluxe Hostel, just outside of the old city center.  At our ages, we don't usually consider hostels as an appropriate lodging solution, but I trusted Rick Steves' recommendation and went with it....a very wise decision.  We had lovely rooms (no views, no balconies, but spotlessly clean and comfortable), very large bathrooms, and a good hearty breakfast included for 70 euros per room per night.  Parking was available and we were a very short walk to all the action.
Our first day was spent strolling around this beautiful old town, tasting limoncello samples, gazing across the bay to Vesuvius, and checking out the many vendors of overpriced souvenirs.  We enjoyed some quiet moments in the 12th century St. Francis cloister just off the Villa Communale.  Our first meal consisted of mozzarella di buffala sandwiches made in our bathroom!  Supper was a search for some fresh sardines for the fellows.  After a couple of false starts, the sardine restaurant was located and everyone was happy.
The next day we were picked up at our hotel at 8:30 am and were escorted to a port in Massa Lubrense for a daylong tour along the Amalfi Coast.  We have driven the Amalfi Coast highway a couple of times before, but it's never fun for the driver, so we decided to go for a boat cruise to see the sights from the water.  For 35 Euros we had door to door service, stops in Amalfi and Positano and some lovely views from the boat.  Our stop in Amalfi lasted for 3 hours, time for us to settle in on the beach for a nice long swim, then enjoy the sandwiches we had packed for lunch.  It was very hot, so our rental umbrellas and beach "beds" were most welcome.  For 10 euros we had a changing area, umbrella, two cots, and a shower for as long as we wanted.  The water was warm and limpid, although unfortunately littered with the occasional apple core or cigarette butt.
After a nice time on the beach we moved back onto our boat for the 45 minute trip to Positano.  This is a jewel of a town, with no streets and no cars allowed.  Dropped off at the water front, we walked up and down the alleyways and stairs, window-shopping and looking for gelato shops.  Bill found a great shop where they packed up a nice Styrofoam box for us to enjoy.  Peach and pistachio were an inspired mixture!  We enjoyed a sit-down at a shady spot and made short work of that gelato!
After a couple of hours in Positano, we reboarded the boat and headed back to Massa Lubrense for our trek back to the hotel.  A quick shower to cool off was all that was needed before we headed out again, this time for dinner.  We had made reservations at a little waterfront restaurant and by the time we were back in the hotel lobby the shuttle car was waiting for us.
This little restaurant, called La Tavernetta, was in an idyllic spot.  The shuttle service is necessary because it is near impossible to get to the restaurant without it!  To get from the highland areas of Sorrento down to the waterfront of Marina di Puolo required a hair-raising trip down narrow little streets with very tight switchbacks.  One of the turns is so tight that it was impossible to manoeuvre and we had to go down that stretch in reverse!  The shuttle car was a tiny little Fiat that the four of us could squeeze into, and it certainly wasn't a comfortable ride, but it was a far cry better than trying to get there ourselves!  The ride was worth it, because we shortly found ourselves in a semi-deserted little seaside town, with a couple of restaurants on the beach and a very short board walk.  The food was spectacular, with seafood antipasto, seafood pasta, pear and ricotta desserts, and some very good wine, all for a most reasonable price.  The crowning moment was the limoncello accompanied by a cutting board full of lots of dark chocolate.  The lemon and chocolate combination, while unusual, was surprisingly delicious.  Bill wanted a souvenir of the restaurant and the waiter satisfied him with the gift of two limoncello shot glasses, accompanied by more liqueur and another platter of chocolate!
Our dinner was memorable for so many reasons; the view, the food, the fun chatting with our waiter Tonino, and of course the ride home!  If you find yourselves in Sorrento, you must visit this quaint spot.  It was like something out of a cheesy, romantic movie, complete with pink sunset, little boys splashing in the calm sea, sailboats in the distance, and Italian music playing softly in the background.

So, if we hadn't had the opportunity to share this spot with my sister, we never would have found this quiet corner of very busy Sorrento, and we wouldn't have these wonderful memories to stay with us.  I am looking forward to the possibility of bringing other folks here, and am glad to have been able to share this with Mary and Bill.

We're Havin' a Heat Wave.....A Tropical Heat Wave...

