We've made new friends, we've kept the old, we've tried to figure out who's silver and who's gold. One thing remains: our friends love wine. All of our friends, basically everywhere, are wino-s. Maybe that's why we feel so at home with them, maybe that's why we always seem to be having too much fun, maybe wine's just delicious. Regardless, we met up with our dear friends, Kim and Nathan and their dear friends, who are quickly becoming our dear friends, Brian and Gillian, for a trip to Ravello.
When we got to Bella Napoli at the Indoc class where we were warned about being robbed, mugged in broad daylight, pick-pocketed, run off the road and then murdered, we were also told that Italy was great. Listening to the first part, I feared for my life. In the second part, once they finished explaining how we'd likely being knifed to death, they told us all about how great Italy is. It was in this class that I first heard of Alberobello, which we visited a few weeks ago, and of the famous concerts in Ravello, which we just went to this weekend. Ravello is like a town in the clouds. It sits absurdly high above the Amalfi Coast, the road to get there both winding and sometimes terrifying. We four, Kim, Nathan, Tom and I piled into our Honda Civic and off we went, up and down winding roads, playing Kim's Best of 1983 mix and making jokes about "pressed ham" (read: mooning cars on the Autostrada. For the record: I would not allow Nathan to press ham on my windows. Some things are sacred).
Ravello: It has probably the most beautiful views of the Amalfi Coast that you will find. The cliffs and the sea, the rows upon rows of lemon trees, it's all so idyllic and lovely that it feels like a fantasy world. We had lunch, one item being called "His Majesty the Sea" which, obviously we had to get. Please, there's royalty involved. His majesty would hate for us to leave him behind.
Of interesting note: Best Western, the budget hotels of America, are amazingly swanky in Italy. Capri, Ravello, heck, even Naples, have the most amazing Best Westerns! I can recall openly mocking the one on Capri until I realized that the rooms were somewhere around 350 Euro a night off-season. Humbly, I took my judgement back. Our hotel in Ravello was once a paper mill, converted into a ridiculously gorgeous hotel with the most committed nautical theme I've ever seen. It was also directly on the water, our room looking at nothing but the sea and the bathroom (you knew there would be a shower story in here) had a large window that looked directly into the neighboring house and the sun porch and lounge chairs of our hotel. "Why hell, Asian tourists, enjoying a sunny morning. Don't mind me, I'm just showering in full view of you. I'd close the blinds or draw the curtains, but there aren't any." No, no, it got uncomfortable and was, it's probably safe to say, the shortest shower of my life.
The main event and reason for our trip, was to see a piano and clarinet recital at the famous Villa Rufalo. Beginning at 9:30 pm after a delicious meal, the concert involved absolutely no speaking. No introductions, no notice about cell phones, no explanation of the pieces. We all agreed that the pianist was phenomenal and that her clarinet counterpart could have used a bit more practice. All the men also agreed that such an event was the perfect place to take a little nap.
About 10 bottles of wine and a very late evening, ended abruptly by a patron miming that we were being too loud, we all met up for breakfast the next morning and took what is probably one of the more random photoshoots on the little stone landing for summer beach bathers. Though the water was chilly and the rain began rolling in, we got some true gems that really captured the ridiculous, hilarious and fun-loving nature of our group. Fun times had by all. Naps required upon arriving home.
Next stop: Budapest!
Lynne
xoxo
That's a whole lot of fabulousness in one weekend!
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