How was your journey? The Gambardella family, several generations of whom are usually on the scene, have been asking this question ever since they began welcoming guests to their villa-like retreat on the edge of a cliff along the legendary Amalfi Coast of southern Italy in 1904. It’s understandable if some of their arrivals are at a loss to sum up the hair-raising trip along the famed Amalfi Drive. This narrow ribbon of pavement and hairpins floats hundreds of feet above the churning surf. The writer John Steinbeck described the route as “hooked and corkscrewed on the edge of nothing” and confessed that “in the back seat my wife and I lay clutched in each other’s arms, weeping hysterically.” Even so, he found the coast, where entire villages cling improbably to green hillsides that plunge into the blue Mediterranean, to be “a dream place that isn’t quite real.” Another writer, Gore Vidal, lived in a cliffside aerie in nearby Ravello, and he abandoned his typical churlishness to say he was blessed with “the most beautiful view in the world.” You’ll probably come to some of the same conclusions when you take a seat on one of the many terraces, sip a chilled Prosecco, and surrender to the sensation of being suspended here between sea and sky — or the sense that you’ve stumbled onto the set of a very stylish movie.

The Amalfi Coast is one of the most beautiful, glamorous, legendary, gossip-soaked strips of land anywhere, the haunt of film stars and poets, the rich and famous, exiled royals and pretenders, bigwigs and flaneurs, lovers and lotharios, and plenty of ordinary folks just looking to relax in style. Everyone feels right at home in these sprawling, tile-floored lounges and vine-laced dining rooms. In these swell surroundings you wouldn’t be too surprised if the bejeweled woman at the next table purred, “Gimme a whisky . . . ginger ale on the side . . . and don’t be stingy, baby,” or if a well-tanned gent ordered a martini, shaken, not stirred. The white-jacketed attendants, who seem to know every guest by name, will be just as solicitous as you wrestle with a decision to have the sea bass salted and baked or simply grilled or if you should indulge in the lemon soufflé for dessert.

“I need something truly beautiful to look at in hotel rooms,” said actress Vivien Leigh, who used to vacation in these parts. She would find plenty to admire in the 66 rooms and suites, each different, that ramble through the main house and are tucked into gardens fragrant with oranges and lemons. Furnishings are homey rather than ostentatious, enlivened with a smattering of family heirlooms, and warm whites are accented with Mediterranean hues that offset glistening hand-painted tile floors. Many of the deep bathtubs have sea views, and you might just be tempted to call room service and order a bottle of Champagne as you settle in for a long soak. These are the sorts of digs to which Greta Garbo yearned to retreat when in the film Grand Hotel she famously said, “I want to be alone.” Actually, Garbo and her lover, the conductor Leopold Stokowski, once hid out in a villa up the mountainside in Ravello. They probably would have been just as content in the Giulietta e Romeo Chalet, a hidden garden cottage dripping with bougainvillea and jasmine, or for that matter any other accommodation here.

A Bond-worthy glassed-in elevator whooshes 10-stories down a rock face to a cove that shelters the beach club. You expect to run into Cary Grant and Grace Kelly down here, lying around in beach togs as they do in To Catch a Thief.  Adding to the laidback glamor is an army of Polo-attired attendants who appear with a towel and bottle of water the moment you climb out the sea or saltwater pool. Settle in with a house made Limoncello and you can almost see Odysseus sailing by—legend has it that as he plied these waters he had himself bound to the mast to prevent him from answering the lure of Sirens promising “love, sweeter than honey.”  It’s easy to understand how he might have succumbed to local pleasures. You might also imagine that you’ve stumbled into a scene from Evil Under the Sun. You know, the lush film of the Agatha Christie thriller in which Maggie Smith is a former actress and royal courtesan who looks after a bunch of spoiled toffs at her seaside villa-turned-guesthouse. Thing is, it’s hard to imagine anything evil happening under this sun.

Hotel Santa Caterina is perched on a clifftop less than a mile outside Amalfi, at S.S. Amalfitana 9. The hotel is open from mid-April through early November. Visit their website for more information.

