Positano
Positano is a little Moorish-style village, discovered by American and British troops at the end of World War II. Opening onto the Tyrrhenian Sea, this small town first attracted artists including the famous writer John Steinbeck. Steinbeck called Positano ‘a dream place’. Positano's narrow winding streets are lined with tint cafés, terraces, and artisan shops selling ceramics, Limoncello, antiques and the distinctive Positano- style handmade clothes. Walk the cobblestone footpath, the little street that leads down to the beach, it is lined with local artists selling their crafts. Visit the parish church of Santa Maria Assunta in Piazza Flavio Gioia, a Romanesque structure that was completely rebuilt in 1700. The locals of Positano celebrate the feast day of the church every August 15th, as they carry the statue of Maria Assunta along the beach accompanied by a parade of musicians. A spectacular fireworks display follows under the stars, with boats arriving in hundreds to watch and celebrate from the sea. Stroll the beach and visit the famous L’Incanto Ristorante dotted with straight lines of orange beach chairs and umbrellas or hop on a boat to Li Galli Islands. Spring, summer and fall months are most colorful in this seaside town, however the off-season months still have a moody quiet charm all of their own.

The Villa Property
Overlooking the Tyrrhenian Sea in the seaside resort of Positano is the Villa, an elegant and charming structure that has a rich history and culture.

Each suite in the Villa is decorated with stylish antiques and furnished with modern comforts. Cool, pastel ceramic tiles line the floors, a collection of rare artifacts and paintings deck the walls, and high vaulted white ceilings give each room a lofty feel. Modern amenities include, a private bathroom with tub and shower, a spacious living-room, and a tiled terrace with the breath-taking sea view top each suite. Elegant furniture adorns each room, and a full-stocked kitchen with china, pans, silverware, and cooking accessories line the shelves. Spacious floor-to-ceiling windows spill out on to the terrace and showcase a panoramic sea view that spans Li Galli Islands and Positano. There is an air of centuries-old charm surrounding the Villa. Its unmatched setting of sea and sun make it one of the most desirable luxury properties on the Amalfi coast. A few steps down the Villa's ancient stone walk is Positano's town center. After each cooking class, participants eat the fruits of their labor on the terrace under the Bougainvilla arbor.

Lemon Lifestyles™
The hands-on cooking classes, take place in our rustic Mediterranean kitchen and includes Neapolitan recipes made with seasonal produce. Following each lesson, cooking class participants eat the fruits of their labor. Wine, café and dessert are included.

The Lemon Lifestyles program also includes one cooking class during the week that features an "all lemon menu" from the first course to the dessert. Learn how to make lemon infused antipasto, lemon pasta, and lemon torte-an exclusive at Cooking Vacations International.

The Amalfi Coast
The Amalfi region and the Sorrento Peninsula have attracted travelers, explorers, emperors, artists and poets for centuries. The mesmerizing colors, dramatic coastlines, year-round warm climate and hospitable people make the region a heavenly seaside destination. One of our adventurous excursions takes you from a private villa to the cobblestone streets of ancient Ravello, driving you through the winding Amalfi Coast past villages and vineyards that are nestled between the jagged cliffs. Each turn on the road is a treasure to behold, and the beginning of a memory that will last a lifetime..

Regional Italian Cooking Classes
Our program includes three hands-on cooking lessons featuring local recipes of the region with our chefs, as they take you from appetizer, to main course, to dessert using only the freshest local ingredients. Our morning market tour visit, where we buy the ingredients for our class, is a feast for the eyes.

Positano Regional Sample Menu
Fresh Pasta & Ravioli Arancini-hand-made rice balls, stuffed with cheese, peas, meat and flash-fried to a golden crisp

Focaccia & Pizza-fresh dough baked in a wood-burning oven

Gatto’ di Patate-savory potato cake with ham and cheese

Pizzette Fritte Ripiene-fried pizzas with stuffing, Neapolitan-style

Pasta con Vongole-pasta with sea clams

Involtini di Verza-Little cabbage bundles stuffed with bread, cheese and herbs

Tittoli-fried polenta triangles

Melanzane Ripiene-stuffed eggplant

Pesce all’Acqua Pazza-Fish in "Crazy Water" with fresh tomato, white wine, garlic and parsley

Lasagne-Neapolitan-style lasagne filled with ricotta, meat and béchamel sauce

Torta di Capri-almond chocolate cake from Capri

Zeppole-a light fried pastry filled with cream and dusted with powdered sugar

Biscotti-Italian cookies flavored with almond, orange or lemon

*This is just a sample of our regional menu

Itinerary: 8 days 7 nights
~ Saturday to Saturday

Saturday:
Benvenuto & Welcome Dinner

• Pick-up and transfer from Naples airport or train station to the property.
• Arrival and check-in. You will have time to relax on your terrace or explore the area. Walk to the center of town or take the "bus interno," the little orange bus that sweeps you off to Piazza Mulini. Take the Afternoon to visit Positano. Stop at the Piazza for a gelato or Limoncello.
• In the evening, we have a welcome dinner at our favorite restaurant in Positano, built in a grotto and serving the best home-made pasta dishes. (Wine, grappa and after dinner digestives are available at the restaurant at a surcharge).