Well, summer has come to Cervinara, and the rest of the Italian peninsula as well.  We have been hearing about the Scipione Africanus for days now, the hot air mass that comes over from north Africa.  Every day gets a bit warmer, but even if we were closed off in an air conditioned house we would know changes were in the air because of so many other subtle differences in the way life unfolds in Cervinara.
I don't want to come across as obsessed with sounds this year, but that is the first thing that I notice as the temperature rises.  When it's mild and lovely out, the air is filled with the sounds of people in the streets and work being done in yards and gardens.  Even after lunch during the siesta time, chain saws buzz, weed whackers whine, and workers holler at one another to bring more stone for a wall under construction.   Now, in the post-prandial break time, it is deathly quiet.  No dogs bark, no neighbors chat together, no workers try to capitalize on a couple of extra hours of work.  No one braves the mid-day sun, not even mad dogs and Englishmen....and certainly no Italians!
There is a torpor in the atmosphere that effects everyone.  Our morning cappuccino is taken out on the little terrace where we can capture a bit of shade.  Once the sun hits that spot everyone is quick to take his leave.  The ladies who usually scurry out at the sound of the fruit and vegetable truck take their time to saunter up the hill.  No one is in a rush to go back into the hot kitchens.
Attendance at mass is lighter than usual.  So many of the septuagenarians and octogenarians who make the trek every day from up in the Castello neighborhood don't come when it's hot like this.  The 17:00 call to rosary is  still too early in the day for a long walk; the sun still too "massacrante" to be able to handle, so many of the usual suspects will listen to mass on the TV or will say their rosary in the privacy and comfort of their homes.
Around 20:00, things start to get comfortable again.  This is when it's nice to go for a stroll down to the Piazza Elena, sit on a bench and watch life unfold.  It's still light enough to enjoy visiting with friends, but the sun has lost its power and is ceding its strength to the night.  When normally things are quieting down, the pent up energy from the long, hot day is finally released.  Now the sounds are of kids kicking soccer balls in the piazza, the card players yelling about their bad luck and the splash of water as plants get a much needed drink.
Summer in Cervinara is like summer in so many places, yet with its own flavor and charm.  Tonight things probably won't quiet down outside until close to midnight and early risers will be up even earlier to take advantage of the morning chill.  But that's OK.  The 14:00 siesta will be quiet and everyone will have a chance to catch up on much needed rest and relaxation.  That's the rhythm of life in my small Italian town.

God and Mammon

God and Mammon

There was a dilemma this week in Cervinara, a clash between the earthly and the spiritual, between God and Mammon. 

This past Sunday marked the beginning of the “Festa” season with the feast of Corpus Domini or the Body of Christ.  It includes a procession through the streets of the town with stops at little shrines set up along the way.  Lovely linens are displayed in front of many homes, hanging off the balconies or makeshift clothes lines.  Children precede the procession, carrying baskets of rose petals that are strewn in the street, to be walked on by the priest, those carrying his canopy, and all the faithful. 

At the 11:30 mass, Don Giorgio Carbone spoke at length about the importance of this festa, because it celebrates the most important dogma of the church, that of the transubstantiation that turns the bread and wine into the body and blood of Jesus.  He announced that the Corpus Domini would be brought out of the church at 7:30 0r 7:45 pm, rather than the usual 6:45-7:00.  Sighs of relief were heard from the congregation.  Why?

This Sunday also marked the first game for Italy in the European Cup competition.  Italian flags have been draped across the streets and hung from every balcony in anticipation.  The game time?  Six pm.  This represented a major dilemma for everyone here.  No one can ignore the Corpus Domini…..but neither could the game be ignored!  What to do?  Don Giorgio and the procession committee, not wanting to miss the game either, decided to delay the start of the procession until after the game was over.  Fortunately, there was no overtime!  The final whistle blew, and the church bells started ringing, calling the faithful to the piazza to await the start of the procession.  Then cannon fire announced the exiting of the Corpus Domini from the church, the prayers started and the procession was on its way.

