We spent a week at the Amalfi Coast of Italy, in a small town called Ravello.  We stayed at the Hotel Caruso.  The views of the water and lemon groves were postcard perfect.

This is the coastal town of Amalfi.  We had lunch on the wharf.  This is also where we caught the ferry to Capri.

Standing on the steps of the Catholic church in Amalfi.  The bones of Andrew are buried underneath the church in a large crypt-like room.  We were able to tour the room and listen to the history about the church.

The spectacular coastal town of Positano.  Remember the movie UNDER A TUSCAN SUN?  I believe this is the beach where Diane Lane had lemoncello.  That is one strong drink!

This is a figure cast in stone at Pompeii.  When the site was excavated, the bodies were hollowed out and a substance poured in form the body shapes.  All the artifacts behind this body were discovered as well.  Pompeii is preserved in ways that is unbelievable.

This was a cistern in Pompeii.  At one time, it was a part of someone prominent’s home.  The tile colors haven’t been restored, nor has the coloring in the wall plaster.  This was simply amazing.

Our little town of Ravello where we stood on the top of the town square.  It was on a hillside with a Catholic church.  When you walked down these steps, there was an open market.  We bought fresh olives, cheeses, crackers and a bottle of wine and sat on our private patio and ate lunch.  The view from our room patio was of the ocean, and the hotel’s lush gardens.

My husband knows I love to cook so he signed us up for a private cooking lesson with the Hotel Caruso’s 5-star chef.  The other couple that took the class with us were from Minnesota.  We learned how to make homemade pasta and a delish sauce.  I’ll post the recipe in an upcoming blog.  This chef Masimo (I’m sure I’m spelling that wrong) was on Italy’s top cooking show on TV.

A view of the Hotel Caruso’s “infinity” pool.  That means the railing where I’m standing goes straight down on the other side.  You swim in this pool and the edge is a cliff that is a drop off into nothing but a lemon and grape arbor below.  It was a bit freaky–but we loved swimming in here and enjoying the mountain and ocean view.

This was one of the many “markets” in Italy.  The selection of cheeses and meats are many and the quality is wonderful.  We never ate so many delicious cheeses and we loved all the varieties of olives.  The natural ones were actually the best.

Italy is truly a wonderful place to visit!  We’d like to go again!