Time with the Arostis

We finally made it to Calabria! We've been talking about coming to see these guys for so many years, every Summer we say we'll try but something comes up and plans change. The year after the little girls were born, we'd even bought tickets to fly over for Zoe's christening but Mia became pretty sick with a swollen fontanel which the doctors thought might have been meningitis. Anyway, now after 8 years we're actually here.

These four kids have grown up together. Ryan and Samuel were kindy mates from the age of three, Mia and Zoe have been friends from the time they were in Tiziana's and my tummies. This trip was a bitter sweet time for all of us. Kids were really looking forward to our time with them and loved every minute, of course with a few fights here and there, of their time playing together. Yet it was also extremely sad when the time came to say goodbye knowing that they'll no longer be playmates again now that we've left Hong Kong. 

No time to waste, let's play!

Hippie girlies 

Every summer the Arosti kids come back to Hong Kong beautifully tanned. And now I know why. The live right next to a beautiful beach.

These kids could not keep away from the pool at the house. They were in there the moment they woke up, after breakfast, after lunch, before dinner, every single moment they were allowed to. 

Of course there was also a lot of eating involved. Titi made us some super yummy meals at home, using many homegrown vegetables from her mum and also the incredible tomato salsa that her parents make every year from the tomatoes they grow in their garden.

What do we do when we're together? Cook and eat of course! 

These guys took us for some lovely food too. We went into town one night for dinner. The town folks were all out celebrating the tiny fish festival (sorry forgot the Italian name). The little fish was very good, deep fried. One of the roadside stall owners very generously gave us one to try, tasted kind of like one of those Japanese pregnant fishes, except without the eggs. 

Very interesting dishes. Spaghetti pescatori in bread, the bread soaked up all the juices from the seafood and was good. Spaghetti made with licorice. Both dishes a first for me and both were delicious! 

Aunty Titi buying Sicilian cannoli for the little girls.

Night market shopping... so hard finding clip-on ear rings.

While the girls shop, the boys discuss boy-stuff! 

Another day we went to a tiny restaurant up in the hills in Guardia. The restaurant is owned by Titi's brother's friend and they specialise in local regional food, all the produce come from their garden including their wine. The antipasti was fantastic, so many different dishes to try.

Kids ate so much!

Everything was so fresh.

Steak right off the grill.

Full tummies, happy families 

The rest of the time we just chilled....

Dangerous work. Cactus fruit harvesting.

Market day in Guardia. Girls had a field day shopping.

Girlfriends 💕

A breakfast of cornetti and crema caffe.

A walk down memory lane. Kids were so amused by their baby years.

Cheeky girls 

Time to say goodbye... for now...

Ancient ruins

30 July... today was a trip back in time. We took the kids to Herculaneum (Ercolano) and Pompeii. On our last trip here, Pompeii left such a lasting very impression on both of us, and it has been a place which Shad and I have been wanting to show the kids. We talked to them about what happened here and showed them documentaries and pictures to prepare them for what they would be seeing. But I'm not sure  if they fully understood what it would be like. Poor Mia was just worried that there would be dead people still lying around! 

Walking through the lanes and looking at all the remaining buildings, you just can't help but feel incredibly sad thinking of the people who lived there and how terrifying it must have been for them in that moment when they knew there was no escape.

Ercolano is much smaller but much more well preserved that Pompeii. Here we could still see some of the original mosaics on the floors and walls, some furniture as well as household shrines. 

Panoramic view of Ercolano 

Our little tour guide 

Mesmerised by the frescos on the ceiling 

Pompeii was next. These two monkeys were hot and bothered by the time we finished at Ercolano but thank goodness the weather cooled down a fair bit once we started walking through Pompeii. After seeing Ercolano, Pompeii was so much bigger with all its many streets and buildings. Seeing the houses, shops and baths, we could imagine life as it was back then.

Playing gladiators in the Amphitheatre

Shopkeeper hawking her wares

Amalfi Coast

31 July... The drive along the Amalfi Coast is every bit as spectacular and nerve wrecking as what we've read about and people have told us. Narrow roads, two-way traffic, big buses, tourists unfamiliar with the local roads, distracting views... a sure recipe for disaster! Thankfully Shad drove us safely all the way there and back. We did have a slight disaster though, I accidentally slammed poor Mum's fingers in the car door 😫. Luckily nothing was broken and we managed to buy some icy lemon granita from a roadside seller which we used to help reduce the swelling. So no hospital visit on this trip, yet! Anyone who knows our family will know that somehow we seem to find ourselves at the hospital or doctor's whenever we go on holiday, whether it is an ear infection and a sprained neck (Ryan Ngam jumping on the bed) in Koh Samui, or suspected dengue fever in Sri Lanka! Anyway all's well that ends well, and as Ryan said, "thanks to Poh-poh we got to taste the yummiest lemon granita".

Stunning view of Positano 

Absolutely breathtaking from every angle of the drive down the coast

The crowds were overwhelming at Positano and Amalfi so we stopped for lunch at Minori, a little town along the coast instead. Still busy with beach goers but we managed to find a parking spot right in front of the beach and a table for lunch at a cafe nearby, which coincidentally I read online has the best dolci in town. 

So true... this limoncello cake was delicious!

Summer holiday makers enjoying every part of this little piece of rocky beach 

Hmm... we're totally overdressed for the occasion!

Boats on one side

People on the other

Walking off the calories after a heavy lunch through Minori 

Vespa country 

"Miss I-want-to-buy-this, I want to buy that" was not impressed with the European siesta concept! 

We stopped at Ravello on the way back to Sorrento. Perched on the hills and closed off to vehicles, this little town has breathtaking views of the hillside as well as the Amalfi coast.

The hills

The coast 

Sorrento

29th July... this morning we loaded up our breadloaf and began our 6-week road trip. Our destination for today was Sorrento, stopping at Cassino for a quick lunch along the way. 

The drive took longer than we expected, by the time we reached our airbnb it was already past 6pm. We chose to stay in a little farmhouse outside Sorrento in order to avoid the summer traffic congestion around Sorrento. This is a little working "farm" tended by the parents of the owner of our airbnb. It was a very pleasant change from city living in Rome. 

Stairway to home

Exploring our garden 

Tomatoes everywhere

Our cosy little breakfast area

Too tired to head out to Sorrento, we walked along a narrow cobbled walkway behind the house to the nearby village, Sant'Agata for dinner. People were starting to gather around the town square waiting for the music festival to begin. Nightlife begins late here in Italy, and the concert wasn't going to start until 9:30pm so we went to look for dinner first. By the time we finished and walked back to the square, all the seats were taken. Everyone was out to enjoy the music and the beautiful night. 

While the kids play, Mama is on poop watch! Dog poo everywhere 😱

 

Mid-way to Sant'Agata

10pm and the concert is now in full swing 

The next couple of nights we ventured out to Sorrento for dinner. It so happened that the night we went to Marina Grande, the little village was celebrating the last night of the Festa Dei Santi Anna. People were all crowded around the little church preparing for the parade to begin, when they would accompany the statue of Santi Anna on her walk out from the church. Canon shots announced the start of the parade followed by a beautiful fireworks display. 

At the Pier looking back at the village. You can see the beautiful lace linen hanging from the windows of every household in the distance. No one could really explain the reason behind this except that it was a tradition associated with the Sacred Festival.

Little Missy busy capturing the fireworks 

Dinner at Trattoria Da Emilia, touristy but food was good nonetheless.

Yummiest calamari e gamberi fritti we've had so far!

A perfect end to a beautiful day