Italy Day 6: Ravello

Start the day driving from Positano to Ravello for cooking class with world renowned Mamma Agata. Ravello just edges out Positano for favorite small place in Italy. Classy, laid back, naturally beautiful and less touristy than Positano and much less than Amalfi.

The cooking class like this trip is a once in a lifetime kind of experience. Mamma Agata and daughter Chiara exude that same warm genuine friendliness like my Grandmother Felicia had.

The food spectacular, the hospitality wonderful, the views priceless.

Observation about Italian food (not Mamma Agata’s but in general):

I’ve eaten lots of bread since I’ve been here and for some reason it’s rather blah. We should be very grateful for the special bakeries we have in Gloucester. I haven’t had bread anywhere in Italy that comes close to Virgilio’s, Sclafani’s or Alexandrea’s. Nowhere near as close. Our breads are nice and crusty on the outside soft in the inside and pack way more flavor than the Breads I’ve eaten here.

This isn’t the case for pizza dough or pastry. The pastry here are outrageous creations of art and the pizza dough is light and wonderful.

On coffee:
While espresso is nice and cappuccino is everywhere I miss a good ol cup of coffee from Lone Gull, Cape Ann Coffee and Pleasant Street like you read about. In a large paper cup-to go-to sip on over the course of a half hour or so.

We couldn’t ask for better weather and the Mrs itinerary has been spot on, with help from our friends Randy and Stephanie. Wouldn’t change a thing with the places we’ve stayed or eaten or length of visits for each.