Mellow in Maiori

Maiori, Day 19, 3 June 2009

Breakfast the next morning is similarly just for us with no-one else around.

After breakfast, Kathy goes down to pay the bill.  The chap behind the desk says, "no, niente" and Peppe appears and just says, "I have taken care of it"....

We then go up to the retail shop with our bags to say final farewell to Peppe and Veronica.  We see Veronica come down through the piazza and open up the shop. She later tells us that she lives directly above the shop, right there in the piazza.  We have a lovely time with Veronica and make some discoveries about our products and how they have been made and she is most helpful.  Peppe arrives a bit later and is very defensive about some issues we raise.  We go for a final coffee next door and at the end, as he is walking off, he tells the waiter he will pay him later.  We say fond farewells to them both and take our bags to the bus stop to catch the "Pullman" to Maiori.  The skies above us are increasingly black, but the rain never comes.

We arrive in Maiori relieved to see that there is a sign pointing to our hotel right by the bus stop and we recall that it was only 600m from the sea, so this sounds right.  We set off UP the road to the hotel and it seems interminable.  We ask, someone about the hotel to check we are on the right track and sure enough we are.  We finally arrive at the hotel and I am red and perspiring heavily from wheeling the suitcase (not allowed to call it the trunk on wheels any more) and carrying the pack up the hill from the bus stop.  I tell the nice lady in the hotel who advises us that we could have called for a car that I am "a cabbage", no sorry "a horse"!! (two words in Italian that can easily be confused by me).

We go for a mooch around Maiori and find it is a fairly small town, largely organised around the sea front.  It actually has a beach of sorts, which is why it is a bit unusual for the Amalfi Coast and why we have chosen it.  We had envisaged long days on the beach just blobbing about, but the weather is unseasonably cold for this time of year.  The reverse to our expectations has happened, when it was unseasonably hot in the north and the south has been relatively cold.  Still in the low 20's but not what we were expecting.  After a bit of local shopping, we find that today is market day and spend some time mooching around the market.  Later, we find a local restaurant for dinner and for the first time on this trip we are disappointed.  The owner and waiter has already proudly told us he had spent 3 years in London and returned to Maiori and was the first person to serve bacon and eggs for breakfast to tourists.  Hmm....  This was kind of reflected in his cooking, which was over-priced for what we had and well, overall did not meet our expectations.

Maiori, Day 20, 4 June 2009

The highlight of this day was a trip to Amalfi.  We take the familiar bus trip over the hills from Maiori and yes, it is still the same.  This is the only road where they employ people to fold in bus mirrors before and after tight turns and we are reminded of this as the bus inches past other cars on the road, so close to them and to the cliff face that the vegetation pokes right through the open windows above us!  Amalfi is lovely and a refreshing change in some respects from Maiori, which has been relatively "dead" as a town for us.  Amalfi is buzzing and tonight there is a political rally on as well.  It is full of locals and tourists, but for once the tourists are well outnumbered.  After a poke around the many shops in the main drag, we find a restaurant up a back alley which looks just right.  And it is.  As we sit there, some old ladies appear and are SO entertaining that they are the highlight of the night.  Their conversation (in Neopolitan, so completely unknown to me) is a wonderful vignette of their lives.  One of them says she is so happy with her life.  A child comes through and is the centre of attention.  More friends pass by and there is animated conversation about what heaven will be like!!  About 9pm, they wander off to their homes to prepare dinner.  We mean while have enjoyed a nice meal at this restaurant and had priceless entertainment provided free!

Not everything about life in Italy is what we would like to take with us, but there are some things that are truly lovely to observe:

• Children are national treasures, whether they are yours or someone else's
• Greetings ring out everywhere and people stop lines of traffic to make sure that their greeting and brief exchange with someone is fulfilled.  No-one really minds this and understands the importance of saying "ciao"
• Family is a strong value and children are loved and reciprocate that love to their parents and to their wider family
• Food is one of the pleasures of life and is not eaten to satisfy hunger.  It is eaten to savour and enjoy.
• We have not seen anywhere any evidence of abuse of alcohol.  Children grow up with wine and alcohol being a part of the pleasure of eating and it is no big deal.
• There is passion in almost every conversation about any subject

We catch the 10pm bus back from Amalfi and the driver is new.  This is the slowest trip we have ever taken.

Maiori, Day 21, 5 June 2009

Today is a trip to see some old friends of the family at Castellammare di Stabia.  It is going to be a long day, as we need to catch two buses and a train each way.  We arrive at Castellammare with time to spare, so use the time to visit some of Kathy's old haunts.  Firstly, there is the first school she attended that was a converted hospital.  It is now a derelict building, but she tells me that one of the classrooms used to be a morgue and in her classroom an adult could not stand up fully due to a low height ceiling.  This goes to show you can never go back to your old school yard.

