On the Boat to Capri...

So we were a day late going to Capri and so excited to go back. We were extra excited when the boat stopped in Positano. We longed to get off...but were excited to get to Villa Marina to cook!

On the boat we met an sweet doctor, Tim, from Southern Cal who was on vacation with his son. We met so many great people!

Good-bye Amalfi

Dinner in Amalfi

We had an dinner at Caffe Royal, a charming street cafe just steps from our hotel in the main square. We had a wonderful simple Margherita pizza (named after the Italian flag because it's red (tomato sauce), white (cheese), and green (basil)), soup and a little too much of their wonderful local wine. The meal ended with the owner sending us gelato -- so so good. One of the best we have had in Italy. The meal was one of our favorites.

The Streets of Amalfi

We explored the streets, the cute stores, admired the gelatos...and dodged those boys who kept turning up.

Sant'Andrea Church

First Stop Pastires

Coffee and pastries from the most famous pastery shop Pansa. Marissa got to have her new MOST FAVORITE dessert -- "Lobster tails." But we are on a mission to find out the real name of them. And the best coffee...sooo good.

And just when we thought it was safe -- the boys appeared and we had to politely decline their offers.

Amalfi - A Surprise Adventure!

Italian men have offered Tai & Marissa everything from pastires to aperitifs to marriage. Amalfi men were offering dinners, boat rides, etc. from the moment we stepped off the bus from Ravello.

We stayed in the heart of town at Hotel Fontana. Our room overlooked the famous ninth century Sant'Andrea Catherdral Amalfi. When we were leaving the hotel to explore the city -- Marissa looked both ways to make sure none of our admirers were in sight.

Rain, Rain Go Away...

We were supposed to depart today for Capri to do our "Bikini Baking" at Villa Marina. But due to the rough seas, no boats are traveling today. So a decision had to be made. Giuseppe had invited us to be his guests at Hotel Giordino so we decided to take him up on his offer by lunching and spending the afternoon by the pool. Magically, the sun bathed us with its until lunch and then the dark clouds came. So we decided to jump on a bus to the historic town of Amalfi to spend the night in hope of an early boat to Capri.

Thank You To Our Many Facebook Followers! We Love Your Messages!

Gary L Smith That picture is incredible. Thank you for documenting your trip. Places I'll never see in my lifetime.

June 26 at 3:53pm ·

And Finally...

Tai introduced Marissa to Villa Cimbrone -- 
a villa and hotel that is centuries old.

The botanical garden is famous worldwide. No words can describe the beauty....

the experience as if floating on the edge of the world...

Main Square in Ravello

We walked into the main square looking down at the spectacular view all along the way, then had yummy cappucinos in the town square...

Sunshine in Ravello

We were thrilled to awaken to sunshine! The view from our adorable Bed & Breakfast -- Ravello Rooms. Marissa is so into the lemon groves. And with a new love of limoncello is ready to go home, plant a lemon tree and begin making some for home.

Authentic Italian Limoncello

1 liter grain alcohol

10 medium to large lemons

6 1/3 cups water

6 1/2 cups sugar

Wash the lemons with a vegetable brush and hot water to remove any reside of pesticides or wax; pat the lemons dry. Using a potato peeler, take all the lemon rinds off of the lemons so there is no white pith on the peel. Place the rind-peelings in a large container with the Everclear alcohol. Cover the container and let it sit for seven days. On the eight day, strain the the peels from alcohol; discard peels. In a large saucepan, make a simple syrup by combining the water and sugar; let it simmer "fast" for 15 minutes. Let simple syrup cool to room temperature. Add to alcohol and DRINK!

Concert in the Sky

The two main things we wanted to see in Ravello were affected by the rain. Our night concert under the stars at Villa Rufolo was moved inside and we put off Villa Cimbrone awaiting sunshine. Our concert was a piano trio including a piano, cello and violin.

Magic...

Even our day of off-and-on rain offered us magic. Tai captured it on film.

Ravello

Upon arriving in Ravello -- our first stop was to see Mama Netta at her restaurant Cumpa' Cosimo and have pasta fagioli. Then we headed up to Villa Maria for an aperitif with Giulio's friend Giuseppe. After a prosecco, we had a tour of Gore Vidal's former villa. We felt like we were on the edge of the world. Breathtaking.

Drive to Ravello

Sweet Giulio drove us to Ravello. Marissa took pictures of the coast out the window on our journey.