In a way it was nice having things unroll later than usual.  There was a chill in the air as we wended our way through the narrow streets and alleys.  Then, as the sun started to set behind our hills, the sky turned lovely shades of pink and  violet and finally darkness fell.  We accompanied the Corpus Domini back to the church, secure in our knowledge that just respect had been paid to both traditions, celebrating both the start of the festa season and Italy’s tie with Spain. 

Sometimes it is possible to serve both God and Mammon, I guess!

New Friends

When I started writing this blog three years ago, it was a way for me to keep in touch with a few friends and family who might be interested in this new life experiment I was undergoing.  Posting it on my Facebook page allowed for those people to get quick updates on what was happening in our little corner of Italy.  It was also a way for me to remember events that might get lost in the shuffle otherwise.  My brain, never known for its grasp on details, has gotten more and more like the "scolapasta" that drains our macaroni every day...full of holes!
As time has gone on, I have come to realize that Italian-Americans are very interested in their roots here in the boot, and that there is no small number of folks who can trace their lineage to Cervinara.  It was a hard life here a hundred years ago, and many families decided to pull up roots and head to the greener pastures of the USA, Canada, South America or Australia.  Many left to find work and eventually came back to their home, but more left and never returned.  I am finding that this blog has some interest for the descendants of those immigrants and it has put me in touch with many people who want to read and learn about the home of their ancestors.
Today, I met some of these folks and, for the first time, I realize that maybe my writings have some value besides some simple updates. 
We were upstairs doing some chores this morning when we heard a loud knocking on our metal "portone", the big gate that closes our compound off from the street.  There was Virginia Raviele, a neighbor from around the corner, obviously somehow related to us but certainly not a close relative.  She had received a phone call from a hotel in Sorrento where one of my blog followers was staying.  They were leaving Sorrento today and planned to come up to Cervinara to look around.  They new my name, had the hotel concierge look in the phone book to find us and Virginia was as close as they could get.
Thank goodness for GPS, because we aren't easy to find, but around 11 am, there they were!  JoAnn, Phil, Donny and Cheryl....whom I had been in touch with via email but had never met.  Phil's dad left Cervinara with his parents in 1918 when he was seven years old.  From that time until this, none of the family had ever been back!  Almost 100 years had passed since his dad, who passed away three years ago at the age of 98, had walked these streets!
We were thrilled to meet them.  Mike took them down to the cemetery (closed, unfortunately) to look around for familiar names, then up the mountain to the chestnut groves and the Mafariello Springs.  I stayed behind and whipped up some lunch  that we enjoyed under the arches of our courtyard.  Word spread very quickly throughout the neighborhood that new folks had arrived.  Pasqualino, one of our neighbors, stopped by with two bottles of very tasty wine.  Cousin Antonietta came over to meet our new friends.  We showed her the documents that Phil had brought, including birth certificates and marriage certificates of his grandparents and his father and mother.  She didn't know the names but said she would get her circle of friends to start checking around to try to find any distant cousins.  Bertuccio stopped by to share a glass of beer as he took a break from clearing the field next door. 
At church this evening, everyone was abuzz, wanting to know who had come and what they thought of the town.  I was so pleased to have been able to show these lovely folks even a bit of the charm of this town, and all the ladies were happy to know that their neighborhood had "passed inspection". 
Phil and the rest of the group left after lunch, on their way north for more sightseeing and visiting.  But I think that their day in Cervinara will be a memorable one.  I know it will be for Mike and me.  We have already started talking about next year when I hope that the gang will have a little more time to explore and enjoy this place we love so much. 
So now, I feel that my little blog has done something besides keep our friends updated on our lives here.  I feel that perhaps it has helped to change some lives, and that makes me very happy. 
Phil, JoAnn, Donny and Cheryl....Thanks for a great day!  Happy travels!