We wander on to her second school and find that today is election day and there are police and flags up at the school.  We wander in and Kathy says that there is much that has changed, but recognises one of the buildings as being one she used when there.  We cautiously approach and the police ask what we want.  Kathy explains that this was her old school and one of the policemen exclaims that it was his old school as well.  They exchange dates and teacher's names, look at each other questioningly and ask if Kathy would like to go upstairs to the classrooms.  What an experience!  We go upstairs and Kathy finds the very classroom she used to attend and although the orientation of the desks is different now, she spends a few moments to sit at a desk and recall the time she was there as a student.  The policemen were so nice and allow us to take a photo of them as we leave.

We continue around the back streets and find that most of the old haunts have changed.  The fish shop is now the bakery and vice versa.  Never the less, it was great to see it all again.  Stopping by her old apartment, we manage to tailgate and get in, as someone leaves and does not notice us.  It is awesome to get inside the foyer.  The stairs are still the same and so is the lift.  Great memories.  We are tempted to go up to the fifth floor, but think better of it.

Then to Silvio and Lidia's for lunch.  We are so welcomed by them and it is great to see Lidia, who is battling cancer.  She was so lovely and despite our protests insisted on providing lunch for us.  It was "just what they were having anyway".  Over lunch, I remind Silvio that I ate the best Italian bread ever when we were here last time.  He confirms he is a bit of a bread connoisseur and asks us what bread is like in NZ.  Kathy tells him it has preservatives in it.  "No"  He looks bemused and Kathy thinks that this may have been a botch.  He explains about what the Italian word "preservativo" means and you definitely wouldn't put them in bread!!  Kathy realises that this is the botch of the century and blushes.  Too late to cover this one up and we have a good laugh.  Kathy later realises that she had used the same phrase in Milan; they were too polite to say anything, but must have had a good laugh afterwards!!

The entire time we were there, Silvio was calling me "Donald", who is Kathy's cousin in England.  The amazing thing is that I never noticed!!

We also meet their son and his daughter.  Nonno is just doting about this little girl.  It is lovely to reminisce with them and Kathy recalls when she was just 8, going to stay with them when her mum and dad went away for a few days and how they served up eel.  At the end of the meal they asked her if she had ever had eel and she spent the rest of the night in the bathroom at the thought of what she had just eaten!  They don't seem to recall this detail, but lunch is served and it is a nice pasta with chicken dish to follow.  Silvio is very keen on his TV and watches a police drama and explains to me all the way through what is happening and who is who.  After a time of "far niente" (doing nothing) which is lovely, we must have the mandatory "dolce" before leaving.

The entire time

On the train on the way back we end up sitting next to a young boy who is studying physics (when not talking on the phone).  It is interesting to see him preening his hair in the reflection in the window and checking he is looking just great as he repeats what he is learning out loud to himself.

The bus trips back are memorable as I love sitting right up the front and on the sea side of the road.  On the hair pin bends the drivers swing wide and sometimes right in to the path of drivers coming the other way who are furiously backing up to allow the bus to pass.  You also get amazing views looking straight down to the sea in some places where the road is nothing more than a bridge attached to the cliff face.  The drivers are usually very well natured and on one trip we hear him exclaim "come on mate, can't you see there are mirrors" referring to the mirrors provided on the blind hair pin bends so you can see if anyone is coming.  On one of these trips we sit opposite an old Neopolitan couple.  When he gets on he demands a tourist sitting in the front seat with a spare next to her move over to allow him to sit there.  Then he calls to his wife in Neopolitan "I biglett....." for her to validate the tickets.  Classic.  Later in the journey, she joins him in the front seat and regularly crosses herself and is fingering her rosary for most of the journey. As we approach Amalfi, on a back road an elderly Englishman gets on.  The driver asks for his ticket and it has expired.  The old man has parkinsons disease it would seem and offers the driver some British pounds. The driver shakes his head and says in Neopolitan, "well, what I am going to do now?"  The old lady in the front street issues a firm instruction "You are going to just have to tell him to get off!  To quell the commotion, we offer the Englishman a couple of Euro for the ticket and he gratefully accepts and we carry on.  Despite a large sign at the front of the bus defining death by torture if you converse with the driver, the old couple extract his life story and discuss all that is wrong with the world.  The English gentleman hands us two pounds as he leaves the bus.

We get off the train in Sorrento and decide instead of just getting on the bus and carrying on to Amalfi, we will have a mooch around Sorrento.  This was so the right decision.  It feels like coming home in some respects, as we know it so well after we spent a couple of weeks here in 2007.  The motorini are still here in force, but it is just lovely walking around.  The view from the cliff top is still absolutely stunning and today there are at least 3 weddings going on at the nearby church and the brides all come out for their photos with the Bay of Naples in the background.  We have our daily Campari at a cliff top bar and enjoy the scenes as they unfold before us.  The shoes are just amazing.  Many of the women at this wedding look as if they just stepped out of the cover of "Vogue".  Their shoes alone are wonders to behold.  We also enjoy shopping here and discover some wonderful leather goods and inlaid wood items.

