Next up... working our way south, was our 2 day stay in Masse Lubrense. Getting a little more complicated as we had to take a train to Sorrento ( which I loved by the way) and then a bus to Masse Lubrense. Little did we know that our Villa was a destination of it's own and that all we had to say was Villa Angelina. We traveled up the winding narrow roads, often having to come to complete stop to let another bus by or slowing down and almost touching the sides of the other bus. Somehow this did not freak me out in the least as I felt this is the way they do it in Italy.
We were let out in the town of Masse Lubrense and before we go off we showed the driver the address of our Villa and he said...before..and drove off. There was a cute little cafe on the corner and we went in and asked Parle Englese, the owner did, and it just so happened 2 cab drivers had just come in at the end of their day for a cold drink and he asked one if he would take us back down 1 kilometer to Villa Angelina, for tip. He said yes and we loaded up into the Mercedes Van and took a quick ride to what turned out to be the most beautiful hotel ontop of a cliff with a goregeous view of the sea. My son gave him the "tip" and he said most people pay him $25 euro for a trip like that but it's ok" He gave us his card just in case we wanted a ride some place.
We walked in and I was afraid that we were in the wrong place as it was like something out of a movie. A huge entry way with marble columns and marble floors, immaculate and beautiful. My heart skipped a beat when our host couldn't find my reservation...but then she said Oh here it is Oliver, Jan. Our room was on the 4th floor it had a sun roof that opened with a flip of a switch, and marble floors that in the heat were so appreciated by our tired hot feet.
We found out that they provided free shuttle service to 2 restaurants and took them up on it for dinner. Our first night was at a place called Funicule Funiculi, I had the fish and roasted vegetables. It reminded me of our traditional Italian Christmas dinner, fish in spaghetti sauce. Our driver was very skilled and on these roads, one has to honk when going around a corner just to warn whoever is coming down or up.
The next day we found stairs that took us down to the road where we were picked up by the driver to our FARM. Aziendia Agricola.
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| Eugenio explained to me that Jesus is called San Salvatore in Italy, because Salvatore means savior of the world. |
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| Everything in this region was lemony |
I had booked this prior to our trip. It was a Lemon and Olive tree farm. We found out so much more. Our guide Eugenio was the son of family owned farm that is built on the side of a mountain, as are most of the farms in Italy in this region.
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| Eugenio |
Eugenio said they use every bit of space to grow everything they need, including, hazelnuts, onions, tomatoes, squash, chickens, goats and pigs. They made their own wine, using other farmers grapes, and they also made Limoncello and of course olive oil. On our tour we met John and Katherine from Manchester England and Dari from Iceland. He was 15 years old and came on the tour by himself as his grandparents didn't want to come. He was a funny kid, and asked very politely if he could have a taste of wine with his lunch which of course Eugenio said OK only because you are in Italy.
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| Dario trying to guess what was the animal organ that they fill with cheese....a bladder! |
We were served lunch cooked by Eugenios mom, who would peer into the dining room to make sure we were enjoying it and made us take seconds. Rigatoni with a light meat sauce, followed by a lemon Tiramisu topped with the families own brand of Limoncello. We were given a lesson on how to make Limoncello and the opportunity to buy some which I did bring several little bottles back with me and served it on ice cream.
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| the family brand and trademark. |
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| Lemon tiramisu. Tiramisu literally means "Pick me up" in Italian. |
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| Shan and Nat enjoying fresh lemonade! |
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