 adventure girl | amalfi adventure girl | amalfi 

Adventure Girl Stefanie Michaels Con l'Amore da Amalfi By Stefanie Michaels

land at the Rome International to open window and fresh air. Caterina Hotel— a mix of family charm Airport.I Alberto, my driver, greets me, We exit the airport, immediately and classic elegance, with all the ame- hastily grabbing my bags. I check my hitting Rome’s gridlock traffic. Alberto nities an overwhelmed traveler craves. watch, still set on L.A. time. “It-za 7:30 maneuvers past crammed turn-offs, As dreary as I felt from my exag- in the morning Bella, you can sleep dodging back and forth, seeking any gerated travel day, I noticed the hotel’s on the way to Amalfi,” Alberto says. I inch of space to move forward into. details—hand painted floor tiles, family inquire about the travel time by car, Eventually, we emerge unscathed from possessions placed about, my beauti- having “guesstimated” a few hours. I the chaos and head south towards ful weighted room key; big, ornamen- am a horrible car traveler, preferring Amalfi. Note to self: Next time, fly into tal, meant for guests to leave at the the hassles of air-travel, to being “auto Naples; take the one-and-a-half hour front desk, so as to notify staff when trapped” for endless hours, and add- drive into Amalfi. rooms are available for cleaning. ing to my dreaded moments of motion Alberto handled the road with “Welcome to Santa Caterina Hotel. sickness. “It-za four-hour drive, don't- frenzied brilliancy, even moving within It is a pleasure to have you with us a-you-worry,” he says. millimeters of limestone hillsides to here. Wishing you a pleasant stay,” What’s to worry? I have just landed allow passing buses to breeze past us says my cream colored postcard, in the world’s number one tourist des- without loosing pace— a heart jumping placed in my room, number 28. I move tination, land of all beautiful things— experience, yet the only way to access into the bathroom— an important the scenery, the people, wine—and the coastal cities by car. Additional op- precursor as to whether or not I will let’s not forget about the food. Armed tions are boat hire or pricey helicopter fully enjoy my stay. More delicious with ginger tablets (great for motion transfers from Naples to Positano. painted floor tiles, an enormous tub sickness), I grab the front seat—access I check into Amalfi’s Santa with jets, top-notch bathing products,  adventure girl | amalfi adventure girl | amalfi 