The Sounds of Cervinara

In Il Postino, one of my all-time favorite films, Mario Ruopolo, the main character played by the late Massimo Troisi, is a mailman for Pablo Neruda, the Chilean poet who was living in exile on a small island off the coast of Naples.  Mario, an uneducated yet sensitive soul, is befriended by Neruda, and this friendship awakens Mario's need to express himself both poetically and metaphorically.  When trying to explain what his island home means to him, Mario takes Neruda's tape recorder out to record the sounds of his island; the waves crashing on the rocks, the wind blowing through the shrubs...
This scene came to mind yesterday morning, our first here in Cervinara, as I stood on the balcony, closed my eyes and listened.  Birds were chirping in the nearby trees, singing a welcoming good morning call.  There was a soft breeze that rustled through the leaves of the chestnut trees.  The gentle ringing of the bells on the herd of goats coming off the mountain blended with the din of a chain saw.  These are the sounds of Cervinara.
Later in the day as we wandered through the market, there was the call of the vendors pointing out their produce or their special sales.  There was the clucking of the chickens near the stand of the bird vendor.  There was the chatter of the ladies as they dickered over prices and gossiped among themselves.  These are the sounds of Cervinara.
The church bells that awaken the baker's dogs at 6 am and set them to howling, the whine of the weed whackers as they clear the vacant lot next door, the cheerful greetings as the bar regulars appear for their morning shot of espresso, the intonation of the faithful as they say their daily Ave Marias.  These are the sounds of Cervinara.
If I could record for you the way Mario Ruopolo did for Pablo Neruda, these are the sounds that would be saved.  If I could share with you the peace that comes with these routine noises, both pleasant and annoying, you would know why I keep coming back to this nondescript corner of Italy. If you could join me on my balcony early in the morning, feel the breeze on your face and hear the sounds of my town coming to life, you would understand  what pulls me back here, year after year.  Until then, my friends, I hope that you all have sounds in your lives that give you that same peace and pleasure, wherever you may be. 

Chestnut time

It's October and in Cervinara that means only one thing: chestnuts.  This little town is obsessed with everything to do with chestnuts.  Historically, these tasty treats were a main source of income for the people who owned the mountains.  They were also the source of nutrition during hard times when food was scarce.
During World War II, Cervinara , like so many other parts of Italy, suffered real hardships.  People wasted nothing and everything was used up and recycled until it couldn't be used any more.  The residents here used chestnuts in every way imaginable; roasted, boiled with a bay leaf, dried and ground into flour, sweetened and made into a type of marmalade, pureed and even as a replacement or adjunct for pasta.  Now, the chestnuts are more of a seasonal treat that everyone looks forward to but no one relies on for much more than pocket money and an after dinner delight. 
Harvesting chestnuts is a tricky business.  First, the underbrush has to be cleared away.  In September, controlled fires burn away the tall grasses and dried leaves that have accumulated under the trees.  Then, beginning in October, the actual harvest begins.  The trees that have been pendulous with chestnut "ricci" (the spiny coverings that protect the fruit), begin to drop their burdens.  The ricci litter the ground and become a real hazard to anyone not wearing good heavy shoes.  The men who harvest the chestnuts gather up the ricci and using heavy gloves to protect their hands, they open them up and pull out the three or four chestnuts that are nested inside.  Without gloves, your hands immediately become a sore and bloody mess because the ricci are so sharp and pointy.  The chestnuts get loaded into huge bags, either burlap or a kind of plastic mesh, and are taken down the mountain in tractors.
Talking to some of the old folks here, they remember the harvest before there were the tractors and other mechanical help.  Women used to handle this hard work, trudging up the mountain (before the road was paved) and into the chestnut groves.  They would gather up the nuts into huge bundles (using heavy sheeting material as their packs.)  Then they would heave the hundred pound bundles onto their heads and walk down the mountain again to deliver their burdens to the consortium.  I can't imagine this kind of heavy labor, done for pennies a day. 
Back in those days, the family here would gather up all the chestnuts and put them into an upstairs room for curing.  The cousins talk about this room being so deep in chestnuts that the kids would climb up the outside ladder and jump into the room through the window, covering themselves completely with the ruddy colored nuts.  The image I have in my head is that of one of those inflatable cages filled with nerf balls that kids love to jump in at McDonald's.  This was the Cervinara version of that favorite childhood activity.
Now, we barely go up to the mountain, except to enjoy a bit of a walk when the weather  is nice.  We lease out the concession to Gianluca and he and his crew handle the prep work and the actual harvest.  Gianluca comes to our door with a sack of chestnuts for us and the rest are sold at market.  No one has  the burden of carrying those bundles on their heads anymore, thank goodness!  While the work is certainly easier, the folks here still look forward to these autumn delicacies with the same eager expectation.