I am so glad I signed up for the G Adventures small group tour to the Amalfi Coast. The tour lasted 7 days and was based in Furore for 5 nights after kicking off in Naples and finishing in Naples. There were just 10 people on the tour which was small enough for us to get to know each other over the 7 days and to really enjoy our evenings together over dinner eating traditional home cooked Italian food.
Looking back over my 5 week journey in Europe during the winter of 2015/16, I would say that this tour was one of my favourite memories of the trip.
We stayed at an small locally owned agriturismo/guesthouse in Furore called Sant Alfonso owned by Nicola and Michaela. The guesthouse has quite a history. It was once a monastery and is now home to Nicola and Michaela’s and their children who have turned part of the property into a guest house. After passing through several owners the final owner, a priest, left the property to the gardener who happened to be the great (possibly great great) grandfather of Michaela. Nice story.
The Local Living Italy – Amalfi itinerary included:
- dinner at the first pizzeria in Italy in Naples (fantastic!)
- a guided day trip to Pompeii
- a hike and day trip from Amalfi and Ravello (hike was optional)
- a trip to Agerola for a demonstration in Mozzarella and Limoncello making
- A full day in beautiful Sorrento – one of my favourite places in Italy (don’t every miss going there)
- A day hike along the Walk of the Gods down to Positano
- Traditional Italian cooking demonstrations by Nicola and Michaela in the evening which we then ate at dinner
- Pizza making and consuming.
Yes the itinerary looks like a list of tour stops (albeit very beautiful stops), but our visits were more than tour stops. Daniele (our Chief Experience Officer (CEO)) made sure that we experienced local living by taking us to small family owned restaurants while our visits to see how mozzarella, limoncello and pizza made were all at small family owned business who have been running the same business for years. They manufactured very small quantities but were well known in Amalfi for producing high quality products used in restaurants in the region. The limoncello business only produced about 100 bottles each year for example.
The Italian home cooked food!
Ok so here’s the thing. There will be shock and horror. During my past couple of visits to Italy I have enjoyed the pizzas and pastas (particularly the seafood) for the first couple of weeks but then I became tired of the simplicity of the food (something Italians are very proud of ) and the fact that EVERY restaurant offered the same dishes! Coming from Australia, I have been spoilt for choice when it comes to international cuisine – I could try some new flavour every night if I wanted to – thank you to our Italian, Vietnamese, Indian, Thai (etc) friends who have come to settle in Australia!
BUT! On the tour I took with G Adventures “Living Locally in Italy” I finally got to understand what all of the fuss was about! I got the opportunity to eat where the locals eat, dine in a family home for 5 nights with restaurant quality food that showed me the diversity of the dishes and the fabulous freshness of the flavours and to finally taste the best pizza base I have ever had following a hands on pizza making demonstration. Now I am an Italian food convert so long as I eat like a local.
Each night Nicola and Michaela served us a 4 course meal (with wine of course) of traditional Italian food with flavours I’ve never tasted before and recipes I’d never tried. Across 5 nights we tried a fantastic variety of Italian dishes.
Michaela and Nicola were also kind enough to provide two cooking demonstrations that later became a part of our dining experience that night.
Cooking Demonstration …
An Italian Amalfi Christmas Seafood Feast!
Our tour coincided with Christmas and we were in for a fabulous treat:Nicola and Michaela really out did themselves and thoroughly surprised us by putting on a very special feast on Christmas Eve – remember it is in their home. The tables were decorated in white and gold with sprinkles of silver and tall wine glasses and candles on a table by a fire with children excited about the arrival of Santa Claus. Perfecto.
Mozzarella making…
I fully intend to book more tours with G Adventures. If you want to check out their range of tours, click through below.