Blog Stains- Dare to be different in Positano

Blog Stains is a new series of posts designed to be useful references for people visiting the Amalfi Coast. I’ll try to bring you fun things to do which may not have been mentioned in the guide book.

10 top things to do in Positano

So you’ve been to Positano, crept up through the clothes store alleys, peeked into the Church and walked geriatric style (in summer) through the bougainvillea laden walkway to the Piazza Mulini.

What now?, you asked yourselves. Is this all that there is to do here?

Of course not! If you’ve tired of laying on the beach watching the world go by or sitting on your balcony admiring the view, Positano offers weird and wonderful activities in and out of season.

In summer:

1. Hire a canoe, paddle boat on any of the beaches or use a floating device and discover the inlets and caves lining the cliffs.

Sneak a look into the opening under the watch tower at Fornillo beach and discover a secret passage way used during the Saracen pirate era.

Head in the Praiano direction and glimpse luxurious villas and gardens from the water 

and swim in hidden caves through to the opening on the other side.

2.       In August, take a full moon walk along the Path of the Gods. The Association GEA offers guided walks with pick up from Positano, transport to Bomerano in Agerola   and a strictly ‘moonlit only’ walk across the mountain path all the way to Nocelle at the top of Positano.  A street party organized with real homemade food  and traditional tammurita dancing  waits to welcome  hikers back.         

Be warned: book early (posters are put up around town or it’s announced on the events page on Positano News)  because groups are kept to minimum  for safety reasons.

3.   Praiano, Positano’s neighbouring village holds the Light Festival for a week at San Gennaro Church at Vettica di Praiano coinciding with the beginning of August. Only a local bus ride away, the piazza is illuminated in a magical play of lights in the show.

(My tip: if you must eat at Praiano please don’t go to the restaurant S. Gennaro just above the piazza. Some places are memorable for the wrong reasons).

4.   In September the Positano Myth Festival kicks off  intermingling local culture and traditions with a series of ballets, concerts, expositions and traditional dances in the most evocative of places. My favourite has to be the traditional tarantellas, a sensual dance to tambourines and guitars. The evening concert on the path of the Gods is also a must see if you like lyrical music.

5.   Unsurprisingly Positano also offers a variety of cooking classes from top chefs in the local restaurants. I will not mention names here as I have not tried them out personally (traditional dishes are a mainstay in our home) but I suggest you stick to local chefs if you want to learn the basics of Neapolitan cuisine. Often notices are put in restaurant windows. Local dishes are very simple and if your budget doesn’t stretch to classes just savor restaurant meals slowly and you’ll soon work out how to reproduce them at home!                       

All Year Round:

6.  Have you ever thought of going to the very top of Positano for views?  Catch the bus to ‘Garritta’ and get off at the Belvedere for a sweeping view of the village. Even better go on a moonlit night to see the romantic sparkle of the lights and share a kiss with your partner.  Best spot for a romantic kiss in Positano!          

 

        

7.  Positano has it’s very own hole in a rock. Situated in Montepertuso (holed mountain), the village just above town, this hole is visible from town and can also be visited in a mountain walk.

8. Walk down to the Fornillo tower through the back way. Although it’s barred to visitors, the panorama of villas,their gardens and Fornillo beach from an angle you’ve never seen before is worth the walk. Take the path to the right in front of Hotel Vittoria (behind Pensione Maria Luisa) and continue to the very end of the residential alley till you come to the mountainside. Then just take the stairs down and admire the wild rosemary lining the path.  

Don’t be alarmed by the apparent wild state of the vegetation lining (and often carpeting) the stairs. This path is not well-trodden by any means and you are very likely to have it all to yourself. But if more people use it, maybe the Mayor will see fit to have the path cleared eventually!

 

9.  A beautiful mountain hike is that which takes you from Positano to S.Maria del Castello. Breathtaking views sweep over Positano and right across to the Golf of Naples  and the islands of Ischia and Procida.

10.   The Valley of  Il Porto is situated in the canyon near Arienzo beach. A shaded walk which has very little sun all year round grows amazing vegetation in it’s own eco-system and is the wildlife oasis to the rare little amphibian. Please tread carefully and be respectful of nature and those who live there.

All I want for Christmas…

 

Is that your families and friends are safe and sound, and hopefully where they want to be.

