arrivederci to Italy

On our way home! It was an amazing 10 days!

Path of the Gods

Our final day was spent hiking the "Path of the Gods".  This is an 8 km trail between two villages through the mountains ending in Positano.  We walked up and down mountains on the edges of cliffs and hills. The walking was challenging by times, surrounded by the breathtaking scenery of the Mediterranean! 

These used to be homes at one point, but are now used to keep animals up in the mountains.

People live in these hills. Apparently there was a B and B. This was the luggage service to the accommodations.

We had been led to believe that this was a gruelling walk, on an extremely HOT day. Apparently we finished it in record time. Normally the walk takes 3 plus hours, we finished it in 2 and a half hours. We must be in great shape!😀 When we ended in Positano, we immediately made our way to the Mediterranean for a swim.

The stones are extremely hot!

We added up how me walked during our time here. From last Saturday to this Saturday, we have done 88 km!!!

1000 postcards

Today, the bus took us to Amalfi-the village. The views were stunning. We walked this really weird route up through the mountains through villages. It was like we were walking through apartments buildings, up 343 steps. Finally, we ended in another village Atrani.

The famous duomo in Amalfi.

Our feet in the Mediterranean. 

A mermaid!

Look at that colour!

Our calves are getting a workout!

The name plate says "Casanova".

We have been joking all week that these are our "bag boys!"

I keep saying....photos don't do it justice.

In the afternoon, we went up to Ravello. This was a village higher in the mountains with spectacular views. We visited two Villas built in the 13th century. Villa Cimbrone was our favourite as the walk through the gardens ended in a view that defies description.

Even our bag boys thought it was worth it!

Tim can find the doghouse....even in Italy!

Past and present

The morning began with a trip to a high end water buffalo mozzarella farm. The farm milks 300 water buffalo! It was a robotic milking system like some farms back home. The cows could make use of a massage machine, be milked when they wanted (although they had to be milked before they got fed), got to listen to classical music from 7-9 a.m. and they got to eat as much as they want!

The massage!

They make their own mozzarella, yogurt, gelato,ricotta all from unpasteurized milk. The mozzarella is made by hand and formed into little balls or larger chunks. We got to taste the fresh cheese when we had lunch.

After lunch, we were on to Paestum, ancient ruins. They are famous for their 3 Greek temples. The temples were built by the Greeks 500-400BC. The city was then taken over by the Romans. The Roman ruins were all over the place, not as well preserved as Pompeii. Most impressive were the three Greek temples.

It is so hard to comprehend that we are touching structures built 2500 years ago!!!

Are those Greek goddesses?

Preparing the sacrifice upon the alter!

Details of some of the paintings found created on the travertine inside tombs of the Romans.

We even met some "real" gladiators.