Just back-Positano and Venice-part 1

Old May 31st, 2002, 09:59 AM
  #1  
dorrie
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Just back-Positano and Venice-part 1

Here is my long winded report as a thank you for all the information I got from Fodors

La Fenice is a small bed and breakfast-pictures do not do the place justice-it is simply beautiful! The bed and breakfast is the home Constantino shares with his wife Angela and their two sons. We had a small cottage below the road with a terrace looking out onto the Galli Islands. The home has been in the family for 5 generations. Below the road the small cottages cascade down to a small private beach. (many many stairs) There is a beautiful pool too-though the pool is only open June thru Sept. Above the road are a few rooms in the main house and a lovely terrace where breakfast is served. I really liked the fact that La Fenice is a bit out of town, as it was very quiet. The setting is incredible and Constantino is a pro at taking care of his guests. It should be noted that the rooms are very basic here-it is just the feeling one gets while staying at this beautiful spot that is so amazing. We walked into Positano that afternoon-the road was packed with tourist-I found that it was only in the early evening that Positano really begins to cast its spell on you, as the road leading to the beach is not packed with shoppers.

We stopped for wine at La Zagara and then went to Valle Dei Mulini for the first of many wonderful meals. Constantino’s son had recommended this restaurant. We found it seemed to be popular with the locals and was priced accordingly. We walked back to La Fenice and sat on the terrace for a while before falling into bed very happy at being in this beautiful spot.

We had planned a boat trip for Sunday, but the weather was cloudy and rainy so Constantino informed us that Gennaro and Salvatore (excursion company) had phoned to postpone for a better day. The weather did not take away from the beauty of the location. We walked into town and took a bus up to Montepertusa. The ride allows for great views. We had a long lunch at Donna Rosa. The meal was terrific and the family running the restaurant were such fun to talk to. We were very late for lunch-but they stayed open to feed us.
After lunch we continued up the hill and watched a children’s soccer match. We got caught in the rain so we ran into Il Ritrovo (Montepertusa) for shelter-and a drink. The restaurant is very homey and much less expensive then Donna Rosa. They brought us out some bruschetta to try-we were both still so full from lunch but they wanted us to try their fresh tomatoes. I had my first limoncello-it should be noted that our waiter brought out three different varieties for me to try. My boyfriend could not get over the fact that all of this including his beer was 2.60 euro.
 
Old May 31st, 2002, 10:02 AM
  #2  
dorrie
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this part did not take

Arrived Saturday into the Naples airport. We were picked-up by Marcello Mastriano who whisked us away for a lovely drive to Positano. He chatted about the coast and stopped along the way to allow us to take pictures of the coast. We stopped at a local fruit stand for wonderful cherries and tomatoes. We arrived at our hotel – La Fenice- after about a two-hour drive (lots of beautiful stops). The cost for the drive was 90 euro.
 
Old May 31st, 2002, 10:24 AM
  #3  
kavey
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Dear Dorrie
Thanks for sharing your trip.

If you are willing, you could post your subsequent report parts as replies to this starter thread. That way they will remain together and when anyone searches for information they will be able to pull up this one thread with your whole report in it.

Just an idea for you.

Glad you had a wonderful trip, it's a pleasure to read about it.

Kavey
 
Old May 31st, 2002, 10:43 AM
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dorrie
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Done

Walking thru Positano that evening was a beautiful experience-the place was empty. (rain does that). We made it down to the beach also walking over to Fornillo beach. We stopped at ‘O Guarracino for a late shared pizza and spent about two hours looking at the view, talking to the owner, waiters and pizza maker. What fun and yummy pizza fresh from the oven. (they tell me it’s the water that makes it so good-but the tomatoes must help.) We topped the night with a late drink at the Sirenuse –the hotel is lovely.

Monday we had arranged for a car to be delivered to our hotel from Auto Europe. We drove the coast and headed to Ravello. The gardens of Villa Rufola and Villa Cimbrone are enchanting-even in the on and off rain. We visited the Duomo and escaped the rain in a gelato shop. I purchased a ceramic bowl at Ceramiche d’ Arte. They also have a factory in town. Since the weather was not great we had much of the town to ourselves. We then headed to Amalfi. After visiting the Duomo and walking thru town, we had a coffee on the square. We finished the day with a great dinner at La Caravella. (split a pasta and each had the terrific fish cooked in lemon sauce).

Tuesday was a perfect day, so our boat trip was on. We were picked up at the beach of our hotel and then we headed to Positano to pick-up our fisherman captain- Salvatore. Only one other couple was on board (along with Gloria who helps Salvatore out-although we never quite figured out their relationship). The boat motored out to the Galli Islands and then back down the coast. I swam in the bay where Jackie Kennedy liked to swim-the water was perfect. Salvatore told us endless stories about life, his philosophy of life and of course women. He and Gloria were great! We had lunch at a restaurant in the Conca dei Marini area-the restaurant was on stilts right over the water and the food and wine kept coming. Salvatore had brought a fish he had caught just that morning. We motored home and were back at La Fenice by about 7:00 pm. It was a great day-the cost was about 80 euro per person. Later in the evening we headed to Chez Black to watch the scene on the beachfront.
 