   

Most of Europe has been in turmoil with snowfalls playing havoc on transport systems just when the season was at its very busiest meaning that travelers were left stranded for days or having to choose longwinded means of reaching their homes. Luxembourg was also hit by blizzards and the heaviest snowfall ever, closing schools for the first time and leaving me without use of the car for days.

 

I watched the airport timetables anxiously as my husband arrived truly late in the night from Positano laden with fruit from our garden and  delicious homemade ‘struffoli’ pressed upon him by our taxi driver.

My children were able to return to their flats when their flights were cancelled unlike many who slept at airports and arrived home with only two days delay. We were lucky. I hope you are too.

Thank you for following my sporadic posts this year.

I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy and Healthy New Year.

Buon Natale e Buon Anno Nuovo!

All Souls Day.

 

Remembering those in Positano.

                                                                                                                                          Especially Giovanna.

The Sea’s Side of Positano

Our little boat chugged along the lake-like sea hugging the rugged coastline between Positano and Praiano on the Amalfi Coast. It was the first days of September and the climate was ostentatiously spoiling us with a soft gentle sunshine and deep crisp colours. I could well imagine this lazy rocking in the sea being called the Dolce Vita now that the noise and traffic from the motor boats and ferries had diminished, a legacy of the paradise that Positano once was.

Letting  my hands languish through the silky water, we passed inlet after inlet of tiny pebbled beaches leaving behind cliffs tinted in varying shades of blue on the horizon. We’d left home early with the intention of taking one last boat ride before putting the little boat away for the winter and hopefully using up the last of the petrol in the egg beater sized motor, when we thought we might drop by for coffee at Laurito beach before heading back to Fornillo.


My husband accosted the wooden pier and let us out before dropping anchor offshore and diving into the sea to reach the beach in a few strokes.
The restaurant Da Adolfo, little more than a stone wall filled with pebbles on which rustic wooden tables were set  under a canopied roof, was much closer to the sea than I remembered it, the tides haven eaten away most of the beach over the years. A couple of rows of deck chairs were set out for the clients arriving on the official boat but so far I could only see locals around, some of whom had reached the beach from the stairs.


A clinking sound caught my attention.
A local owner of another restaurant at Positano was tapping sharply on the rock in the water while holding a sloshing plastic zip locked bag in her other hand.
She was obviously gathering what are known in Naples as ‘patelle’  from along the cliff faces with which to make a pasta sauce.
In fact a common summer pastime in these parts, though you’d be hard put to find it on a menu in the area, is foraging along rock pools and cliff faces for limpets. You’ll see many a local diver with a sharp knife or armed with an appropriately shaped rock in do-it-yourself style, returning with small rattling bags of  mollusks.
When foraging for patelle, the smaller the shell is, the better the taste will be as the  shellfish inside is more tender. I have been told (as I’ve never tried them) that the taste is something between the delicate clam and a heartier mussel.
Our friend had whipped up a sauce in five minutes using patelle, a few small crabs found in rock pools and a handful of cherry tomatoes in between preparing other things for her restaurant and had sent this plate of much appreciated spaghetti with a boy to her husband, who runs a seafood restaurant a few doors down from hers. She was intending to do the same that night.


In real Italian style, our late morning coffee transformed itself into a leisurely lunch as we were unable to resist the lure of the enchanting view right down to Capri nor the choice from the  blackboard menu which heavily featured local fish dishes. By midday, the restaurant was bustling as the boat unloaded tourists from Positano.
Dripping sea water from our swim  and chatting at our ‘Positanesi’  table, we enjoyed mozzarella grilled on lemon leaves - a Da Adolfo original dish, grilled shrimps and  Carpaccio di tonno (fresh tuna finely sliced) for our antipasto, then ‘mpepata di cozze (mussels sprinkled in black pepper), spaghetti with zucca e vongole (clam and pumpkin sauce) and tonno fresco con paccheri  (fresh tuna sauce with pasta).
We made our way back to town in our little boat slowly, ever so slowly, drawing out the best September had on offer.

Da Adolfo Laurito Beach, Positano.



Top story featured on paper.li: Tomorrow is Today in Italy, The Top-Bloggers-in-Italy Daily ,The Travel Blog Round Up and The Internet Villa Hols Daily

Pink Pink Pink Day today for Breast Cancer prevention! And a very special recipe…

A heavy family history of Breast Cancer in my home makes this a cause close to my heart.


 


October has seen the Pink Ribbon Campaign against Breast Cancer come into full swing remembering those who have died, those who are suffering but also the survivors of this insidious disease.





