The colors and scent of autumn bring to my mind two things - my mother, who taught me to treasure nature and its many wonders, and the poetry of Robert Frost. As it would happen, they are both very much related since she was the one to introduce me to Frost's writing with a small book of his poems ...
Archives for 2011
A Passeggiata in Amalfi
The passeggiata—a leisurely walk or stroll—is one of those wonderful Italian traditions that you can enjoy across Italy. This is a time for families and friends to spend together catching up on the day's news, for kids to play together and to just enjoy a healthy bit of fresh air. On the Amalfi ...
A Writing Life
Not long ago, I changed the tagline of Ciao Amalfi from "Savoring Daily Life on Italy's Amalfi Coast" to "A Writing Life on Italy's Amalfi Coast." This small change reflects a significant shift within myself, one that has been happening so gradually over the past four and half years that I had ...
Positano’s Laurito Beach
While I never need an excuse to hop on a boat and head to Positano, what lured me there on a stunning October day last weekend was an invitation from Eleonora from Aglio, Olio e Peperoncino to join her at Positano's Laurito beach for the afternoon. Eleonora had already tempted me to discover this ...
The First of October in Positano
While clearing the breakfast dishes from the kitchen table yesterday morning, I heard on the news that this September was the warmest recorded in Italy in last 150 years. Looking out the window at a slice of vivid blue sea sparkling in the sunshine, I thought that was just about the nicest way to ...
La Marinella Beach in Amalfi
Amalfi has two larger beaches on either end of the town, the long and pebbly Marina Grande beach and the rocky Le Sirene beach behind the port. If I'm looking for a lively beach atmosphere, I head to the popular Marina Grande. For a bit more seclusion and quiet sun bathing, I go to Le Sirene. In ...
Book Review | Traveling with Pomegranates: A Mother-Daughter Story by Sue Monk Kidd and Ann Kidd Taylor
A few years back now, my mother read Traveling with Pomegranates: A Mother- Daughter Story by Sue Monk Kidd and Ann Kidd Taylor. I don't recall now just how it happened--chance, a recommendation, a gift--but I do know it was a treasure. As she read the story and shared about it with me, it became an ...
Photo Friday: Creeping Cumulus
The last few weeks it seems like all I do is hurry from one place to another. One of the first ways I can tell that I'm too busy is by looking at my camera. Hardly a photo taken in the past three weeks, except the new flowers I spent an early morning planting in the garden recently. And then this ...
A Burst of Color for the September Garden
Life has been busy, a little too busy, the last few weeks. But I'm intent on not letting September and October slip away as they are my favorite months of the year on the Amalfi Coast. I love the close of summer, when the sun is still strong and the sky a brilliant blue. Yet, at night there is that ...
Old Man of the Mountain
One day I was having lunch on my own in Ravello, or at least I thought I was having lunch on my own. I looked up from the table to see along the top of the mountains the face of a man with a bulbous nose and prominent chin. I've heard locals point out several faces in the outline of the mountains ...
Lavender Harvest on the Amalfi Coast 2011
Two and a half years after planting, my three lavender plants in the garden have produced a bounty of wonderfully scented flowers this summer. I've been keeping a close eye on them for the past few weeks, waiting for the right moment to harvest them before the weather turns cool and windy. We've had ...
A Summer Night at the Festival of La Maddalena in Atrani
Every summer on July 22nd, the small town of Atrani celebrates Santa Maria Maddalena, or La Maddalena, with an evening of festivities that includes a religious procession, band concerts and a wonderful fireworks display over the sea after dark. Last year I followed the procession of the statue of La ...