It was the last thing anyone expected. The passing of a legend, the passing of Jonah. I vividly recall that game in South Africa in 1995 when he steamrolled the English. Four tries and the, now legendary, flattening of Mike Catt.
On top of his rugby prowess, in the last few years he struck me as a thoroughly good guy, father, husband and kiwi.
Jonah, you will be missed.
I’ve just realised it’s been around 6 weeks since my last post. Clearly life and work have got in the way of blogging. That and the Rugby World Cup and all the stress and tension that generated. As far as I can work out almost every kiwi was up at 5am on finals day to watch the match. At half time with the All Blacks up by 20 odd points there was humour and a feeling of “job done”, but 20 minutes later when the gap was 4 points things got serious. Ultimately the ABs despatched those we love to beat – the Australians – and the celebrations began.
And the champagne flowed. It was quite odd being drunk at 8am on a Sunday but I suspect we weren’t the only New Zealand household in that state.
It feels like we’ve been home for ages but every so often something reminds you of holiday times.
Like the photo above. We were having breakfast at the villa one morning and two ladies arrived to clean up the madonna next door. It was our madonna apparently – because it was on the villa property – but locals take the responsibility to sweep, clean and polish it.
It was also a useful landmark if we needed to describe which vila we were in – the one next to the madonna – ahh, si la madonna. Bene.
After 3 weeks of rest and relaxation we’re back home in Wellington and back into our routine – including the daily commute to work. And despite it being spring we were met with a pretty good impersonation of winter. Sigh.
Every time we walked from the villa to the village of Positano we passed a house that simply had to be photographed. It is actually three apartments that are built, quite literally, on the side of a cliff overlooking the sea and above a private beach.
The setting is stunning and the way the house is fitted into the hill seems to sum up the relationship Positano has with its surroundings. They work in harmony, like that’s the way things have always been. The Italians have a word for this – simpatico.
Si, simpatico.
At the end of our holiday we had two days in Rome. It was a chance to visit some favourite places of ours as well as some new places. We stayed at Hotel Barocco in one of their junior suites – which meant we had an outdoor patio to relax on – four floors above Piazza Barberini. It was a real luxury.
As always we were looked after superbly with nothing being too much trouble. Which made it even harder to say goodbye and start the long trip home. The good thing is that we threw a coin into the Trevi fountain (well sort of as you can see from the photo) so we’ll be back.
In New Zealand buying Parmigiano Reggiano usually means buying small pre-packed slices, at great expense from the super market or deli. In Italy it’s different – as can be seen from the Parmigiano available at our favourite alimnetari. You give an indication of how much you want and it’s sliced off the round – right there in the middle of the store.
These were also the rounds that Poppie and Daisy used to sit next too when they were in Positano waiting patiently for the shop keeper to cut off a wee slice as a treat.
Poppy still enjoys the taste of Parmigiano – she obediently sits and waits for a taste every time I use some in a dish at home.
One of the more graceful super yachts that has visited Positano during our stay is the twin funnel Talitha. She was built in 1929 and extensively upgraded a few years ago but still harkens back to a more traditional era. She is just under 80 metres long and can accommodate up to 12 guests with a crew of 17.
If any of our gentle readers are interested in chartering her for a week, we’d love to come along. Currently a week will cost around 280,000 Euro – or around $NZ496,000 at the current exchange rate. Let’s call it a round half mill once tips are included.
Once we stopped laughing, we looked around the bay for yachts that we could afford. There was a sloop that would do us nicely which would cost about the same as a month on Tailtha – still a bit out of our price range – and then a single master caught our eye – not ideal for a long stay but more within our price range.
Apparently this blog never features a picture of me. So says my editor who insists that I include a photograph of me just to prove that I’m actually on the trip and not sitting at home making all this up.
And if you’re wondering why I’m looking so damn smug it’s because I’ve just finished that most Italian of breakfasts – bacon and eggs – at Buca di Bacco, on the beach at Positano.
Thank you to all the gentle readers who made suggestions as to which ceramic piece is, as I write this, winging its way to New Zealand.
Sadly, neither those who know Jean well nor those who have only read about her in this blog managed to pick the correct piece – and I can’t really blame anyone – it’s a bit of a wildcard choice, as you can see.
