Chef Carmen at our house for our last night

We all got along so well with Chef Carmen at our cooking class that when we asked her for recommendations for someone to come over to our house to cook for our last evening in town, she immediately offered her services. She brought along her good friend Linda, and we had a fantastic last evening in the Amalfi region.

Chef Carmen busy in our kitchen while her friend Linda is chatting with Michael P.

Alan and Dorcas worked hard during the day writing their own version of Bizet's Carmen.

Alan and Dorcas performing their own version of Carmen for our Chef Carmen.

She loved it!

Eating another fabulous meal, this time prepared by Chef Carmen and her friend Linda, at our own place. Fantastic!

And here are the lyrics for "Ode to Carmen" composed and performed by Alan and Dorcas.

Ode to Carmen

(to the tune of L'amour est un oiseau rebelle from the Bizet opera "Carmen")
for a refresher, here's a version of the song
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2snTkaD64U
the relevant melody starts at about the 0:55 sec mark.

Now in Sorrento, there is a cook

We know her from the lessons that we took

She is a chef "extraordinaire"

A ball of fire with dark eyes and hair

We had a class, a four-course meal

The many tastes provided such appeal

Right from the start we loved her style

Throughout the class we couldn't help but smile

There are four kids in her family

She calls the others "strange genetically"

She loves her food, especially cheese

And if it's smelly, it is sure to please

Unlike her men – she's found no mate

Until she finds her match she'll have to wait

Till she can find someone as strong

As she appears to have been all along

We know her cooking school will thrive

With her experience and with her drive

People, they come from far and wide

To spend a few hours by her side

And oh the food - such taste divine

There's not a place that offers food so fine

The fresh ingredients have such taste

So not a morsel of our meal went to waste

And so tonight, we'll have a treat

Chef Carmen comes and cooks us food to eat

A sumptuous feast, 'twill be, no doubt

A meal for years that we will talk about

"Buona fortuna" has been grand

At all the places where she's lent a hand

So "Grazie mille" we must say

For the adventures Carmen's sent our way

Mario

Crashing a big Italian party at a local restaurant

We had been looking into this really nice restaurant up on the hill near our house, and when we mentioned it to Chef Carmen, she told us that she knew the owner very well and that she would arrange a reservation for us. When we stopped by the next day to confirm, the owner, Giacomo Guarrancino, asked us if we could come a bit earlier than initially planned and if we would not mind sitting inside instead of out on the terrace because there would be a big party that evening. It was not a problem with us as we were glad to try this nice restaurant.

When we arrived, there was already quite a few people there and musicians were starting to set up. Luigi, the father who initially started the restaurant, took us out in his garden to show us all the wonderful food they were growing. It also became clear that this was no ordinary party, but rather a very large family gathering to celebrate the fiftieth birthday of the owner's cousin. There must have been over a hundred guests. Giacomo would normally have refused our reservation on such a busy evening, but had accepted because of Chef Carmen. Wow! What a night!

The restaurant is perched high up on the hill and the terrace offers a spectacular view of the Gulf of Salerno.

Giacomo even raised a Canadian flag that he had in reserve, just for us!

Luigi Guarrancino proudly showing Vicki his beautiful garden.

We were comfortably set in a more quiet part of the restaurant.

And once the food started arriving, it was just wonderful.

Fresh tuna and marlin carpaccio.

Vicki with the beautiful fish of the day, a tuna steak.

Tristan getting ready to enjoy what he claims was the best steak he's ever had!

I had lots of delicious seafood in the Amalfi region. Yum!

They even came up with a fabulous tiramisu cake once they heard that we were also there to celebrate Vicki's birthday.

The large family celebration on the terrace of the restaurant.

Luigi and Vicki got along very well.

Thank you so much to Giacomo for allowing us to crash his big family party. It made for a very, very special evening.

Mario

Boat ride to Amalfi and Positano

We went on a very nice full day boat ride along the Amalfi coast, with a few stops along the way, including Amalfi and Positano.

Our boat excursion started in beautiful Marina del Cantone, only a few kilometers from our house in Torca, at the end of a twisty road.

