Montemilitto & Amalfi

We arrived at Montemilitto last Saturday (18thJuly) after a long day of driving and waiting on ferry's. We left the Isle of Elba hoping to catch a mid to late morning ferry (they tend to wing things a little here - even though it is peak time! Well nearly peak time - mid July to mid August is PEAK! All these people and they say this is not busy!)
As a result the first available ferry was 1.30 pm. It was another mid 30 degree day again, if not higher. How were we going to sit and wait in these temps. Particularly the children. Rico got us onto standby, so we waited in queues just like we do in NZ with the Inter islander.

Montemilitto Castle

A&R managed to get on the next available one, but because of our size (the motor home that is) we had to wait till the 1.30pm in 40 degree heat. We have never perspired as much as we are currently. So once we got on board, I spent the whole trip inside the air conditioned lounge while Bill went outside to take photos.
Once back on the mainland, and 2 hours behind Amanda & Rico, we headed off to Montemilitto, 7 hours driving in high temps, AND our airconditioning stopped once again two thirds of the way through the trip.

Parked up outside our "home"

We finally turned up at 10.00pm at Montemilitto, which is inland about an hour from Naples, 3 hours behind A&R, thankfully the last two hours weren't as bad as the sun had gone behind mountains, but it was still very warm.
Montemilitto is where Rico's father & family come from. They still own farm land which is where the family are hoping to do a large scale renovation to make a BB complex, plus more modern living for Rico's parents to retire to in the next few years. In the town the family own an apartment block which is where we

Luna between 2 "Wise" Men

were to stay for the next 4 days. Rico's family name Petrillo is the 3rd most common name in Montemilitto after Capone & Musto, so there are a lot of family around. Not all Petrillo's are related, but certainly quite a few are. We had quite a few shared family meals as they are so hospitable and make you feel very

Bill happily helping with bbq 

welcome. The day after our arrival, we went on a family barbecue into a forest (Woods) near by. It was privately run but set up like Rabbit Island in

Family BBQ in the Woods

Nelson with lots of bbq's and picnic tables all under trees thankfully. Lots of families. Some people near by were barbecuing a traditional cheese over the fire, then spreading it on toasted bread. It was really delicious.

Barbecuing cheese- delicious.

The little town itself is a lovely old village built on top of a hill like so many towns in Italy, full of cobbled streets. The castle in the centre of the old part has recently been restored to it's earlier majestic self, a back drop to a lot of the old buildings surrounding it. A mixture of renovated & dilapidated buildings.

Montemilitto Piazza

Montemilitto has five and a half thousand people, employment is a bit of a struggle these days but you wouldn't know it as everyone is happy to share what they do have. Families are very important. Mario, Rico's cousin who lives next door, owns a panel beaters / workshop. Bill worked in there for one day while we were there as he

Bills next reno job maybe??

was keen to help on a big job that was being done. Not sure how they managed as they don't speak any English (or very little) and Bill very little Italian, but over a communal meal and lots of red wine that night, everyone seemed very happy with

Beautiful Doors

the days events. And Amanda & I were happy as Rico took us to an amazing local market where I bought tops and shoes. SHOES! Real Italian leather shoes. Sooooooo cheap, look forward to returning in a weeks time.

Cobbled streets of Montemilitto

Part of this trip was for Rico to follow up the renovation project that was suppose to have started over a year ago, but you can't rush the Italian Council and these things take time. More so when you aren't living in the same town. It is now hoped things

Some of the many colourful villas.

will get underway late September, there is an actual start date. Fingers crossed. We hope we will see some of it, or all of it completed before we head back to NZ as it is so run down at this point, it will be lovely to see the completed plan. Good luck.

Lovely paved streets

One of our days while in town we drove down to Salerno and caught a ferry up the Amalfi Coast to Amalfi for the day, visiting Ravello where A&R got

Amalfi

married ten years earlier. We had a lovely lunch at one of the many cafes while looking out over the piazza, with another much needed cold beverage of course.

Ravello on top of the hill

After lunch it was time to catch the bus up to Ravello, which is really a skinny narrow one way road used for two way traffic, up to the top of the hill to the little village of Ravello. OMG, the 10km signs mean nothing if not go faster when driving a long bus! We sadly couldn't make their wedding at that time, so it was lovely to run through the day with A&R again.  The

Town Hall where A&R married

weather was just amazing (if not a little too hot - have I said how hot it is!) so the place was as pretty and picturesque as it was on their wedding day. Oleanders do very well here, they are everywhere.

An exhausted Caio

We returned to Amalfi in time to pick up some Limoncello (my brother Graeme says it is the home of football sized lemons where they make fantastic Limoncello apparently. A quick swim in the sea, then catch the ferry back to Salerno. A big day, but very enjoyable.