On the second day we emerged from our apartment to look around. Gil and Robin took off early, taking a fast boat to Capri, where they hired a driver to show them the island. They found it crowded even though we are in early September now. They did learn a bit of the history of the island, mostly focused on a doctor who settled there around 1900 and built a villa. He was a specialist in respiratory disease. One of his patients was the Princess of Sweden who came often to visit him at the estate. Over time she came to be his lover. Over a long relationship, she became the Queen of Sweden and he an ever more influential doctor and thought leader in his profession. One of the interesting facts Gil and Robin learned was that this particular doctor recommended that no one over 50 should eat meat. Since Pam and Warner, the other members of our group are doctors, this led to a lively discussion about the merits of this recommendation with both agreeing that it really wasn’t anything new, even a hundred years ago. In fact, there is evidence that older people had been restricting their meat consumption later in life that goes back more than a thousand years. The final discussion was around the fact that the doctor gave his estate to Sweden when he passed on. As a result it is Swedish national territory and a Swedish consulate is housed next door. The estate also flies the Swedish flag on the Italian island of Capri.
While Robin and Gil explored Capri, the rest of us stayed in Positano and explored the city, walking the main road Via Cristoforo Columbo, down to the main shopping arcade (Via Mulini) that descends from this road to the beach below. The deli, Delicatessen Positano, where we could order groceries for the apartment was just inside that arcade. So we walked down to it and placed our order. They deliver within Positano and since Clementine would be leaving soon, we walked back to the apartment and arrived only about fifteen minutes before our order. Since we had groceries, we made toasted cheese sandwiches, cut up an orange and washed it down with a glass of wine left over from the prior evening.
After lunch we walked down a nearby pathway to the beach, found Raphael Positano located at Via del Saracino, 25/27 which is just before the cathedral that sits on one end of the beach. It is a clothing store that sells bright colors. Pam bought a bright orange linen dress and Warner and I bought lemon colored linen shirts. In another store Pam also found a small bright yellow purse with giraffes from the neck up on it. The final purchase of the day was after we climbed up the shopping arcade from the beach and started back along Cristoforo Columbo that took us to our apartment. A shop that makes sandals while you wait (Nona’s) was very close to the stairway that descends to our apartment. Pam ordered two pair and the owner said he would have them ready for her after dinner. We discovered that his shop remains open until 11 pm every day including Sunday.
Dinner was at Il Tridente at the Poseidon Hotel, (Viale Pasitea 140, 84017 Positano SA, Italy www.iltridentepositano.com),which was also just a short walk from our apartment. It specializes in traditional Neapolitan cuisine and the chef is Antonio Sorrentino, who was born and raised in the area. The restaurant is accessed through the hotel lobby and is up three flights of stairs (the elevator was not working). Pasquale, the Maitre d, who greeted us, told us the specialty of the house is stairs, so there is always something there for everyone. It was an interesting humorous way to start the evening. His good humor continued through the evening. He seated us on the terrace that again overlooks the city and water beyond from a different angle than our apartment. When he seated us Warner asked about a green light he saw at the cathedral below. Pasquale responded that it means tonight is pizza night at the church. Shortly thereafter there was a fireworks display just down below us from the beach level. Our next question to Pasquale was that if they celebrate with fireworks on Pizza night at the church, what do they do on Gnocchi night?
The dinner began with a fresh pizza about the size of a silver dollar which was still warm and tasty. We decided to be creative. Pasquale informed us the specialty of the house was a salt and fennel encrusted and baked local sea bass (spigola) which served two. We decided to order two of these fish for the three couples and ordered dishes of Paccheri with lobster and its sauce (tomato concasse and asparagus powder) and Gnocchi alla puttanesca (sauce of yellow cherry tomatoes, anchovies, black olives, capers and parmesan cheese). Pasquale added a dish of Ravioli stuffed with buffalo mozzarella cheese served on tomato pate and basil pesto as well. This we paired with a Campagna Falanghina white (Villa Matilde Avallone – Falerno del Massico 2018) and ultimately an Amarone as the red. Everyone enjoyed the Falanghina, as it was lighter than a Chardonnay, but had a full body that made it substantial in the mouth. We finished the meal with an Amalfi Lemon dessert, which was a small white cake with lemon frosting. It was a pleasant touch to a very enjoyable evening.
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