The first stop on our ride was in Amalfi, a beautiful town perched on the edge of the cliff.

The fountain in the main piazza in Amalfi is adorned with a statue of St Andrew.

One of the female figures has strategically well-positioned spouts...

The beautifully decorated bell tower of the Duomo.

A narrow street going up the hill in Amalfi.

A very unusual fountain in Amalfi, populated by dozens of small figurines.

The very nice beach on Amalfi's waterfront.

The Gagnons on the sea wall in Amalfi.

Amalfi's waterfront.

One of many bridges for the tortuous road running along the coast.

Positano's waterfront.

The Gagnons in Positano.

Tristan and Joy having a quick swim in Positano.

Very nice restaurant with a terrace where we had lunch in Positano.
Well worth the climb up the hill.

Kids jumping off a cliff into the warm and crystal clear water near Positano.

Boat navigating through the spectacular rock formations along the coast.

More beautiful rock formations along the coast.

Joy and Vicki enjoying a refreshing swim at the end of the day in Marina Del Cantone.

Mario

Pompeii

One of the highlights of the trip was our visit to the archeological site of Pompeii. Maggie and Dorcas joined the Gagnons on this day-long excursion. We took a commuter train from Sorrento and then booked a private guide for about 3 hours. We then spent another two or three hours exploring the site on our own. The site is massive. It is estimated that about 10,000 to 15,000 people lived in the city when it was destroyed by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 A.D. and buried under up to 20 feet of volcanic ash. Today, over two million people visit this ancient Roman city every year.

The site consists of the remnants of houses and buildings laid out in a grid-like pattern of streets and broad avenues. A few buildings have reconstructed roofs, and most of the artifacts have been moved to a museum in nearby Naples. So when visiting Pompeii, one gets a feel of the scale of the city,  how it was organized, and how people lived. It was very useful to have a knowledgeable guide to provide context and interpretation.

The ancient Roman city of Pompeii with Mount Vesuvius in the background.

The theater is still used today for live performances.

Our guide had a Master's degree in Roman history and was very good at pointing out interesting details and providing context.

Our guide explaining to Vicki some features of the houses.

A street crossing for pedestrians, with the gaps for allowing chariots to pass through. We can still see the ruts left in the stone pavement by the wheels.

A section of clay pipe running down from what used to be the second floor of this house.

A section of lead pipe that used to bring drinking water.

A bath house showing the floating floor with the heated space underneath.

This carving on a street flagstone was pointing towards the red-light district.

The frescoes above the brothel rooms were perhaps graphic depiction of the kind of services available on the "menu".

The built-in stone beds in the small brothel rooms were remarkably short. The kids refused to pose for me in the picture to provide a sense of scale. No way Dad!
At least we know they used pillows and cushions for comfort.

A public water fountain that still shows the worn area where people would sit to drink and collect water.

A mosaic floored passageway leading to an inner courtyard with a small collecting pool.

Remnant of a temple in the main town square.

Archaeologists at work in one section of the site.

This certainly brings back memories of my time spend on digs.

A three-legged marble base for a table inside a house.

An open-air storage area with hundreds of amphorae and other artifacts, including a cast of the famous dog with his collar still in place. 

A plaster cast of one of the victims. Those were made by poring liquid plaster in cavities left in the ash bed after the bodies had decomposed.

A kind of fast food restaurant. These counters had openings for vessels underneath that contained food or beverages.

Another fast food counter, this one with a fresco at one end.

Detail of the fresco. Not sure if it represents some of the products on sale.

Some remnants of frescoes had text still clearly readable.

Another fresco depicting a series of graphic scenes.

A small fountain in a yard with an altar, flanked by two very well preserved frescoes.

A beautiful fresco depicting Venus emerging from her shell. About 1400 years before Botticelli's Birth of Venus.

The large amphitheater at the end of the site complex. I can just imagine Pink Floyd playing Meddle there in the early 1970's. They had a nice little exhibit about that event.

Ahh those tourists with their photos...

The outside of the amphitheater with the majestic umbrella pines.

Tristan listening to his music on the train on the way back.

Mario