Old May 31st, 2002, 10:45 AM
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dorrie
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Wednesday was another perfect day (high 70’s). We slept in and then took off again down the coast. We stopped for coffee and my boyfriend got his first newspaper fix. (although he did manage to find an Internet “disco” in Positano). We headed up to Furore, as I had heard there was a winery in this hilltop town. After stopping for directions a few times, we found the Marisa Cuomo Winery. As what looked like a garage door was open, we walked right in. The owner was at the bottling machine and all smiles. He showed us the old barrels and let us taste some wine and told us about the history of the winery. He was very excited to show us a copy of Wine Spectator with one of his wines. After photos, we bought some wine and left. We headed back down to the coast and walked into Atrani-had to have another Tomato and mozzarella sandwich and gelato. After relaxing on our terrace, I headed into Positano to check out a few shops. I bought a tablecloth at the Sirenuse store and a ceramic bowl at Umberto Carro. Several locals had recommended La Tagliata for dinner. The restaurant is between Monteperuso and Nocella. They actually sent a taxi down to the coast to pick us up. (we did not want to try the turns on the road after having wine with dinner!). The place was amazing. We really let the host order for us. We began the meal with a house anti pasta plate. Next came a mixed pasta plate followed by a mixed grill of meats (steak, sausage, chicken, lamb etc) for me and a mixed seafood plate for my boyfriend. I think both plates could have served 3 to 4 people. Without even asking, they brought us a sampling of 3 desserts-limoncelli and coffee. The bill including our car service with beer and wine was 60 euro. Great place-will quickly become popular with tourist.

We had arranged for Marcello to pick us up from Positano on Thursday. He had a mix up on dates so he sent another driver-Mariano. I had read about a visit to a local farm with Marcello on epinions.com-since Marcello felt so badly about the mix up, he arranged for us to visit the farm on the way to our planned visit to Pompeii and Naples.

 
Old May 31st, 2002, 10:47 AM
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dorrie
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It turned out that the farm (outside of Sorrento) belonged to Mariano’s family. He and his wife live on the farm along with the rest of his family. Everything needed to live is produced right on the farm. We walked thru lemon and orange orchards, vegetable gardens, fruit gardens etc. They produced their own wine and olive oil (I sampled the wine and brought back a large bottle of olive oil). They had chickens, cows, rabbits and pigs-we tasted some of the homemade pancetta. This was all quite a treat. Mariano spoke about bringing more people to the farm and perhaps beginning a cooking class for day trips. I think he was surprised at how much we enjoyed the experience. (we were only his second guests).

We continued onto Pompeii-since we only had a couple of hours, we hired a private guide for 90 euro. We were able to see quite a bit by doing it this way and since we had Mariano to watch the car and the luggage it made the whole day carefree. On to Naples for a quick tour and Pizza (of course) and beer. Mariano took us to the airport for our 8:45 pm flight to Venice.

We both loved the coast-our stay was both relaxing and fun. The people are wonderful and the food is great!

 
Old May 31st, 2002, 10:48 AM
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dorrie
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We arrived into Venice at 10:00 pm.- light rain- Venice looked magical. We hopped on a water taxi and were taken to the Pensione Accademia. We did have one minor problem-the taxi driver slipped and one piece of my boyfriend’s luggage fell into the canal –once he got over the “shock” – we both laughed. What a memory!

The hotel is lovely. We had room 44. This room is a corner room, so it has 3 windows on the canal and a great bathroom. We walked around the area a bit and stopped at Campo Margherita for a snack. This area appeared to be the only area “open” so late. It was filled with students hanging out.

The hotel has a great breakfast. We got our Vaporetto 3 day passes and took the number 1 boat to San Marcuola. This area in the Cannaregio was very quiet. We took a tour of the ghetto and just loved walking this area.
 
Old May 31st, 2002, 10:49 AM
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dorrie
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We had lunch on a quiet canal and then visited Madonna dell’Orto. Really not knowing where we were going we headed towards Ca’D’Oro. Along the walk, the area got more and more crowded. As everyone says-it is just fun to walk and stop for gelato etc. Somewhere passed the Rialto area we got on a boat and headed back to the hotel. Dinner that night was at Alle Testiere. The service was very friendly and the food terrific. This was the first contemporary meal we had had on the trip. The chef uses spices in a very interesting way. I enjoyed the food so much that the host sent him to our table to say hello. We shared 2 courses and each had a seafood entrée followed by a shared dessert. The bill was about 90 euro with wine. We walked back to San Marco. At 11:30 the square was lovely. We enjoyed a bellini and the music.

On our last full day we had made reservations for the secret itinerary tour at the Palazzo Ducale for 10:00 am. (it looks as though they has just started doing 3 English tours per day-we booked thru the hotel prior to leaving for the trip) After the tour, we visited the basilica and then began our walk back to the Dorsoduro area. It was fun to stop in various shops. (I bought a small painting at a shop-Petra). As we got closer to our hotel, it got much quieter. Somewhere near our hotel, we stopped in a quiet square and had a long 2-hour lunch out doors. It was fun to watch the children playing and we had a fun waiter who spent time speaking with us. After lunch, my boyfriend took a nap-it must have been the wine. I walked around a bit-bought a mask at Ca’ Macana, walked the Giudecca canal area and then returned back to the hotel passed the gondola repair shop. Dinner was at Vini da Gigio-great Venetian food. 2 shared courses, 2 seafood courses and a shared dessert with wine for about 89 euro.

 
Old May 31st, 2002, 10:50 AM
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dorrie
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Sunday morning we returned to San Marco for a gondola ride. We paid 100 euro and were out on the small canals for about 55 minutes. It was quiet and beautiful and we both enjoyed it-what a great way to end the trip.

We both loved our short vacation. I just smile every time I think of it. My boyfriend is now open to vacations in Europe. He had only traveled to Europe on business-I wanted to show him that it could be a fun and relaxing experience too-I succeeded!

Thanks for all your help!
 
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