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The Amalfi coast was our second destination on our European summer vacation this year after Rome and what a relaxing treat that was! As a limoncello lover, one of the must-dos on this trip to Salerno, Italy was to head to the Amalfi coast for a lemon grove tour. That morning, we started out a lot later than we planned which caused us to run late for our tour time and we thought for certain that we missed this much-anticipated expedition. Seeing how behind we were running, we got bummed out thinking “oh well, we missed this tour (that we had already paid for). Now, what are we going to do?” Being hopeful, we still decided to head to our meeting point anyway to see if by any chance they waited for us.
Waited they did! Well, she did. To our pleasant surprise, there was a nice young lady who must have come back and waited for us in an adorable lemon mobile. You can only imagine our relief and happiness. As soon as we hopped on that golf cart emblazoned with lemons, we got a zippy ride up the steep winding road to the Limoncello factory, where we met our official tour guide who had already started with the group. Thankfully, we didn’t miss much. We progressively made our incline to the lemon groves as the gentleman thoroughly explained the agricultural history and the arduous process that a small hand-operated family has to endure to grow and maintain lemons in that region of Italy. Climbing steep rocky mountains in the hot and humid temps made the trek even more strenuous but it was worth it once we reached the shady top overlooking picturesque cliffs, lush Mediterranean views, and lemons the size of oranges.
We spent our whole afternoon tasting this amazing fruit. We had booked our tour with lunch included, so after the journey of walking through the lemon groves, we took the narrow stairs down to the outdoor Terrazza perched above the cliffs where we were served freshly squeezed lemonade, homemade lemon cake, learned how to make limoncello (for the second time in my life), and tasted the strongest and tastiest limoncello made on site. As we sat there enjoying this wonderful respite surrounded by stunning vistas taking in the breeze blowing from the mountains – behind us were the owner’s wife, her cousins and other relatives in the outdoor kitchen making our lunch. In the meantime, the husband brought us a bottle of wine while we waited. When the food arrived, it was a complete feast just for the two of us. I’m talking everything freshly homemade from the pasta, the salads that, of course, included lemons to the dessert and down to the cappuccino. We couldn’t believe our eyes (neither could our bellies), as course after course came since we are not big eaters, but it all was spectacular. It was one of the most memorable afternoons well-spent in Italy.
The tour was not only insightful and interactive, but the passion the family has for their land, their environment, their family and their food was so inspiring. Now I need a siesta just thinking about it all!
Addio amore,
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