Sunday:
Discover Positano ~ Cooking Class 1

• Breakfast is served.
• Take the day to discover Positano, and stroll through the cobblestone streets.
• Visit the 18th century courtyard of the Palazzo Murat. Stroll the stone pathway, visit the Spiaggia Grande, or take a seaside walk on the Via Positanesi d'America. In the piazza at the beach see our friend and local artist Pasquale Volpe, who paints the people and landscapes of Positano in watercolor.
• Enjoy the afternoon on the beach with a creamy gelato from Covo.
• Take the later afternoon to swim in the sea, or stroll the promenade. Walk the “Strada Of The Gods”, the footpath that overlooks Positano and take the orange pulmino up to the old village of Montepertuso for a panoramic view that spans Capri to the Cilento coast.

Cooking Class 1

• In the evening, your first hands-on cooking class. Dinner follows and everyone eats together the dishes prepared in class. Local wine and dessert included.
• After dinner, take a walk to the beach and visit the fabulous café and music bar, "Music On The Rocks", carved in natural rock formation, or “Buca”, where you can dance under the stars, or sit outside at a café table by the sea.

Monday:
Capri, Italy’s Glamorous Seaside Island & The Blue Grottoo

• Breakfast is served.
• A full day visit to the Isle of Capri, where you can choose to see the Blue Grotto- the ‘Eighth Wonder of the World’ or stroll along the port. The Blue Grotto has a special cavern entrance where the sunlight reflects on the water in the cave, tingeing it a dramatic Mediterranean cerulean shade of blue. Capri is Italy's most popular and glamorous seaside island and is just twenty minutes away. Once in the port of Capri, you can choose to take the funicular up to the famous Piazza Umberto. This square, better known as ‘la piazzetta’, is perched high above the sea and offers a panoramic view of the Bay of Naples. You can also choose to visit Anacapri-the highest point on the island. In town, you can shop at world class luxury boutiques and shops or simply enjoy a Limoncello in the Piazza. A private English-speaking guide is available.
• Evening free and dinner is on your own. Suggestion: Tre Sorelle. Tell Luigi you were recommended by Cooking Vacations.

Tuesday
Sorrento, City Of Song, Tarantella, Limoncello & Confetti Candy

• Breakfast is served.
• Take the blue SITA bus to Sorrento-only 25 minutes away, or in season the speedy water taxi from the port for a self-guided tour to the city by the sea. (You will need to buy your round trip bus tickets in the café at Piazza Mulini or at Bar International.)
• Explore Sorrento the city of song, dance & the Tarantella. Visit Piazza Tasso and the famous Fauno Café, walk through the cobblestone streets and see artisans make shoes, leather bags, ceramics and “confetti,” wedding candies. Visit to the artisan soap maker who produces lemon soap from the essence of the Sorrento lemons. We will also visit the famous Limoncello maker to see how it is made-includes complimentary tastings. Stop at the artisan “Confetti & Agrumetti,” and watch Antonio toast the almonds and then coat them in chocolate, orange zest or lemon. Complimentary tastings of the sugar-coated almonds are available. Walk to Marina Grande in old Sorrento and visit Saint Ann’s Church- patron Saint of Sorrento, have a cappuccino in the Fauno Café, or stroll along the famous Via Corso Italia.

• The Lemon Lifestyles Cooking Class starts out with a little history on the zesty lemons that grow in abundance on the Amalfi Coast. You will learn the characteristics of the Amalfi lemon and all of its uses in cooking. Our chef will lead the way in this hands-on cooking class with a lemon-infused antipasto, fresh hand-made lemon pasta, local fish or chicken seasoned with lemon, and Amalfi lemon cake. We will use all the ingredients purchased in our market place visit. Everyone eats the fruits of their labor on the terrace accompanied by good company, wine, dessert and café.

