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Ciao Amalfi

Stories & Photography from the Amalfi Coast

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May 20 2017

Amalfi Coast Ferry Service to Minori, Maiori & Cetara

Laura Thayer
Getting Around

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Get Around the Amalfi Coast with Ferry Service to Minori, Maiori & Cetara!

For ease of bus and ferry transportation connections, I often recommend travelers stay in Amalfi while visiting the Amalfi Coast. However, thanks to the ferry service Travelmar started running last year connecting Maiori, Minori and Cetara with the ferry line between Amalfi and Salerno, it’s now easier than ever to get around the Amalfi Coast! My favorite way to travel between towns on the Amalfi Coast is on the ferry, which you can read more about here. If you’re planning on staying in Minori, Maiori or Cetara—or would like to visit these towns during your stay—it’s now easy and scenic to do so by ferry.

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Take the ferry to Minori

I really love Cetara and Minori – they’re both smaller towns and are usually a bit less crowded during busy season. Cetara has an old world fishing village charm, with its picturesque beach and watchtower. There are some excellent restaurants just a few steps from the beach where you can try dishes made with the local garum – an anchovy sauce made since ancient Roman times in Cetara. While in Minori you can explore the winding streets and visit the Villa Romana. Maiori is geographically one of the largest towns on the Amalfi Coast, and it has long seafront, more shopping and is often a bit more lively in the evenings.

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Cetara from the sea

With the Travelmar ferry service to Minori, Maiori and Cetara, you can easily hop between towns along the coast that in the past have only been accessible by bus if you’re traveling by public transport on the coast – highly recommended! And thankfully there are quite a few connections daily, which makes it very convenient. Check out the Travelmar schedule to find out more.

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Apr 23 2017

Italy Roundtable: The Rush of the Strange and Unfamiliar

Laura Thayer
Amalfi Coast Lifestyle

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This month’s Italy Roundtable topic “foreign” brought in a host of interesting topics from the group – all thoughtful, reflective and informative. Be sure to check them all out at the links below! While I am a foreigner living in Italy, there’s another aspect of the word “foreign” that has been rattling around in the back of my mind this week. The secondary meaning of the word is listed as “strange and unfamiliar.” Dictionary example: “I suppose this all feels pretty foreign to you.” Now that sounds about right! It got me thinking. When was the last time you experienced something foreign? There’s a thrill that comes from the strange and unfamiliar. It means stepping out of your comfort zone, whatever the experience might be.

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I don’t know about you, but I thrive in the strange and unfamiliar. Not that I go in search of it. I’m certainly not an adventure seeking sort of person. Perhaps more of the sort that enjoys finding the adventure in everyday life. Whatever it is, I find that I am the happiest when I have quite literally no idea what I’m doing. It probably started with when I fell in love with studying ancient Greek in college. That was remarkable. Then there was that time I was a data analyst for Fannie Mae. (Seriously.) Or when I decided to study art history in graduate school and called up my mom to ask, “Hey, Mom, so I have to include a research paper with my application. What’s a research paper?” Then there was the time 10 years ago when I moved to Italy without speaking any Italian. Or when I started freelance writing and editing. The land of “strange and unfamiliar” is my home.

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So why the wisteria? Well it’s pretty. Besides that, it represents a moment I had recently that reminded me how important those strange and the unfamiliar moments are in our lives. Sure a trip to a new country around the world is exciting, but how can you get out of your comfort zone right now, right where you’re at? When I went to Positano earlier this month to see the wisteria, I decided to make some video clips so I could start learning how to use iMovie. It may have taken me a few weeks to finish that video, but when I uploaded it to YouTube yesterday, I had a rush. There it was. Something strange and unfamiliar. I have quite literally no idea how to make movies, and yet there I go putting one out to the world to see. It’s nothing special. I have a lot to learn. But what is special is that incredible experience of doing something strange and unfamiliar!

Go out and try something foreign this week – a new restaurant, a new drink at your local coffee shop, a new way to drive to work, a new genre that you usually don’t read, a new craft, a new recipe, a different type of creative endeavor. Don’t worry if it doesn’t work out. Let me know how it felt to experience something foreign!

 

Italy Blogging Roundtable

Italy Roundtable
This blog post is part of a series called The Italy Blogging Roundtable. Every month our group of Italy based writers takes on a new theme, and you can read the contributions for this month’s topic – Foreign – at the links below. We’d love to hear your thoughts and comments. Please share the stores if you’ve enjoyed them!

ArtTrav – Refugees in Tuscany: New Book Questions Preconceptions

At Home in Tuscany – Foreigners in Tuscany

Italy Explained – The 5 Letters of the Alphabet Banned by Mussolini

Girl in Florence – 50 Shades of “Foreign” in Florence, Italy

Italofile – From Foreign Language to Lingua Franca: Italian Immersion Programs in Italy

 

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Apr 08 2017

The Amalfi Lemon Experience

Laura Thayer
See & Do

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One of the symbols of the Amalfi Coast, the lemon adds its colorful touch to the terraced landscape, to the hand-painted ceramics and, of course, to the local culinary traditions. The Amalfi Coast lemon is a treasure and one that you should experience while you’re visiting the area. What’s the best way? On the Amalfi Lemon Experience Tour! Created by the Aceto family, who have been cultivating lemons on the Amalfi Coast for six generations, this is a unique opportunity to walk among the lemon groves. Along the way you’ll learn about the history of lemon production on the Amalfi Coast, the unique challenges, and enjoy a tasting and visit to the family’s personal museum and laboratory where they produce limoncello and many other delights!

