Three Villas in 1 day - Minori and Ravello

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Hapoy birthday Lachlan Craig!

A few of us joined Michele this morning at 9:30 to go for a short walk to a Roman Villa in our town of Minori. This Roman Villa is almost 2,000 years old and it dates back to the 1st century AD probably in the times of Emporer Tiberius when it was fashionable to leisurely pass time in quiet and peaceful places. Tiberius himself spent the last few years of his life (14 - 17 AD) on the Isle of Capri. The ground floor of this villa was well preserved because it had been buried by various floods and by the debris of the above houses and was therefore protected from further damage. It was discovered by chance in 1932 and excavations began in 1934. It was buried again by a disastrous flood in 1954 and had to be excavated again! Michele told us that there could be plenty of historic ruins around that no one knows about - people may find something on their property when they start to dig for renovations etc. but they tend to not say snything as they know it may mean that UNESCO or somesuch body, may claim their property. It was quite amazing to be wandering around under the main building, seeing signs of frescos and moisacs but they were mostly covered with dirt and hadn't yet been converted back to their former glory. Always makes you wonder what life would have been like over 2,000 years ago. This villa would have been sea side and probably only accessible by boat. It is now a fair way back from the sea.

It was soon time to head to our bus pick up spot and meet up with the rest of the group for our drive to Ravello. Once again, the journey is sometimes the most thrilling part of the day! I feel for André as he has 18 back seat drivers - not that we are telling him what to do but the audible gasps must get annoying when he knows exactly what he is doing. All good fun though!

Ravello is a stunning town, high above the Amalfi Coast. It is situated on a steep cliff 315m above sea level and it overlooks both our town of Minori and its sister town Maiori. It becomes obvious fairly quickly that Ravello is the home of the rich and famous. Each year the Ravello Festival is held and is dedicated to Richard Wagner. Actually, while we were visiting the Villa Rufolo, where this event is held, they were just starting to pack up the stunning stage that hangs over the escarpment. We met our local guide, Rosella and we walked with her to visit Villa Rufolo. This villa dates back to 13th century and had extensive alterations done in the 19th century. We all enjoyed exploring this villa, with the highlight being the amazing views over the Amalfi Coast. Many a great photo opportunity was had by all.

We then wandered through Ravello with Rosella as she explained other interesting facts about the town and its history. We saw a building where Greta Garbo had stayed (some romantic triste). We walked along the Terrace of Infinity of the Villa Cimbrone - part of this building has now been converted into a luxurious hotel. This terrace has been adorned with statues and busts and offers more great photo opportunities. Afterwards we had some free time for lunch and shop. A few of us had spotted this amazing looking restaurant whilst we were on our walk and decided to head there for lunch. We were treated to some amazing views while we enjoyed our lunch. I had a tuna salad with a glass of wine. After lunch we wandered the cobbled streets, checking out shops. I decided that I needed a new pair of bathers so found a little shop that had really nice swimwear and wraps and in the end (after much procrastination) decided to buy a pair and the matching wrap. They have been designed and made in Italy, so thats a nice souvenir.

Time to leave Ravello and head to our next activity - a lemoncello producer for some lemoncello tastings. This little place was just on the side of the road on our way back to Minori and we got to meet the Mumma & Poppa that own the lemon orchard. Their son is the one who produces the lemoncello but he wasn't there. The Mumma showed us how it is made - they only use the rind of the lemon and mix it with pure alcohol and a rather massive amount of sugar! Afterwards we got to sample it and I can definitely say the lemoncello kept in the freezer was the best. We also tried a variety of flavours - mandarin, licorice, coffee and melon. It was pretty funny watching a few of the people on our tour who don't drink hahaha.

We had some time back at our hotel to get ready to head out to dinner. Tonight we drove back up the mountain to the town of Tramonti for dinner. It's very nice to have our own personal driver and we all really appreciated André for getting us safely to our destination. Our dinner was in a little local family restaurant Tintore - the dining area was set up outside under the grapevines and inside what would once have been the stables. Amazing! We had a four course dinner - plate of antipasto, then ravioli with ricotta and citrus, then a plate of meat (chicken rabbit and pork) to share. This was served with a simple salad and was then followed by a degustation plate of dessert! We were able to help ourselves to red wine directly from a barrel! Of course this was finished off with a lemoncello and a caffe. Seriously good food although way too much! The antipasto plate alone was big - the best part was the zucchini flower stuffed with ricotta and citrus.

We had a fun bus ride back to our hotel after dinner with a few sing alongs and it was a lovely way to finish off another fabulous day.

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