us by,” as he poured my Camo, where beautiful cameos are ask the driver. “Don't-ta-worry Bella, sparkling water. “Really produced (complete with a cameo rest-a on the way back to Roma.” ■ Pipino, what is it that you museum). There, I was given a spe- have to share with me?” I cial cameo memento, in memory of What’s to worry? ask. “This is happy water my time in Amalfi and of my room at With love from Amalfi. I am pouring you, don’t La Sirenuse. have too much, or you will Not surprisingly in most of Europe be too happy.” Another during the high season, great suites Where is it? The Amalfi Coast, or Costiera note to self- drink lots of with awesome bathrooms commands Amalfitana in Italian, is a stretch sparkling water for joy high prices, with La Sirenuse’s rates of coastline on the southern side and sweet memories of ranging between $1,200 to $3,800 of the Sorrentine Peninsula of Italy Amalfi. Euro per night. (Province of Salerno), extending Down the coast to Ravello was my last stop from Positano in the west to Vietri Positano, I land at La for this adventure. Butterfield and sul Mare in the east. The towns Sirenuse, a former villa Robinson- a travel firm featuring lux- lying on the Amalfi Coast are Vietri of an Italian nobleman, ury active travel, offers a unique way sul Mare, Cetara, Maiori, Minori, Marquis Paolo Sersale, to get there from the coast. B&R call Ravello, Scala, Atrani, Amalfi, now helmed by his heir, their Amalfi walking trip, Walking in Conca dei Marini, Praiano and Antonio— a darling man the Footsteps of Gods— I call it walk- The hotel offers a spa/beauty center, are chosen from the garden, followed Positano. with an unlimited library ing off a week of eating pasta. heated pool, sun deck, plunge pools, by instruction and note-taking; thus Renowned for its rugged of stories about the ho- Their hike into the hills is chal- two cafés- Caffé dell'Arte and Terrazza attempting Mamma’s recipes takes terrain, scenic beauty, picturesque tel’s history. La Sirenuse, lenging; up more than 2,000 steps Belvedere, the 2-star Michelin Award all morning. Once students have towns and diversity, the Amalfi located in the heart of through beautiful nature and quaint winning restaurant, Rossellinis, and conquered the kitchen, it’s time for a Coast is listed by UNESCO as a Positano, opens its doors towns. After 2.5 hours of hiking, I skip limousine and helicopter service for decadent lunch provided by Mamma, World Heritage Site. The area is from March 1 through the final hour hike, taking their van to the jet-setter in you. and “mangiare” the recipes created. It featured in Positano (1953) by November 30, offering Palazzo Sasso— a stunning five-star I am a gastronome disaster in the was “yumma-festive” and my first ed- American writer John Steinbeck heated towel bars— a large beautifully the ever-so-chic Champagne and hotel resting atop a 1,000-foot cliff. kitchen. Thank goodness, the hotel ible cooking adventure without burn- equipped bathroom. Heaven. Oyster bar from June to September. Locals say the “hills of Ravello found this out and booked me an epi- ing anything! Fans of Brad Pitt would truly be Celebrities, authors and heads of state kiss the sky,” and Ravello devotees— curean adventure at Mamma Agata’s Adventure over. in “heaven.” Room 28 had been Brad’s can be found relaxing at La Sirenuse, Plácido Domingo, Oprah, Jennifer cooking school. A week in Amalfi, and ten pounds Where to Stay room, while filming scenes for Mr. sipping champagne on any given day. Connolly, Anjelica Houston, and Gore Yes, I almost broke out in a sweat heavier—unfortunately not my lug- Santa Caterina Hotel SS. Amalfitana, 9- 84001 and Mrs. Smith. So this was the hotel I called my suite the “cameo Vidal have all been enchanted by this when I found out I’d have to try cooking gage—I head out to meet my driver. Amalfi- Italy splashed in tabloid headlines around cast” room, beautifully defined, with spectacular locale. in public, yet meeting Mamma Agata, It‘s time for my final wild ride on the Tel. +39.089.871012 the globe! hundreds of framed antique cameo A former aristocrat’s 12th century put any hesitation and fear of kitchen “Amalfi Highway.” www.hotelsantacaterina.it Owner, Crescenzo Gargano wel- casts on the walls, that were pur- villa, many of Palazzo Sasso’s rooms apparatuses behind me. Lowering the van’s window, I slip e-mail: comed me with a glass of refreshing chased at auctions around the world. remain in tact and updated. There are Mamma’s classes commence in a ginger tablet onto my tongue, and [email protected] lemonade at “La Terraza,” the hotel’s Ironically, later into my trip in Ravello, 32 rooms, 11 suites, with a staff-to- her gourmet kitchen. Her daughter, catch a faint smell of lemon in the terrace, complete with jaw dropping I stumbled into the cameo house, guest ratio of two employees per room. Chiara, translates Mamma’s Italian crisp air. I glance at my watch, still set Le Sirenuse Hotel Via Cristoforo Colombo, 30 views above the lapis colored “medi- to English. Lessons are interactive, on L.A. time. “What time is it now?” I Positano 84017 Italia ter-ano.” Crescenzo, pointed to the recreating Mamma’s southern Italian Tel. +39.089.875066 hills and countless lemon trees. “The recipes. Fresh vegetables and lemons www.sirenuse.it lemons are very special to us. We e-mail: [email protected] call them Amalfi Limones. We use no pesticides and you will only find them Palazzo Sasso Via San Giovanni del Toro, 28 here. They are our babies and we use 84010 Ravello- Amalfi Coast them in our recipes.” (SA) Italy Challenge. Try everything “lim- Tel. +39.089.818181 one”. That evening, I upped my own www.palazzosasso.com ante, dining on a seven-course meal e-mail: including the infamous Tagliolini al [email protected] Limone and Profiteroles al Limone. Booking: www.sanctuare.com Hands down, it is my most favored Italian meal to date. Creamy, melt-in your mouth everything, and as my Mamma Agata’s secret: friend, Jaj and I say, “yumm-a”. Make the gnocchi today and cook Pipino, the restaurant’s maitre’d, them tomorrow. The important tip is approached with his contagious smile that when you cook them, be sure to on my final morning there. “I have add the olive oil before placing them something special for you to remember in the refrigerator.

62 Affluent Magazine | January - February 2008 Affluent Magazine | January - February 2008 63