This was the first day of the trip that we haven't had to get up for anything. It was great. Our plan was to take the bus down the hill into Amalfi and see what it had to offer. Turns out, not much. I cannot imagine the crush of people down there during the height of the season. At one point I had thought about possibly driving the coast road from Pompeii through Sorrento and around the point and back up to Ravello on Saturday, but after seeing what really goes on, that's not happening. Even a 3 Series is borderline too big to fit with all the enormous tour buses, city buses, delivery trucks, etc.
We did have a really good lunch right inside the pedestrian zone, though. Have I mentioned how good the food has been on this trip?
Amalfi has an absolutely gorgeous church right in the main square. We walked through the cloisters, down into the crypt, and then into the main church buildings. The frescos and ceiling decorations were just stunning for a church in a city this size. I guess the Amalfi Republic was something to be reckoned with during its heyday.
Also in Amalfi is a museum dedicated to preserving and demonstrating the techniques used for making paper from cotton, hemp, and other natural cloth fibers. They have some machines dating back to the 15th and 16th centuries for breaking down the fibers before they can be pressed into sheets and set out for drying. Their water wheels still work and the guide demostrated the evolution of the paper making process up until the mill closed down. It was the oldest paper mill in Europe; dating all the way back to the 13th century when the techniques were learned from the Arab world, which learned them from the Chinese.
Back up in Ravello, we had a nice snack of local wine, bread, cheese, and olives on the hotel's terrace, overlooking the Gulf of Salerno. It was fun people watching as they strolled by on the street about 50 feet below us. We watched the classic “bump” method of parallel parking executed to perfection.
Today was our 15th wedding anniversary, so we booked a table at Villa Cimbrone's “Il Flauto di Pan” restaurant. It was super-expensive, but worth it. The presentation was just amazing. We had a variety of dishes ranging from tomato soup with buffalo mozzarella to “gratinated” lobster with cheese fondue to fish soup that had in it grilled octopus, squid, some sort of fish filet, oysters and other “frutti di mare.” Villa Cimbrone itself has got to be the jewel in the Ravello Crown. It sits on the most amazing piece of property and has a commanding view all up and down the Amalfi coast. The gardens are amazing (they charge EUR6 for “the regular folk” just to walk around), and the hotel itself looks like it came from the set of a movie.
Tomorrow we want to maybe go to Capri, but the weather is iffy for the boats to run. If we can't go to Ravello, then we'll do some hiking on the Sentiero degli Dei (Pathway of the Gods) from Agerola to Positano.
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