The post Glamour Under the Italian Sun: The Hotel Santa Caterina appeared first on Traveling Archive.

Greetings, culinary fans –

As a rule, I generally don’t post press releases, but Jo-Ann Gaidosz of Active Gourmet Holidays is so dedicated to the art of international cuisine, I thought her latest global culinary campaign is worthy of my readers’ interest.

– Audrey

Immersion into the Languedoc

Languedoc, France – 6 nights

Available to November

If the Languedoc is on your list of regions to visit in France, you won’t be disappointed. Try our “Immersion into the Languedoc” with your French chef and host who is a cookbook author and part of the gang that started up the Food Network.

Join a native Languedocienne on a culinary journey in this little known corner of southern France, nestled between the Camargue region to the east and the French Catalonian Pyrenees to the southwest. Your hostess was part of the original group who started the Food Network and was a producer of a restaurant program and some other related series. You will discover this singular historic region rich in traditions, art, architecture and culture and meet some remarkable personalities and spirited characters, from local chefs and winemakers to artists and artisans, all of whom are passionate about their craft and their land.

Home Cooking on the Amalfi Coast

Amalfi Coast, Italy – 3, 5 or 7 nights

Available year round

Our “Home Cooking on the Amalfi Coast” Italian cooking vacation offers the opportunity to learn family recipes from your instructor and host while staying in a beautiful home overlooking the Amalfi Coast.

High up in the hills lies a beautiful home where you will enjoy cooking lessons from a self taught Italian woman who specializes in typical regional dishes. The home in which you will stay has been recently renovated with love and each room is tastefully detailed. Take in the gorgeous view of the Amalfi Coast while you relax on the property during your free time. Choose from a three, five or seven night itinerary including family recipes, foodie visits with a chance to immerse yourself in this scenic area of Italy.

A Taste of Seville

Seville, Spain – 3 or 5 nights

Available year round

A Taste of Seville offers exceptional sherry, wine and foodie tours in Sevilla. Your guide will take you to the finest bodegas, food producers and hidden gems in the area. Choose from a three or five night tour – both are the perfect immersion into Sevilla offering beautiful accommodations, gourmet dining and the inside scoop on the finest tapas bars in the area.

There is a reason why Spain is a hot destination. Only have a few days? Check out our “Taste of Seville” escape. Stay in a centrally located 4 star hotel, have tours by our fun loving and knowledgeable guide, go on a tapas tour, learn about sherry and eat incredible cuisine.

RECIPE OF THE MONTH

Spaghetti Alla Vongole

(Compliments of our chef for our “Palazzo Cooking in the Northern Veneto” Program)

Serves 4 as a starter, 2 as a main

Ingredients: 

200g/7 oz. spaghetti (or linguine)

500g/about 1 pound live clams (vongole verracci being the classic)

3 cloves garlic, finely sliced

3 tbsp finely chopped parsley

A pinch of crushed chili flakes

100ml/3.4 oz. white wine

4 tbsp olive oil

Bring a large pan of water to the boil, and season it with 10g salt (about 1/2 T) per litre/about 4 cups.

When it is boiling fiercely, add the pasta, and stir immediately to stop it sticking.

Meanwhile, heat a large sauté pan, then add half the oil and the garlic. Cook for 5 seconds only, and do not allow the garlic to colour, then add the clams. Saute for 30 seconds, until they start to spit a little, then add the chili flakes, the chopped parsley & the wine. Cover with a lid and let cook for 2-3 minutes, shaking the pan from time to time, until they are mostly open.

When the pasta is VERY al dente (3 minutes or so from being ready), add it to the clams, along with a little of the pasta cooking water, and the remaining olive oil. Cook together so that the pasta releases its starch into the clam juice, thickening it, and the clam juice is absorbed by the pasta, flavouring it. Add a little extra cooking water if necessary, until the pasta is al dente, and the sauce thickened and coating every strand.

For further information, contact Jo-Ann Gaidosz at  

in**@ac*******************.com











; 203.732.0771 or visit www.activegourmetholidays.com.

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