Prairie Boy

Tuesday, Oct. 25
Our day begins at another breakfast table loaded with delicious fruit from the hotel garden.  Our meal is delightfully punctuated with another visit with Mare and Evelyn who have become our La Perla friends. Mare's family has strong Italian roots and she comes here a couple of times a year to refresh her Italian soul.  Her knowledge of the local area has been very helpful when suggesting places to visit and where to eat. On top of that she is a stand up comedian and keeps us in stitches with her descriptions of family life in the USA and her observations about our group's choices in attire and head cover.

Don, Trent, Mare, Evelyn

Today our group heads off in different directions to explore on our own. The local birds continue to elude my shutter so I content myself with pictures of plants that cannot dart away.

Olives that missed picking and processing.

My walk carried me to a local marina, along a stony hiking path, through a residential area clinging to the rock face and back to the hotel. Along the way a towering rock called out to the little boy in me to climb up, push it over and watch the toppling peak careen down the mountain. Fortunately, my adult voice prevailed and I carried on.

Can you imagine pushing this stone pillar over.

I also discovered how smooth rocks are formed on beaches with lots of wave action.

This walk was so enjoyable that I returned to the hotel to get Cathy and we repeated the walk in reverse order.  Throughout our stay on the Amalfi coast we have observed full sized cars and busses negotiating the roads built for tinker toy cars.  Pat has commented on the regular appearance of the patented Amafi pin striping applied to many of the vehicles.

Note the Amalfi pin striping.

Further on we passed a restaurant  where a lady called out asking if we wanted something to eat.  At least that was our interpretation of the Italian sounds and gestures.  Our positive response turned into a satisfying episode of cappuccino drinking and cake eating.  Just what you should do for lunch in Italy.

How could you refuse cake made by this lady.

Three very handsome young boys dressed in rather formal clothes were tossing rocks into the sea as we sipped our coffee.  Our waiter informed us that the action on the beach was part of a photo shoot to advertise children's clothing.  Cathy was most fascinated by this and managed to capture a shot from above the photo shoot.  We are currently in negotiations with the advertising arm of Armani to secure the exclusive rights to this photo for an undisclosed 6 figure contract.

Eight hundred years ago a tower was built on a rocky outcropping just below our hotel.  Twenty years ago Paolo Sandulli opened his ceramic studio in this tower. Two hours ago we had the delight of touring this eye popping studio.

Paolo is a painter and ceramic artist who studied in Paris in the late 1970's in a studio used by famous painters such as Cézanne. This was a great inspiration to him over the years.  Our conversation with him was most delightful and included a discussion about his interest in coming to Canada to attend our biennial International Emma Collaboration. Here is a selection of the delightful ceramic pieces that were evident in the tower.

We are now preparing for our last supper at La Perla where we will share the repast with Mare and Evelyn.  Our sides will ache from the laughter in a few hours.  
Tomorrow we leave for Naples and then back to Saskatoon so this may be my last posting, especially if we are mugged and my computer stolen as we have been warned many times.