Italy Part II: donkeys & poker

(Roman numerals, get it? Flynn cracks himself up)

Okay, fine. How’s this for start of one’s day in Atrani? A donkey delivered to the doorstep. Kinda like Amazon Prime, but for livestock. Not more than 50 feet from the front door on the front patio, just left there for F & O to ponder upon.

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Foreign country, right? Must be normal, and the bird must move on in the day (donkey arrived at the crack of dawn). Flynn has better things to do than babysit an ass. By 8 am he was on an excursion to Positano, then to Ravello. There was not much time to spend in Positano, only an hour, so we hoofed it down to the beach to get some sand for a friend (“hoofed”, yes, Flynn said it). Flynn & Ollie have had some strange requests from folk for souvenirs, including sand and a single olive. Getting a baggie full of sand felt a little dirty ~ like stealing, as it was from the private beach and Flynn had to wait until the attendant was not looking. So, yeah, stolen sand.

A cappuccino, a croissant, and a quick tour of the local cathedral pretty much wrapped up the visit to Positano. The church is amazingly beautiful and Very Old. It is called the Church of Santa Maria or some deviation on that name, as it seems most churches are around here. F & O posed outside, but didn’t want to disrespect with a photo shoot inside, so there are a couple of pix without the stars of the show. Ollie wants to go back and explore the town some more, time allowing later in the vacation. Flynn is afraid there is a warrant out for the sand theft.

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Onwards (actually, backwards) to Ravello with a stop at the Ceramiche Casola factory. For those that do not speak Italian, this means ceramics. Nice stuff, expensive. They ship for free if you make a purchase of over 800 (Euros, not US). Almost everything is over 800. Flynn and Ollie opted for prudence, and took a pass. They do not allow photos inside due to rampant industrial espionage by the Chinese, but Flynn was allowed to take a photo of the outside of the building with some tiles. After all, F & O follow the rules, always.

Finally, up to Ravello for lunch and a stroll among the shops, Very Old ruins and buildings, and some residential areas. Lunch was an elegant affair, with a fabulous view, and lobster cappuccino for an appetizer, among other yummy dishes. Oh wait, there was wine.

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There are Villas with gardens in Ravello, which are popular places to tour. Since Ollie is more of a rocks kinda critter, F & O just wandered around the Very Old town, and looked at ruins, storefronts, residences, and Very Old buildings. The views from Ravello are pretty darn impressive. And even better for the Very Old residents, the Moors didn’t have the energy to climb the shore mountain, so it was a nice, safe haven a long, long time ago. For those of you waiting for poker ~ here it is:

Humphrey Bogart and other famous movie folk played A LOT of poker in Ravello while shooting a movie. You can zoom in on the pix and read all about it if you are in the mood. This is the kind of poker-click-bait right up Flynn’s alley.

F & O had some rum raisin gelato for energy before braving the Ravello traffic jam, and headed to do a fly-by of Scala before returning to Atrani. If you wish to see more pictures of the Very Old town of Ravello, check out bigfokkerdog.com since he will no doubt will be posting all sorts of ruins and history background. Scala is another Very Old town, on a different mountain from Ravella, and also safe from the Moors. It is quite small, and not at all commerical. Flynn said “buongiorno” to the local Very Old men sitting outside the town square, but they were not impressed with his accent. Meh. So, while Ollie looks at some more ruins and rocks, Flynn stumbles upon another Very Old church called Saint Maria or some derivation of the same. It was quite a find. Huge (could have held the entire population of the town and then some), well-used, kept functional, but not modernized. Neato. And, it has a crypt as well. In the basement.

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Even a pink fluffy bird appreciates the age and art involved in these Very Old Santa Maria churches.

Back in Atrani, dinner was Nutella (very popular here), apples, and caprese salad. Cause why not? Eatin’ like a local.

Fin

Flynn