Recently I was able to join the Amalfi Lemon Experience Tour with Nicki from Positano Daily Photo, and we loved it! Enjoy her fun video of the tour and then read on below for a photo tour of the day exploring the lemon groves of Amalfi.

 

 

Wasn’t that fabulous? I love Nicki’s videos, and if you enjoyed that as well don’t forget to subscribe to her Nicki Positano YouTube channel so you don’t miss any in the future. Now come along and join me on a photo tour of the day!

Piazza Duomo Amalfi Lemon Tour Meeting Point

A beautiful day for a Lemon Tour! The meeting point is in Piazza Duomo in Amalfi.

 

Amalfi Lemon Tour Cart

Hop on the cart for the ride up to the top of Amalfi to the Aceto family lemon groves

 

Learning about how the terraced lemon groves are created and the green and black nets to protect the trees in the winter

 

Salvatore Aceto leading the Lemon Tour – he is so passionate about his family’s traditions!

 

Taste testing Amalfi lemons – you can eat the whole thing since they are organic

 

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Walking through the lemon groves and learning about the harvest and hard work it is to grow lemons on the Amalfi Coast

 

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The terraces of lemons are connected so the lemon trees grow from one terrace to another to maximize space

 

The delicate lemon trees are covered with black nets until late spring to protect them

 

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Although much of the harvest is done by hand and heavy crates of lemons carried on the shoulders, this helps them move the crates down the mountainside

 

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Luigi Aceto, Salvatore’s father, is still hard at work splitting the willow branches that are used to tie the lemon tree branches to the wooden pergolas

 

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Charming display for a tasting of lemons during the tour

 

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Fresh lemonade and lemon cake are a sweet treat during the Lemon Tour!

 

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A stop in the family’s museum on the tour shows their incredible collection of historic pieces

 

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Pieces of Amalfi’s past, including the stencils that were ones used to mark bread

 

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Taking a peek inside the laboratory where the family’s limoncello is made

 

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So many choices! All made right in the laboratory below the Aceto family lemon groves.

 

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Having fun taking photos with Nicki from Positano Daily Photo

 

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Amalfi Coast lemon perfection – the true sfusato amalfitano lemon

 

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A special visit to the Aceto family lemon groves overlooking Amalfi

 

Would you like to discover Amalfi’s incredible tradition of growing lemons firsthand? Find out more about the Amalfi Lemon Tour Experience and how to book here!

Ravello Torre Maggiore at Villa Rufolo
Mar 28 2017

Visit the Torre Maggiore at Villa Rufolo – Opens April 1st!

Laura Thayer
See & Do

Ravello Torre Maggiore at Villa Rufolo

The Torre Maggiore at Villa Rufolo Opens as the Torre-Museo on April 1st

If you’ve been to Ravello and visited the Villa Rufolo, you’ve likely stood and enjoyed the view looking up at the Torre Maggiore. This historic tower dates back to the 13th century when the wealthy Rufolo family called the Villa Rufolo home. Behind the scenes a major restoration project has been going on to open the Torre Maggiore to the public by transforming it into a museum and creating a viewing platform at the top. The project is complete and opens to the public on April 1st!

Torre Maggiore at Villa Rufolo Garden

Can you spot the glass enclosed view platform on the tower?

Last weekend the Villa Rufolo opened the Torre-Museo for a sneak peek viewing by residents on the Amalfi Coast. I’ve been eyeing that viewing platform for some time now. I just new it would have an incredible view! Last Saturday morning was clear and beautiful, so it was the perfect time to visit the Torre-Museo for the first time.

Let me start with the viewing platform on the top, because that’s what really took my breath away. The view from the gardens of Villa Rufolo are justifiably famous. But what climbing to the top of the Torre Maggiore does is give you a bird’s-eye view over the gardens with that incredible sweeping view of the coastline and Bay of Salerno.

Plus, since it’s surrounded by glass on all sides, you get views of Ravello and across the valley to Scala that you wouldn’t see from anywhere else.

Since the inside of the tower has been transformed into a museum and interactive experience, the climb of about 100 steps really goes by quickly. The staircase itself is a fascinating site, twisting and turning like an M.C. Escher design.

Along the way on each level there are architectural pieces, artefacts and explanation about the history of the Rufolo family and the tower.

The lighting is striking and creates and evocative setting for displaying pieces. Along the journey climbing the stairs, there are also light projections and audio recordings to bring the history to life.

At the entrance to the tower there’s a small room displaying artwork showing Ravello, the Amalfi Coast and the Villa Rufolo.

A visit to the Torre-Museo is a great way to start your exploration of the Villa Rufolo. Then you can wander through the beautiful gardens and buildings that you spied from on top of the Torre Maggiore.

The Torre-Museo opens to the public on April 1st, 2017 and entrance to the tower will be included in the price of the Villa Rufolo ticket. Entrance to the tower may be limited to a certain number of people at a time to improve the visitor experience, so if you’d like to go you might want to check if there’s a line when you arrive at Villa Rufolo.

Find out more about opening times and ticket prices at www.villarufolo.com.