We’ve slid gracefully into a daily routine here in Positano helped by some warm temperatures and sunny days.
If there is no pressing urge to sightsee then our day consists of a slow start at the villa, a quick trip to the shops if anything is needed and an afternoon spent around the pool at Eden Roc. On the way back to the villa we stop at the Galli Bar for a drink and a stracciatella gelato for the walk home.
The evening means a dinner out at Chez Black or Bruno, or if we can’t be bothered going out a quick cena (dinner) at home looking out across the bay.
Simple.
In a recent post looking at the array of super yachts that come and go in Positano, we decided that a slide seemed to be the latest “must have” accessory for any self respecting millionaire boat owner.
We were wrong – based on this shot of a yacht moored in the bay a few days ago it’s clearly a helicopter.
We ventured to the hotel for breakfast last Friday. As always we were made welcome by the effervescent Tony.
He told us that Thursday was “his day off so today he was relaxed”. As a result we were spoilt – special pastries to start, four types of quiche all of which were delightful, scrambled eggs and as many cappuccinos as we could manage – all delivered to our table so we had no need to use the buffet. The meal was topped off with small slices of chocolate gateaux.
Now, gentle reader, I hear you say – gateaux for breakfast? Well why not – it complimented the coffee superbly and after a few minutes very little of it was left on the plate.
Many thanks to Tony – it was a colazione not to forget. Grazie mille.
Groceries delivered – job done. Grazie mille.
One thing we needed to do early in our stay was to shop for groceries. This meant a trip to the alimentari in the village – a walk of about 1km – but importantly, the same distance home with arms weighed down with shopping bags. Not a problem until you realise the temperature is about 28 degrees and quite humid, and the walk is predominately up hill.
Thankfully the lovely staff at the store recognised us from years past – asked if we had the dogs with us – sadly not this time, and made the kind offer that “the boy” could deliver the groceries – si, graze mille.
You cannot understand how happy that made us feel – as we added another few bottles of beer and tonic and water and bread and vegetables to the order.
The delivery address was confirmed using a picture of the villa we had on our phones – yes, next to the madonna on via Marconi. What is that villa like inside? More photos and discussion about decor and layout. It’s spacious, yes, very nice.
The walk back was a delight and as promised “the boy” – looking a little hot and bothered – delivered everything an hour later. That was worth a generous tip.
It is Thursday evening , 27 degrees, and I’m sitting on our front verandah enjoying the sunset and watching the locals passing our front gate on their way home. In the days since our arrival, we have spent time in the sun, in the pool, visited Sorrento for a morning and shopped in the village – both for the necessities and a few luxuries.
We had dinner with Carlo and the team at Eden Roc earlier in the week. Beautiful fish with patate and pomodoro preceded by a shrimp cocktail that tasted of the sea and complimented by a Falanghina which was older and more complex than the usual. Clearly we are not the only ones to be impressed with the food because they have achieved the status of No1 hotel restaurant in Positano on TripAdvisor. This is quite an achievement given the calibre of the competition. And I feel it’s all down to that magic mix of the food, the service and the superb location looking across the bay combining for a dinner experience that is unforgettable. Read the reviews yourself if you don’t believe me.
We kept our promise to eat at Bar Bruno again – on Wednesday night – and enjoyed the meal so much we have booked again for Friday night.
The family that run the alimentari in the village remembered us from past visits and asked about the dogs – no, they are not with us this time – 2 weeks is not a long enough visit. They also made our grocery shopping a delight rather than a chore – but more of that in a later post.
The boys who run the Galli bar which we walk past on the way to the village now greet us with a cheerful Ciao in the mornings and ice cold gelati for the walk back to the villa in the afternoons.
It feels like we are slipping back into village life.
Jean has just wandered down to the local alimentari for some provisions – primarily beer for me and something for us both for tea and she will no doubt return with some tale of the local happenings or of the trip there and back.
Tonight we decided to eat in, simply because we can. And because the thought of getting ready and heading out is to much of a chore. It’s great to be back and to have reached that point – la dolce fa niente. The sweet art of doing nothing.
La dolce far niente 