15 June 2007
Oh my God, I am in heaven. I really, really am! We are at a lemon/flower farm in Sorrento on the Amalfi Coast in Italia. The kids are barefoot, running wild in the lemon grooves with Michaela, the owner. Nana is helping her prune and Koa is climbing trees and picking lemons the size of large oranges. This farm is right on the cliff so we have a completely unobstructed view of the entire coast. We can watch the sun set over the water while we listen to Ben Harper’s version of “Sexual Healing” on mini music! We are drinking awesome “house wine” and I just lost pitifully to Ryder in Cribbage.
This is not Disneyworld…To get down to this place you have to walk down a 350 meter VERY NARROW stone walkway. Ryder was very, very (and I mean VERY brave) man today and decided to drive down it with out rental Peugeot 107 (SUPER compact car). As he put it, there were times when, even with the side mirrors folded in, he was centimeters from the hundred-year-old walls. When he stands in the middle of the road, his “wing span” reaches both walls of the road
Imagine a secret garden. Someone’s personal farm 100 years ago. Not a commercial thing, a family thing that has been passed down for generations and the new generation is making do by renting out 4 rooms in the farm house…Lemon trees, orange trees, bougainvillea, honey suckle, lavender, and roses blanket you and make you feel at home. Then, you are surprised to find a small kid’s playground tucked away to the left, overlooking the Mediterranean…Keep walking and you find a stone pizza oven and a full on BBQ that overlooks yet another amazing cliff-side view! Cowboy Junkies “I am so lonesome I could cry” is playing as the kids play with the BUCKET of toys Michaela has for them (because she has a 3 year old too!) There is a chicken coop, which provides fresh eggs for your breakfast (served any time you want) on the terrace overlooking the ocean. It is not a fancy place. The beds are OK, and you better bring your own soap… If you are looking for 5 star, look somewhere else. But if you are looking for amazing scenery, a splendid garden and a magical place, this is it!
Ok, I have to add an aside here… I forgot the UK adaptor for my ‘puter in Lagos. So, I was so, so, so sad because I have to write! I looked all over Rome and could not find one. Then yesterday, in the ULTIMATE romantic gesture (he hated that I wrote that) Ryder searched all over and finally found one! So, now I can really enjoy this trip doing what I love, traveling and experiencing and writing about it.
This morning we went hiking around some ruins about 3 minutes from here. Koa and Nana kept asking where the “beach” was, and although we were right on the water, there was no real beach. (Remember, this is no Disney!) But we did stumble upon a small cove where they were able to hike down and swim in the super buoyant waters of the Mediterranean. I love it that every garbage you pass is full of empty wine bottles! Ah, Italia!
After the hike/swim we drove into Sorrento. Ok, you gotta love a place that offers you free samples of Limochello every few steps! Ryder went on a buying spree (note to self, if you want your husband to buy things, feed him Limonchello!) We had lunch at a great place that our friends the Marks recommended, The Lanterna Restaurant. The kids split pasta and Ryder and I ate off the self-serve anti pasta bar. Fresh asparagus! Risotto! Spicy octopus! Herring! Calamari! Jugs of house red! Yummy! And all for about 45 Euros. That seems to be our going rate for all our meals. That is about $60 USD. Well worth it for amazing food and great wine.
We drove back (but not down the stone path) and made it back just in time for the siesta that seems mandatory for all because all the shops close as well! So we all went down in our air-conditioned 2-bedroom apartment! Woke up just in time for sunset!
FYI: Our Lemon Farm was:
Regina Giovanna
Via Calata di Punta Capo 23
Sorrento, Napoli Italy