Wednesday
Positano Walking Tour~Market Visit & Cheese Tasting~Mamma Celeste’s Afternoon Seaside Lunch

• Breakfast served.
• We start off the morning early with a walking tour of Positano, followed by a visit to the marketplace. The first stop includes a visit to the local negozi. We will meet with Emilia, who will share her knowledge and recipe secrets about the artisan cheeses of the area. Emilia pairs the various farmhouse cheeses with wood-oven baked breads from the region. Tastings follow.
• We visit the fruit stand market of local produce and fruits. Colorful seasonal fruits: grapes, lemons, peaches, kiwis, oranges, chestnuts are piled high in baskets. Sweet cherry tomatoes, Swiss chard, squash and leafy greens are just a sample of the seasonal produce on offer.
• Our morning market tour ends with a traditional lunch at the beach. Guido, and Marco welcome you to this picturesque spot overlooking Li Galli Islands, with lunch prepared by their Mamma Celeste. (Lunch included, wine, grappa and after dinner digestives are available at the restaurant at a surcharge).
• In the later afternoon, at 5:00pm, you are whisked away to an artisan ceramic maker. You will see old-world artisans paint seascapes, mermaids, suns & moons, and romantic angels in soft pastel shades. Colorful pasta plates, cappuccino & espresso cups, serving platters, and giant table tops decorated in hues of pink, yellows and sky blue are just some of the Mediterranean ceramics for sale. Select a piece or an entire set; the shop ships world-wide.

Cooking Class 3

• In the evening, your first hands-on cooking class. Dinner follows and everyone eats together the dishes prepared in class. Local wine and dessert included.
• After dinner take a stroll to Buca, sip a digestive or amaro you and listen to the live music café at table close to the sea.

Thursday
Amalfi Coast & Visit To Ravello, A Famous Pastry Maker & A Ceramic Pottery Visit

• The day begins with a drive along the famed Amalfi Coast with the first stop at our artisan ceramic pottery maker, then it is onto Amalfi.
• The town of Amalfi is rich in culture and history. The small city, perched on the coastline, is dominated by Amalfi’s Cathedral and its main streets are lined with small shops and elegant bars. Merchants display their wares outside and nothing could be pleasanter than browsing through stalls of herbs and spices, jewelry, shoes, handmade Amalfi paper, and local lemon specialties such as soaps and local lemon liqueurs. Take time out to shop or stop for a cappuccino in the famous Pansa café and enjoy a few minutes of people watching.
• The afternoon continues with an excursion to Ravello. Ravello is perched 350 meters over the rocky spur of the Amalfi Coast separating the Valle del Dragone from the Valle del Regina. Today, Ravello is world-famous for its outdoor music concerts. Visit Villa Cimbrone, once the residence of Greta Garbo, wander through the lush gardens and the Terrazza Della Rosa, or stroll down the path that leads to the Terrazzo dell'Infinito (Terrace of Infinity). The natural balcony is adorned with imposing marble busts. From this unique vantage point you can see the distant Cilento Mountains and the Licosa beyond the sparkling sea, the lush Amalfi Coast, its distinctive terraces of colorful lemon trees, and the houses that cling to the rugged coastline. Stroll along the streets and alleyways and discover little gems of churches, chapels, and noblemen's residences. Also see the Cathedral, Villa Rufolo, San Giovanni del Tauro, and Santa Maria.
• If you have a sweet tooth and would like to visit a sweet café set on the sea, then get ready for a dessert like you have never tasted. After Ravello, your private driver will bring you to a famous pastry shop where they make a one-of-a-kind Amalfi dessert with chocolate drenched eggplant, flavored with pine nut, liqueur and orange, or you can try the fragrant Ricotta pear tart. Return to Positano.
• Evening is free and dinner is on your own. Suggestion Grottino, ask for Nino.

Friday
Pompei Excursion

• Breakfast is served. After breakfast you will begin your day with an early morning excursion to Pompeii. You will visit this famous seat of ancient Roman civilization near Naples whose ruins date back to 79AD. Discover and explore the ancient city that was covered by the eruption of Vesuvius, and unravel the ancient mystery of the Roman Empire. Visit Pompeii's open air museum and explore the labyrinth of paths that leads you through the ruins of the buried city. Take time out during your visit for a panino in the café near the forum. A private tour guide is available for 2 hours at $235. Return to Positano.
• The evening is free and dinner is on your own. Suggestion: Bar Bruno. Ask for Nino and tell him you are from Cooking Vacations.
  

Saturday:
Departure

• Breakfast, transfer to airport or train station, departure.
  Ciao e a presto!

^ Top