The Cilento Coast - Campania, Italy

So our first taste of real southern Italy - we drove along the coast south of Salerno and it was a flat, not very attractive stretch of road. The things we noticed on the trip as we headed further south - no toilet seats, different pizzas, nothing open in the afternoon, gelato not quite as good, buffalo in the fields, palm trees, fewer olive trees (I expected more) and lots of lizards.

I loved seeing the first glimpse of the ocean, but we still had a long way to go before reaching Laureana. I admit feeling relieved when the flat lands along the coast started to rise and we headed up again to the hills. We kept climbing and climbing and I thought we were lost for sure, but kept following the signs above Agropoli. There were few towns above, partly because it is National parkland, and partly because it must be a hard place to make a living. Very steep and rocky or wooded landscape. I definitely would not want to farm there.

But when we finally turned into Laureana Cilento, it was a wonderful feeling. It is hardly a town. There is a little square that we needed to find with the Blue Prussia and Mimmo, our local contact. It was a step back in time. The house was in a row of old (medieval?) buildings off the square. Beautiful high ceilings, huge rooms, wonderful balcony overlooking the hills all the way to the Amalfi Coast. We spent a lot of time on that balcony - eating, drinking, watching the lights and stars at night, and the occasional owl that swooped past like a ghost.

Lidia and Phillip were already there, and we were thrilled to see them. Elena, Celina and Phillip immediately started to talk and play as though they'd been together the whole trip. And I was so glad to see Lidia. We hadn't had a long vacation together in so long - since when? I can't even remember.

Mimmo - He is quite a character. He has lived in Australia so spoke English quite well. His restaurant is more art gallery/antique/thrift store, with barely enough room to squeeze in. He offerred to make us dinner the first night since we hadn't gone shopping yet. And what a dinner!
It was at least 4 courses with many variations. And of course wild boar (seems as though that is a standard menu item in that part of Italy). We started dinner around 9:00, and ended close to midnight. We ended with his homemade liqueurs - hazelnut being the tastiest.

From Laureana

There were many wonderful things about that week in Laureana. The trips to Agropoli, the other hill towns. The coast - it changes from rocky, to sandy, to coves, to caves. Every beach we went to was different - all within a small peninsula. Only problem was that the kids all developed little bumps on their skin that looked like chicken pox. From the water we think.

One of the most amazing places to visit was Paestum. It is an old greek settlement that is so well preserved. You can walk through the town and see 3 huge temples, still mostly standing. There is a very good museum too.

Amalfi coast was beautiful too, but we were thrown in with all the other american tourists, and after feeling so wonderfully apart from our real lives, it was not as fun. I loved to feel like I was really away from the US, and all the other towns you could feel much more like you were in a another world.

There is so much more to tell, but I will just send you to the photos:
The house and the views:
http://picasaweb.google.com/seterzio/Laureana#
Agropoli:
http://picasaweb.google.com/seterzio/Agropoli#
An old abandoned wine cellar that Joe found and Roger and he explored:
http://picasaweb.google.com/seterzio/OldWineCellar#
Various parts of the coast:
http://picasaweb.google.com/seterzio/CilentoCoast#
Another archaelogical park on the coast:
http://picasaweb.google.com/seterzio/Velia#
An old city above Laueana, where we tried to get dinner:
http://picasaweb.google.com/seterzio/RoccaDiCilento#
The Amalfi coast and Ravenna:
http://picasaweb.google.com/seterzio/AmalfiCoast#
Paestum:
http://picasaweb.google.com/seterzio/Paestum#