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Published: September 29th 2011
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Making Mozzerella Cheese
We were treated to a mozzerella making demonstration at Mama Rosa's farm A HUGE DAY IN AND AROUND SORRENTO
CAPRI
Today we caught the local ferry to the Island of Capri, a playground for the rich and famous.
There was a short but steep downhill narrow and windy road from our hotel to the port. We took to mini vans to get there, the driver of ours obviously had Formula 1 driving ambitions, he took off as if he was on poll position at the Italian Grand Prix and the flag had just been dropped. We had some people standing and taken by surprise they ended up spread-eagled around the coach. Fortunately no damage was done; they all recovered and held on VERY tightly to the overhead rails on the circuit down to the port.
The sea was a mill pond on the way over so it was a very smooth trip indeed. We arrived at the port of Capri and took the Cable Car up to the main town. It was full of very classy designer shops. The main streets were mainly pedestrian so it was a nice walk around. With our guide we walked to the other side of the Island, past some nice gardens and saw the
Capri Island
Just 20 minutes from the mainland it is a lovely spot. Plenty of boats of all sizes and shapes in the harbour second more secluded harbour from above. This is where the super yachts and their famous passengers tend to dock away from the gazing eyes of the public at large! There were was a little village surrounding the smaller harbour which had some of the most expensive real estate in Italy.
Near the end of our outing while the Jeanette and Sue shopped Don and I had a quiet beer. Things are done a bit differently in Italy. We ordered our beer inside and then went to sit in the outdoor area which had very nice harbour views. We were immediately informed by a waiter that because we had purchased our beer inside we had to drink it there. Beer ordered outside was more expensive and entitled people to sit at the outside seated area. Hmm it was the same Bar. Never mind we live and learn.
SORRENTO INLAID WOOD TRADITION
The Ferry ride back to Sorrento was as smooth as the trip across so Jeanette, who can have problems with sea sickness, was fine. Upon our return we had the option of going to see a furniture demonstration where it was explained how the tradesman produce inlaid wooden
Sorrento Special
Inlaid wooden furniture is a traditional art of Sorrento. We saw some stunning furniture. patterns and products. Sorrento is famous for this type of furniture and the demonstration was fascinating. Most of the wood they use is imported but they do make some small pieces using local Olive tree wood.
After the demonstration we were invited into the showroom, the furniture was amazing, one of our group bought a really beautiful grandfather clock. That was a bit out of our budget but we had a great time looking around and comparing pieces. There were no high pressure Turkish Carpet sales tactics here, it was all very relaxed and friendly. The skill level needed to produce such high quality work blew us away and it was great to experience a traditional local industry first hand.
We also had some free time and lunch before heading off to Positano a beautiful seaside village about 40 minutes out of Sorrento – very busy day today!
POSITANO
Apparently Positano is a favourite holiday spot for Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie (just throwing that in). To get there is a coastal drive up, along a cliff top and down, thank God we had a different driver this afternoon! From what we have seen so far Italy
Positano
On the beach at Positano-our first italian beach! has a very rugged coastline and the views as we wound our way up and over to Positano were absolutely stunning, if slightly scary as there was very little distance between the edge of the road and the steep cliffs that plunged to the clear blue waters below.
Positano is a village built on, in and around the jagged rocky outcrops that jut out from the sea. It has a very narrow main street with shops hugging the road edge on both sides, and a series of narrow alleyways which also have shops encroaching over their boundaries snaking their way down to the water’s edge. There is very little flat space (just a square in front of their famous church) so mostly you are either walking up the hills or down them. At the bottom there is a rare treat, a sandy beach!
Positano was an excellent place to spend a couple of hours, hopefully it was a precursor to the final chapter of our epic adventure when we head to Monterosso a coastal village in Cinque Terre in the north of Italy.
MAMA ROSA’S FARM
Last stop on our very busy schedule for today was to
The Worlds Biggest Lemon
Jenny from our Tour (left) looking in awe at the mightly Sorrento Lemon! This is the typical size of the Lemons produced here. Mama Rosa and her typical Italian small farm. The farm is about 4 acres producing mainly lemons although they also harvests olives, and has variety of fruit trees. The farm is on sloping ground so it has been landscaped into a series of terraces. The Lemons of Sorrento are huge (I mean REALLY huge) and are the best in Italy – according to Mama – we weren’t going to argue! They are used to make the famous drink of the district (and also Italy) Limoncello.
After a look around the farm and a brief introduction to Italian farming practises we watched a mozzarella cheese making demonstration and 4 of our group made pizzas the traditional Italian way – that was quite a laugh. We then dined on a large deck/cafe in the centre of the farm, amongst the trees –another magic moment. We ate mozzarella cheese, pizza and washed it down with red wine and Limoncello produced with grapes and lemons from the property.
A great way to end a very busy day, while we might not spend large amounts of time in any one place while coach touring we get to see and do plenty.
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