Prevention is perhaps too optimistic a word but there are healthy changes that you can make to make your body stronger to fight the disease should it rear its ugly head.

Eat food containing antioxidants, exercise




and of course get your breasts checked regularly at any age.


 
Sculpture by Juanita Aiello-Pansini


A full list of risk factors can be found on the Breast Cancer Campaign Organization site.
Please click here to fund free mammograms for underprivileged woman. It will cost you nothing but mean so much to another.
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My mother, an exceptional cook, died of Breast Cancer just under two and a half years ago.
I would like to share her very special recipe for Brandied Lemon Ricotta Cheese cake with you in her honour.


Brandied Lemon Ricotta Cheese Cake:
 
Ingredients:
Sponge layer or Savoiardi biscuits
500gms Ricotta cheese (a fresh Italian soft cheese similar in consistency to Cottage Cheese)
125gms of castor sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons of vanilla
2 teaspoons of grated lemon rind
2 tablespoons of lemon juice
1 1/2 tablespoons of gelatin
1/2 cup of water
1 1/4 cups of cream
2 tablespoons of brandy
Method:
Line a 23cm spring form pan with paper and cut sponge or biscuits to fit in single layer.
Beat eggs and sugar till thickened. In a separate bowl, beat ricotta cheese, lemon rind & juice, vanilla & brandy together. Dissolve gelatin in the 1/2 cup of water over a very gentle heat. Beat it into the ricotta mix a little at a time.
Whip cream until semi-whipped. Fold cream, egg mixture & ricotta mixture together. Mix well. Pour over the sponge/biscuit layer. Refrigerate several hours until set. Decorate with fruit of choice just before serving.

TORTA DI RICOTTA AL BRANDY E LIMONE (per le amiche Italiane)
  
Ingredienti:
Savoiardi oppure Pan di Spagna
500gm di Ricotta
125gm di zucchero semolato
2 uova
2 cucchiaini di vaniglia
2 cucchiaini di buccia di limone grattugiato
2 cucchiai di succo di limone
1 1/2 cucchai di gelatina
1/2 bicchere d’acqua
1 1/4 bicchiere di panna
2 cucchiai di Brandy
Ricoprite la base di una teglia per torte di 23cm (con il lato apribile) con i Savoiardi oppure con un sottile stratto di pan di Spagna
Montate le uova con lo zucchero. Sbattete insieme la ricotta, la scorza di limone, il succo, la vaniglia e il Brandy. Sciogliete la gelatina nell’acqua al fuoco basso e poi agguingetela un po` alla volta alla ricotta sbattendola bene.
Montate la panna finche` non si sia addensata a meta`.
Mescolate insieme alla ricotta, la panna e le uova in modo che ogni elemento si  amalgami perfettamente.
Versate il composto nella teglia e mettetela al frigo per un paio di ore.
Ricopritela con frutta al momento di servirla.

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Today we have come together with other Italian bloggers in the Blogosphere to bring the Anti-Breast Cancer campaign our solidarity by painting the internet pink:
Linda - News From Italy
Anne - Anne from Oxfordshire
Laura - Ciao Amalfi
Cherrye - My Bella Vita
Lucy - On my way 2 work and Other Stuff
Donna - Maremma Guide
Lauren - Mamaquest
Veronika - Modenus Blog
Eleonora - Aglio Olio e Peperoncino
JoAnne - Frutto della Passione and contest!
Michelle-Bleeding Espresso
Pat - Sicily Scene
a full list of almost 300 participating bloggers can be found here at Mamma Felice.
Grazie! Do go visit the others!

Capricious Capri

 

Capri.  The most clicked on Island in Italy.

Websites abound with passionate descriptions of picturesque alleys and piazzettas, churches and azure waters don’t they?  So when you send two beautiful twenty year old Italian girls to Capri  for a day trip, and you advise them where to go and what to see, you don’t expect them to return to Positano with a list of what not to do:

What not to do in a trip to Capri:

Don’t go to the ferry kiosk in Positano and ask for the resident ferry ticket fee to Capri of 15 Euros. Unless you can prove it in writing, you’ll need to fork out 30 Euros for the trip. If you are a tourist, be  suitably outraged.

 

Don’t bring your beach gear and hope for a quick dip in the azure waters. Unless you go to the Marina Piccola on the other side of the island,  you’ll have no chance of getting across the sea of bodies to the water’s edge.

