Paul Lauritz was a Norwegian painter who ended up in California, with his desert paintings apparently being his strong-point. After trying to find money in gold prospecting, he opened an art studio in Los Angeles in 1919. This painting of Los Angeles City Hall was painted in 1930, just two years after it was completed. This is also the building which has been on the badge of Los Angeles police officers since 1940.
I think I’ve added as much as I’m going to add from the trip to Italy and the Amalfi Coast. Four of us went and I’m delighted that four of us came back again……. The views along the coast were spectacular, the food was excellent and the phone signal was also pretty good and secretly I was relieved about that.
SUMMARY:
Amalfi Coast Trip – They’ve Arrived
Amalfi Coast Trip – Train to Salerno
Amalfi Coast Trip – Day Zero (Photos from Ferry)
Amalfi Coast Trip – Day Zero (Wedding in Amalfi)
Amalfi Coast Trip – Day One Summary (Amalfi to Praiano)
Amalfi Coast Trip – Day One (Villa Bellavista Hotel in Praiano)
Amalfi Coast Trip – Day One Photos (Morning Walk)
Amalfi Coast Trip – Day One Photos (Lunch-Time Section of Walk)
Amalfi Coast Trip – Day One Photos (Afternoon Section of Walk)
Amalfi Coast Trip – Day Two Summary (Praiano to Arola)
Amalfi Coast Trip – Day Two (Path of the Gods Photos)
Amalfi Coast Trip – Day Two (Inflatable Horses)
Amalfi Coast Trip – Day Three Summary (Arola to Sant’Agata)
Amalfi Coast Trip – Day Three (Photos)
Amalfi Coast Trip – Day Three (Chiosco Bar San Costanzo)
Amalfi Coast Trip – Day Four Summary (Sant’Agata to Sorrento)
Amalfi Coast Trip – Day Four (Trattoria dei Mori)
Amalfi Coast Trip – Day Four (La Bottega della Birra)
Amalfi Coast Trip – Day Four (Bagni Regina Giovanna)
Amalfi Coast Trip – Day Four (Sorrento Photos)
Amalfi Coast Trip – Day Four (Lemons)
Amalfi Coast Trip – Day Four (Burning Biscuits)
I was a little disappointed when this pub was shut when it was meant to be open, but that allowed us to have an excellent meal at Trattoria dei Mori opposite. And when we had finished that meal the pub was open. There’s a large beer selection, although it was very heavy on Belgian beers and the dark beer I did want they had run out of.
The barman recommended this dark lager instead of the beer I tried to order, and it was acceptable although unexceptional.
The interior of the pub was comfortable and rather satisfactorily old fashioned. It was the nearest to a pub environment that I got during the week.
The free crisps supplied by the bar, something I wish that UK bars did more. The service in the bar was friendly and helpful, with the atmosphere relaxed and comfortable. Craft beer isn’t as common in Italy as it is in the UK, US and eastern European countries. Actually, it’s nearly non existent in swathes of the country. For those wanting Belgian and lighter beers, the selection here is enormous and exciting, although for those of us who like dark beers the shelves of beer bottles aren’t quite as glittering… But, I’d recommend a visit here for anyone who likes beer as perhaps in a decade there will be tens of these places 🙂
The pub that I wanted to go was shut (we did get there later on in the evening), but fortunately there was a restaurant opposite which was well reviewed. It was raining very heavily…. We went in and tried to get a table for four people and initially the staff member seemed unsure, although after checking he said we could have one if we left within two hours.
The decor was a little quirky, but I thought it was clean and comfortable. The service in the restaurant was always friendly, engaging and attentive, other than when Bev wanted to set her biscuits on fire. Although we were aware that we needed to leave within two hours, the staff never hurried us and ultimately we had to ask the bill so that we could leave.
Dough balls with cheese for the table, supplied compliments of the restaurant.
The seafood platter with mussels, clams, prawns, shellfish, pasta and in a broth. It was exceptional with the seafood tasting fresh and with the broth being full of flavour. I used up all the table’s bread trying to mop the broth up and I was delighted when a staff member saw this and came and supplied us with more bread. And I used all that up if I’m being honest. Marvellous.
The panna cotta with pineapple sauce, with the main part of the dish having the appropriate light texture and wobbly consistency. The pineapple sauce was rich, but not overpowering, and it was neatly presented. I didn’t really need a dessert, but I was so impressed with the restaurant I knew that they wouldn’t let me down.