We arrive back at the hotel, tired, but very happy after a lovely day.

Maiori, Day 22, 6 June 2009

Today is Sunday and we decide to just have a mooch around Maiori.  Good decision.  Breakfast at the hotel is provided in the price, so we usually take advantage of this.  However, ever since the first morning we were here, because there are so few guests in the hotel, the waiters just hover about, watching your every move.  I became aware of this on the first morning when picking up a brioche with the tongs proved too difficult as it was stuck to the paper doily, I put the tongs down and picked it up with my fingers.  He laughed at me.  Firstly I did not realise that my every move was being tracked and well, frankly, I don't like it either.  From then on I determine two things.  I will always select my breakfast items with my back to him, so he can't see anything and secondly, to give him something to look at, I will randomly shoot out my arm at 90 degrees or rapidly jerk my head sideways for an instant or make an elephant call or something equally bizarre.  For some reason Kathy does not approve of this plan, but I am determined, but lack real opportunity today.

Today Maiori is buzzing.  Everyone is here, it is a lovely day and even the pay beach areas have patrons.  The public sections of the beach are full and we wander down and wade in the Mediterranean and also meander down the length of the entire beach, which is quite long and finishes with a marina.  At the marina end is the young people's beach. We are the oldest there by miles.  It is all great fun as people play in the sea, on the beach and dive off the wharf.  Great atmosphere.  We decide we might have judged Maiori a bit too soon. There are very few tourists here.

That night we wander around torn between getting something from the supermarket and eating in our room or just getting a simple pizza somewhere.  We eventually settle on a pizzeria, which doubles as a bit of an art collectors place as well.  We end up having an awesome meal and can see the chef preparing the meal.  It was a great experience and one we would repeat.  It was also awesome to see a group of children of about 10 years old go out to dinner here and come up and pay individually at the end.

Maiori, Day 23, 7 June 2009

There is a castle on the hill that dominates the hill and I decide to get up early before it gets too hot and walk up to it.  This morning I am the only person in the restaurant for breakfast and the waiter on is someone who looks remarkably like Richard Gere.  I am reasonably successful in conversing with him about the trip to the castle until I have to fess up to not understanding.  Bah!!  He tells me it is privately owned (which is the bit I did not understand).

I set off up the road and it is a lovely clear morning.  The access to castle is not well marked at all and I overshoot, but get there after asking two people for directions in Italian, which is fun in itself.  My normal translator is in bed with nose in air.

Arriving at the castle there are a couple of dogs there, one of which on the outside of a locked gate looks a bit unfriendly.  After trying to walk around the castle walls unsuccessfully, I finally follow the instructions written in Italian to ring the bell.  An older man comes out and asks me if I speak Italian, to which I reply "a little, but I prefer to speak in Italian".  "Va bene" he replies and after a few moments admits me into the castle itself.  He proceeded to give me a personal tour of the entire place, which is largely unchanged since the middle ages.  He even has original items from the site such as keys, weapons, ceramics.  It is amazing ,as it is all just like he had cleaned them up after discovering them in his backyard.  He explains to me how they defended the castle and the ways that they communicated up and down the coast with the fires on the towers.  You can see all the way to Amalfi and Positano, Ravello and many of the local towns from this point.  You can see how strategically important this castle was in times of Sacracen raids and wars in the middle ages.  The castle itself has three levels of defence, including 5 outer towers on the first wall, with defensive holes for archers and places to drop stuff on the attackers.  I find it all immensely authentic and so uncorrupted by commercial tourism.  This is full immersion Italian training if ever, as he speaks only Italian as it turns out.  He leads me to areas where the cavalry was housed and men and horses all slept in the same area at the same time.  It is all totally as it was hundreds of years ago.  The pinnacle is a small circular room that was the last line of defence.  Its walls are about 5 or 6 feet thick, about two or three levels of door and only one small high window.  They had food and water supplies there to last some time.  As we continued to walk around the site, his young dog was darting around us and hunting lizards.  Everywhere there were original ceramic vases, and pots, some of which had been re-assembled from pieces.  I was really stoked with this personal tour of the place and was really pleased I had made the effort to go up there.  I descended via a different route that deposited me almost directly opposite our hotel.

Kathy by this time was hanging out for a coffee and had decided the hotel breakfast was not up to an acceptable standard, so we head off down to a local bar.  It was worth it, as we have a superb coffee with delightful service, surrounded by locals chatting in Neopolitan about the election results.  We have a final paddle in the Mediterranean, as we leave for Rome tomorrow.

We also wonder what it all means.  It appears intuitively to us that Italy is on a good course right now and the country seems up beat despite the recession.  The lack of tourists is very apparent though, as we have dinner later that night at a nice local restaurant and are the only guests there.  The food is delicious but the service very slack due to the lack of guests we presume.

The other thing I note is that a fashion accessory which is mandatory over here to be really cool is a man bag.  Many guys have them.