Don’t expect to see the famous Piazzetta (Umberto 1) in Capri in one visit in the months from April to November. Unless you are walking on stilts, you will have a good view of the upper floors above the mass of tourists, but that is all.

Beware of any restaurant that hocks for trade.

Behind all the rigorously non-Italian waiters in Capri, is an owner who incites the employees to lure tourist groups in by literally saying ‘Pigliali pigliali!’ (pronounced Pee-lya-lee) in Italian dialect as they approach. What does it mean? ‘Grab them!’   A real tourist trap!

Don’t get excited when you see an illegal drug offered in a praline. If you expected to get high on the Cannabis in the chocolate, you’ll be disappointed. The only thing you’ll  get a kick out of, is it’s  sugar content.

 

Don’t catch the chairlift up to the top of Capri and expect it to last more than a few minutes. In true Disneyland style, the queues are longer than the ride.

Don’t gesticulate Italian style ( wildly) while holding a 2 litre bottle of water and admiring the steep drop in this view. It will quickly become part of the scenery.

Do visit the Villa San Michele - Axel Munthe at Anacapri. But then, don’t expect to be alone here either.

And at the end of the day, when you are approaching your beloved Positano weary, disheveled, hot and dirty, don’t assume that you won’t bump into anyone you know, as everyone should have gone home by then.

Rather do take time to straighten your appearance because the odds are on it that the whole town will be down at the main dock on your arrival that day to celebrate yet another religious Festival!

Following the Linguine Trail…

 
The cat scooted out over the restaurant’s window trellis, skirting the purple bougainvillea that gripped the iron work. Totally deaf, it wasn’t an alley cat for nothing and could tell when it wasn’t wanted.  Daniele the waiter, having dealt with the cat before, let out a few mild expletives under his breathe in Italian. Slinking amongst the tables, the white gatto  been attracting admiring ‘ohhs’ and ‘ahhs’ from the American tourists but alas, no food tidbits.  Then as Daniele proceeded to lead our party of six to a table chatting amicably, my husband pointed out a waiter, J., that I hadn’t met yet, knowing that he was from Australia like myself.
J. turned out to be waiting at our table. Decked out maitre d’ style with a formally placed napkin over his left arm, J. had been coming to Positano for a few years and lived the enviable life of six months here, six months in Australia. Having a British passport, he had no trouble with work permits and aside from other duties in town, he helped out at the restaurant in summer a couple of days per week.
My husband asked him if he spoke Italian assuming that with the position he was in, he must.
‘Solo un poco’ (just a little) was his answer. So I spoke to him in English and we chose our meal. The orders were put in quickly as most of my family chose pizza, but I soon put a ball in the works by ordering ‘Frittura di Paranza’.
J. looked at me blankly and asked me to repeat it. I did and then gave him the English translation for it – ‘Fried local fish’.
‘Is it on the menu?’ he queried.
‘Yes’, I said.
‘Can you point to it with your finger please? I don’t know how to write it.’    It’s just that people usually order pasta or pizza here…so I’ve never come across it before.’
He then accompanied a loud party of Italian tourists to their table alongside ours and distributed menus.
My husband, all ears when it comes to nosing out an authentic local meal, overheard the chef Vincenzo talking about a dish he was preparing from freshly arrived local squid. ‘Vincenzo,’ he called out, ‘can you make it for me too?’ 
‘Senz’altro’ replied Vincenzo.
So I called J. over and told him that we needed to change the order. One pizza less, and ‘totani and tubetti’ in it’s place.
‘Is it on the menu?’
‘No, but the chef can prepare it’.
‘Ok, then. What is it again?
‘Totani e tubetti’
‘Could you spell that please?’
‘T-O-T-A-N-I  &  T-U-B-E-T-T-I’
Later, while eating our meal, I saw J. at the Italian’s table trying to take orders and looking decidedly red- faced and flustered. He suddenly turned away from them and found Daniele to serve in his place.
I remarked on it when he returned to our table to have the dessert orders put through and the simpatico J. admitted that in August they had a lot of Italians come in for meals who never stuck to the menu but wanted variations of the food.
‘Then they all talk at once in Italian and I can’t follow the orders!’
Aspiring waiters be warned.

Il Saraceno d’Oro: a family run restaurant in Fornillo.
No ‘sea view’ but plenty of friendly atmosphere and great food. Speaking English can be a bonus…