Limoncello, again supplied with the compliments of the restaurant.
Overall, this was the best restaurant of the week as far as I was concerned, professional service, a clean environment, reasonable prices and a high quality of food and drink. We were fortunate to get a table and in retrospect it would have been sensible to get an advance reservation.
This site dates back to at least the Roman times and was altered to become a defensive harbour. It’s also long been used for swimming and bathing, and swimming was what Bev and Steve decided to do. I just had a little paddle, whilst Gordon had a little sit down.
The view down into the secluded little bay, with the water being clear and inviting. Although not so inviting that I wanted to swim in it.
A few people came down to take photos, but our groups were the only ones to either swim or paddle in the water. The steps were slightly more rickety than I’d have liked, but were fortunately stable.
All very idyllic, although there were a few pieces of green glass which had to be avoided. It’s a shame that people think that taking a bottle down which then gets smashed is somehow a good idea….
One thing that surprised me across the region was just how large the lemons are that they grow here. I like lemons, especially when in chocolate, desserts, drinks or cakes, and they were certainly plentiful and cheap….
This was the accommodation in Praiano after our first day of walking.
The entrance area seemed welcoming and I liked how the trees were growing through the patio. The check-in process didn’t take too long and the hotel was just a short walk from the town centre.
The balcony of the hotel with some rather lovely views over the sea.
The bedroom was clean, tidy and modern in terms of its decor. I didn’t like the lack of room information folder and the unpriced minibar and there was unfortunately no view. So nothing exceptional, although the wi-fi worked well when I wanted to upload some files.
The breakfast was decent, there were muffins, tomatoes, croissants, cold meats, cheeses, doughnuts, biscuits, yoghurts, cereals and bread. The juices ran out a little too regularly and weren’t replaced particularly quickly, but the coffee was readily available. The staff didn’t really engage with us, but the surroundings were comfortable nonetheless.
One thing that did irritate me about the hotel is that booking.com said that the total fee would be taken by card including the local tourist tax. At the hotel they claimed this was incorrect and the tourist tax would be taken in cash. The hotel then promptly proceeded to charge me twice for the entire stay, although they did apologise and refund one of those charges promptly when I told them about it a week after.
The hotel is currently rated the worst in Praiano on TripAdvisor, coming 20th out of 20 hotels in the town. I can see where the problems causing that are, as although I didn’t intend to use the swimming pool it was shut and no-one mentioned that in advance, there was a general lack of information and the payment debacle I had wasn’t ideal. There’s a remarkable review on TripAdvisor on how the hotel managed to lock a guest out that’s quite involved and exciting. Overall, I probably wouldn’t stay here again, but the quality of sleep was good and the hotel was clean, so it was by no means an entirely negative stay.
And, a little belatedly, photos from day three.
Just a tree in Praiano, but I thought it was nicely under-lit.
We arrived in Termini ready for the main part of our walk and went on the hunt for a little drink. I was a little put off by the staff member who gave the hard sell to sit in this roadside cafe arrangement, but the others had started to sit down and it seemed an acceptable place for a drink.
The owner and what I think was his son were friendly, although there was quite a lot of hard selling to get us to buy things. When we sat down we were the only customers at the cafe, although by the time we left nearly all of the outside seats had been taken. I say outside seats, there actually weren’t any inside seats, so I could have just put all the seats had been taken.
There are a surprisingly number of reviews on TripAdvisor about this restaurant and some are very positive, but a few state that they believe they’ve been the victim of a scam. This isn’t entirely a surprise as the prices are a little vague and the menu is handwritten. We ordered three Limoncello spritzers each and they were actually reasonably priced at €4, although other tables might have been charged a different amount.
The others went for hot meals, but I went for something simpler, the Caprese salad, which was effectively just tomatoes and cheese. The owner claimed that everything was home grown and although I’m unsure about that, the tomatoes tasted fresh with a rich flavour, the cheese was flavoursome and this was topped off by one of the better olive oils that I’ve had. For the €7 this cost I thought that was entirely satisfactory.
The dining environment was partly rather lovely and partly bloody awful. The roadside seats outside gave us an al fresco dining experience (on that note, apparently al fresco in Italian refers to being in prison rather than outside dining) but it also meant that we were a little exposed to exhaust fumes every few minutes. Turning down the additional items available for sale would have frustrated me if I was dining alone, but we left that to Gordon who dealt with the matter with some elegance and clarity of mind.
