In October 2018 we slipped away for a trip to Italy to celebrate the marriage of our daughter Amanda Martin to Rocky Damico. It was the first time in 22 years of Sandmark Custom Homes that we took 2 weeks off, traveling to Sorrento, the Amalfi Coast, Rome, and Umbria, Italy.
Mark and I headed to Rome with my mom, and then headed south to tour the towns of Sorrento, Positano, Amalfi and Capri Island. Words and pictures cannot describe the beauty of this area. We walked many miles and ate plenty of pizza & gelato. The boat ride from Sorrento to Capri was stunning. Along the way, we made brief stops at the Green, White, and Coral grottoes. We stopped for lunch at a beachside restaurant and then toured a small part of the island by cab on our way to the top of Anna Capri. Mom and I bought sandals from a local shoemaker. At Anna Capri, we took a chairlift ride up to the top of the island where the views were spectacular.
A family friend recommended a guide company called Best Tours of Italy. Massimo, our tour guide and owner of the company drove us from Sorrento to the Amalfi Coast with stops in Positano & Amalfi. We walked on the beaches and did some shopping for limoncello, soaps, and scarfs. The best meal of our entire trip was near the top of the town of Positano which seemed to be a thousand feet above the beach at a restaurant called da Costantino Ristorante Bar Pizzeria. The view looking down over the was spectacular. Luigi, the owner and his niece grew the many of the fruits and vegetables, made the wine from grapes, and pasta all on the property.
The next day we packed up and left Sorrento with Massimo and headed back towards Rome. The first stop of the day was to tour the lost city of Pompei on the foothills of the base of Mount Vesuvius. Massimo had arranged for us to have a private tour of the city. The city was buried by 6-9 meters of volcanic ash in 79 AD with the eruption of Vesuvius. The stories of life in and around the city before the eruption was something that we hadn’t heard before. You can still see the mosaic tile on the floors and the bright color wall paintings are still intact in some places almost 2000 years later.
On the way from Pompeii to Rome, we made an unexpected stop at the Buffalo Mozzarella store for fresh buffalo mozzarella for lunch! That’s mozzarella from water buffalo, right out of the warm water, knife and fork only. No bread just mozzarella. We ate too much mozzarella!
On Saturday in Rome, we had a private tour of the Vatican and again words and pictures cannot begin to describe the Vatican. The tapestries, murals, statues, and paintings are spectacular. The Sistine Chapel and St Peter’s Basilica are sights to behold. While we were at the Vatican they were preparing for the ceremony of John Paul VI to become a Saint.
After the Vatican, we toured the city in the afternoon with numerous stops including the Coliseum, Trevi Fountain, the Roman Forum, and the Spanish Steps. We couldn’t actually see the steps because there were so many people sitting on them!
Saturday night Amanda and Rocky joined us in Rome. Sunday was spent relaxing for most of the day until our night time tour of Rome. The Coliseum was lit up in Pink for Breast Cancer Awareness. It was a wonderful treat to see that. Massimo even said it was more spectacular in pink than with the usual lighting. The Roman Forum looked different at night. It was still impressive, maybe more so than in the daylight but somewhat eerie as well. The second to last stop was to stand in one location and see 3 countries at once. Massimo took us to the Malta Embassy. We stood in Italy, looked through the keyhole of a door into the country of Malta. Looking through the keyhole and down the center of the arched corridor of the Malta Embassy, you could see St Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican. Three countries all viewed at the same time through a keyhole. I was able to take a picture through the keyhole with my phone. The picture is a little grainy, but I thought it was neat. The last stop was for gelato, again.
Sam and my dad arrived on Monday. We met at the train station and headed up to Montepulciano by train and checked into the Hotel Panoramic for the night. Again, the views were spectacular. We had a wonderful dinner and some great wine at a local restaurant.
Next stop was Villa L’Antica Posta in Pozzuolo, Italy. For the next four days, we enjoyed time with some family and friends and for Amanda and Rocky’s wedding. Everyone arrived late in the afternoon on Tuesday. The evening began with local wines, cheeses, meats and bread and then a mouthwatering lasagna dinner. After dinner, there was a little surprise birthday cake for Carley Paulett in celebration of her 30th birthday.
The next day everyone went out exploring the local vineyards! We had a group of 12 at Palazzo Vecchio Winery in Montepulciano. Then the evening activities began with the rehearsal for the wedding and the rehearsal dinner, which consisted of 50 pizzas handmade to order and cooked in the brick oven in the outdoor pavilion. Everyone was able to make a request for a particular type of pizza and shared it with those that wanted to try it. That was our second-best meal right up until we all realized we had just eaten too much.
Thursday, October 18, 2018, our little girl had the wedding of her dreams at the villa. A wonderful time with laughter, a few tears, great wine, food, and dancing. They were surrounded by just a few of our family and friends that love them very much. And we know a lot of love from the states was being sent their way.
Our last day at the Villa we traveled to Perugia to the EuroChocolate Festival, the largest chocolate festival in Europe. The trek getting there was half the fun. We took a tram through the city and up the mountainside to get there. The evening was spent at a little restaurant in Castiglione del Lago where 20 of us took over the place and we all enjoyed one last dinner before we headed our separate ways the next morning.
Saturday and Sunday were our days of travel home via a 13 ½ hour layover in Dublin, Ireland.
Mark and I want to say a very special thank you to the group of family and friends that made the trip to Italy for Amanda & Rocky’s special day. Many great memories were created during the time we spent at Villa L’Antica Posta. We thank you all and love you so much!!