Cooking and Driving -- A Heart Stopping Drive to Amalfi

Another cooking class was on the schedule in Sorrento.

We arrived in the kitchen and met the TWO chefs we would be working with. One chef for the first two courses and another for our dessert. The Sorta Caprese Cake is a local delacasie that features almond flour and two kinds of chocolate.

Yummmmm....

The first dish we prepared was a potatoe casserole that included ham, parmesan cheese, mozerella cheese and smoked mozerella cheese along with butter. It looked like a dish we might repeat at home.

Next we took on Ravioli Caprese. Luckily the chef already had the pasta ready to roll out. The professional pasta machine made this a breeze. I could not do this one at home without a pasta machine.

Here is a video of Hubby D working on cutting out the ravioli. He had a lot of fun getting his hands into the food. If you are reading this in an email, you will need to go to my blog page to see the video. https://brendahyde.blogspot.com

Here is a link to the video on YouTube.

The finished pasta.

My favorite dish was the dessert. And, the Caprese cakes were the most fun as well. We will definitely tackle these in Florida.

The final step in creating the mix for the cake was to kneed it with your hands. Here is a video of Hubby D up to his elbows in chocolate. If you are reading this in an email, you will need to go to my blog page to see the video.https://brendahyde.blogspot.com

Here is a link to the video on YouTube.

The finished cake.

The wine served with the meal was very good as well.

After our cooking class and enjoying the fruits of our labor, we decided to take the car out for a drive.

The narrow road out of Sorrento was a gorgeous drive up the coast to Pasitano and Amalfi. After experiencing the drive inside a bus, Hubby D had to give it a try behind the wheel of our car.

There were plenty of breathtaking views of the Tyrrhenian Sea. Later that night my hands were sore from gripping the arm rest really tight.

The lady on the top ledge is accepting a package from a delivery truck down below. The driver placed the package in her bucket on the end of the rope going up the building.

Hubby D pulled the car over as far as he could so I could take a photo of this strange sculpture along side the road.

Seeing the rugged coastline beneath, I sometimes had to hold my breath as Hubby D whizzed around corners and through tunnels.

Our timing was perfect and we captured an absolutely stunning sunset on the way back to the hotel.

Back in Sorrento, we knew tomorrow we would be driving to Rome so we decided to have a casual dinner at the trendy pizza restaurant next door to the hotel. It was a good decision and we had a delicious meal.

Their patio was covered with mosaics of the coastline.

Their menu included several unusual hamburgers. I opted for the Partenopeo, hamburger with local cheese, egg-plant, dried tomatoes and French fries. It was delicious.

It was a calm ending to an exciting day.

Ciao,
Brenda

Touring Positano and the Amalfi Coastline

After morning coffee and pastries, we ventured out to Positano and Amalfi.

Several people had told us how difficult parking would be if we drove our car, so we opted for the bus. As it turned out taking the bus was a brilliant decision.

Hubby D was able to enjoy the view and I was comfortable the bus driver had done this several times and probably knew his way around. (I was still scared silly. LOL)

The road was extremely curvy, winding through extremely narrow places where it would have been difficult to maneuver if you did not know for sure where you were going and what was around the next turn.

Several times we passed cars and other buses with only fractions of an inch to spare. At one point our bus had to back up in order to make a turn.

I will give the bus drivers a lot of praise because they were skillful and confident.

The mountainous coastline and beaches reminded us of the California coast between LA and San Francisco, rugged and dramatic.

After we arrived in Positano we hiked down the hill to the town square. Along the way there were very interesting benches and ironwork for plants.

We made it to the main square and stopped for coffee at an adorable restaurant right on the shore, Chez Black. It was founded in 1949.

I fell in love with their plates and Hubby D talked the waiter into selling us one.

Then we started the hike back up to the bus pickup point. Although it wasn't quite as hard as we anticipated, it was great to finally reach the top. I think the climb in Spello was harder and hiking it every day for a week helped to get us in shape for this hill.

We caught the next bus to Amalfi and once again enjoyed the view. In Amalfi we had a lovely lunch in a seaside restaurant. We even caught a glimpse of a sunset on the way back to Sorento.

Amalfi and Positano were pretty, however we both agreed that Cinque Terre is prettier. We hiked the Cinque Terre trail a couple of years ago with NDL and ES. They are the couple that introduced us to the Angelini Family in Spello.

Here is a link to my blog about the Cinque Terre.

After our tour in Positano and Amalfi, we returned to Sorento and settled in for some wine and dinner at the Fauno Bar on the Piazza Tasso.

To our surprise, it was the evening of their Christmas Tree Festival. The town square was packed and we were just in time to watch the lighting of the large Christmas Tree. Here is a video of the scene. And, YES, the girls you see are dressed as angels walking on stilts. LOL

If you are reading this in an email, you will need to go to my blog to view the video. https://brendahyde.blogspot.com

Here is a link to the video on YouTube.

On the way home, we picked up some limoncello. The store had an entire aisle dedicated to limoncello.

Back at our hotel on our terrace (with the fabulous view), Hubby D pulled out his cigars and had a smoke. LW would not have approved, but I thought it was adorable. Hubby D just relaxed and enjoyed.

Another great day.

Ciao,

Brenda

Birthday Pics

Birthdays are always fun and LW ‘s excitement made it even more enjoyable. Here are a couple of snap shots of the evening.

Enjoy!
Brenda

Opa's (Hubby D) hat is big but he looked so cute in it!

Of course LW received some new cars for his birthday. The first thing he did was form them up into a parking lot.  I know this because I asked what he was doing and he said, "Parking them."