Cooking class in Sorrento

Eight of us took an evening cooking class in the beautiful town of Sorrento. Chef Carmen, who runs La Cucina Del Gusto, was a lot of fun and showed us how to prepare some delicious Southern Italian cuisine. It was a great evening with fantastic food and good friends.

Preparing hand-made pasta. Although Alan seemed more interested in working on his swing.

I love cooking with wine. Sometimes I even put some in the food.

Vicki preparing cheese-stuffed raviolis.

Alan cannot wait to taste the mozzarella-stuffed fried zucchinis.

You can't go wrong with fresh ingredients.

Tristan and Joy really got into it.

Dorcas, Michael H. and Tristan listening to the instructions for one of the dishes.

Fish anyone?

Taking a short break on the patio of La Cucina Del Gusto while the food is in the oven.

Enjoying the stuffed zucchinis.

Tasting the results of our collective efforts. Yummy!

Mario

Around Sant'Agata

Our house in Torca was located about two km from the nice little town of Sant'Agata Sui Due Golfi. It is located way on top of the Amalfi Peninsula, and its name indicates that you can see two gulfs, the Bay of Naples and the Gulf of Salerno. You could even see the Island of Capri in the distance. We had a lovely time exploring the town and enjoying the spectacular vistas.

Vicki in the festive main piazza in the small village of Torca.

The houses in Torca are perched on the side of the hill, and can be reached by small roads and paths.

Vicki, Alan and Michael P. on a path between Sant'Agata and Torca.

Almost every house had something growing in the garden.

Vicki and the huge umbrella pine behind our house.

Tristan being impressed by the special safety brake applied to this Fiat 500.

I assume one should drink the beer before applying the safety brake.

In one of the bars in Sant'Agata, this statue commemorates Alfredo Cilento who used to entertain the US troops still stationed in the area after WWII with his smoking cat.

Once again, there was no shortage of good food in the area. With an added touch for the presentation.

Being so close to the water, the seafood was always fresh and delicious.

And of course, Sant'Agata had a very nice variety of gelato available.

And imagine that, also some very nice shoe stores for those who have developed a liking to Italian footwear.

Now this one deserves a bit of background. This is a statue of San Padre Pio at the entrance of a beautiful Carmelite monastery in Sant'Agata Sui Due Golfi. He is my own personal patron saint of photography. When I was in Grade 7, I had to endure a totally exulted and fanatical teacher in my mandatory religion class. His constant talk about Padre Pio and his stigmata and visions drove me up the wall. To the point where I convinced my parents to petition the school to be exempted from having to sit and endure the preachings of this nutcase of a teacher. As an alternative, I had to take an art class instead. And the only one that appealed to me at the time was photography. And that's how I developed my love of photography. All that thanks to Padre Pio.

Padre Pio with offerings of flowers and rosaries.

Vicki with Sorrento in the background.

To reach the beach at the bottom of the cliff in Sorrento, one has to take specially built elevators or take a footpath that zigzags down the cliff.

Folks enjoying the crystal clear water at the Sorrento beach.

Maybe there's a reason why we saw so many couples getting married in Sorrento.

Mario

Our house on the Amalfi Coast

For our last full week in Italy, we rented a beautiful house on the Amalfi Coast, in the village of Torca, near the small town of Sant'Agata Sui Due Golfi. In addition to the Gagnons, Alan and Michael P., Dorcas and Michael H., and Maggie enjoyed what the region had to offer. It was a perfect location for an excursion to Pompei, for a boat ride along the beautiful Amalfi Coast, to hang out in Sorrento, or to simply enjoy life in Southern Italy.

The village of Torca is perched on a cliff overlooking the Gulf of Salerno.

Our house can be seen here all the way up in the center of the photo.

In addition to a lovely and refreshing pool, the house offered spectacular views of the Amalfi Coast.

Vicki and Tristan on our balcony, overlooking the Gulf of Salerno.

The beautiful outcrops near Marina Del Cantone.

We enjoyed many meals on the patio under a lovely wisteria-covered pergola.

The elusive, but ever-present cicadas provided a continuous soundtrack at the house.

The evenings produced spectacular sunsets on the coast.

And more meals under the lovely pergola.

Joy taking advantage of the pool at night.

Mario

Olive Oil

Following the recommendation of Chef Gianluca, we traveled to the sleepy little village of Pieve di Compito, just a few kilometers southeast of Lucca, to purchase some local olive oil. We were met by Claudio Orsi, a charming winemaker and olive producer who also runs an agro-tourism small inn. His English is very limited and our Italian is even more limited, but we were able to taste and purchase some delicious wine and olive oil. We also learned that we could come back on Friday, on last full day in the region, for a lunch featuring all local food. We certainly were not about to pass such an opportunity.

The lovely Tuscan countryside near Lucca.

A vintage Lamborghini...

...towing a special model of Ferrari.

Joy with the resident cat.

A lemon tree just outside the door. Very convenient for lemonade, or Limoncello.

A wide variety of herbs on the edge of the patio.

A beautiful lunch inside the farm house.

Our very friendly host, Claudio Orsi.

Mario

Special dinner by Gianluca

Following our cooking class with Chef Gianluca Pardini, he offered that we go back to the International School of Italian Cuisine for a dinner on the terrace of the lovely villa where the school is located in the country. The setting was fabulous, the ambiance was very relaxed and friendly, and the food was fantastic. Fresh, sophisticated, and extremely tasty!

The whole gang getting ready for a very special dinner evening.

The Gagnons all dressed up.

Mother and daughter both looking lovely.

Enjoying the company of two other visiting families on the patio before dinner.

Having a nice conversation with Chef Gianluca.

Joy being treated with birthday cake.

Getting the attention of Chef Gianluca.

Joy is now officially a teenager!

Thank you Chef Gianluca for such a memorable dinner.

Mario