"A week on the go in Italy"
by Kelli Phelan

It had been a year of anticipation, excitement, and fear. I’d never been to Europe before…I didn’t even have a passport. The kids, the dog, the house—who would take care of it all? Before I knew it, our departure date had arrived and it was time for my husband, Mike, and I to head out on a new adventure! We met up at Sea-Tac Airport with R.C., general manager of Tutta Bella’s Columbia City location. All three of us were just a little nervous about the flight to the other side of the world. British Air was on time, and we took off promptly at 6 p.m. Our jitters gave way to sleep, and in no time we were landing at London’s Heathrow Airport. We found our way to our connecting flight to Munich; from there we would fly to Naples. Our final destination was just hours away! As we approached Naples on Easter Sunday evening, we could see multiple displays of fireworks going on all over the city. This is when we began to really understand that we were in for an experience of a lifetime.

Our driver, Alonso, was waiting for us when we landed. We drove in silence through the dark, winding streets of Naples; the only illumination was the occasional burst of fireworks from the local churches to let us know that we were not alone in the city. My first shock was the amount of graffiti in the city; nothing was off limits—garage doors, stores, not even churches! The trip from the airport to the San Francesco al Monte on Vomero Hill passed quickly. We were greeted by our hosts, Joe Fugere and Jeff Lewis. They took us on a brief tour of the beautiful monastery-turned-hotel, and then we retired to our rooms, which we would call home for the next week, for a sho rt rest before we were off and running.


Monday
We were up early enough to see the sun come up over Mount Vesuvius. We joined our group in the outdoor dining room overlooking the Bay of Naples for a traditional Italian breakfast. We all agreed to a “short walking tour.” It would be a way for Jeff and Joe to show us the highlights of this historical city. In the next nine hours we experienced the following…

At 10 a.m. we entered the Spanish Quarter. The amount of trash was overwhelming. There are no leash laws in Naples, and there were dogs, friendly dogs, everywhere. It was so quiet at that hour of the morning, almost peaceful. We wandered our way through the twisting cobblestone streets and absorbed the culture of the Neapolitan people: clothes hanging out to dry between the buildings, elderly people sitting on the balconies and in doorways watching the city come alive, children playing soccer in the alleys, and the smell of the bakeries saturating the air. We stopped to say hello to Lello and Paulo Surace. Paulo was the generous man who opened up his kitchen to teach Joe how to be a pizzaiolo. Joe was greeted like family with a bear hug and a kiss for each cheek!


Street life in Naples.

The tour continued through many beautiful churches. I was amazed at how ornate, detailed, and unique each one was. By 2 p.m. the streets were packed with people on their way to a favorite museum; all museums are free to the local people on Easter Monday, or “Pasquetta” in Italian. We needed some nourishment to continue on, and we found it at Trianon—a three-story pizzeria controlled entirely by a woman at the front door with a phone in one hand and a note pad in the other. When she called your name, you had better hustle or she may give your table away! This was our first Neapolitan pizza of the trip, and I was impressed by how much Tutta Bella’s pizza looks and tastes just like these!


Zia Maria cleaning onions.

No time to rest. There was still more to see and only four hours of daylight left. We walked along the waterfront, tasted gelato, stood in line for espresso, checked out

Pizzeria Brandi (where the first Margherita pizza was made for Queen Margherita), took a shot of grappa, touched beautiful mosaics, gazed at statues looking down from above everywhere, and checked out Ciro, the first VPN-certified Neapolitan pizzeria. Then our “short” walking tour came to an end, and we boarded the funiculare to head back to our hotel.


Talking with Italians.


Tuesday
Our drivers for the day were Laura and her Spanish winemaker friend, Manuel. Laura works for Dr. Napoletano, who owns Solania Tomatoes, our destination for the day. Off we went into rush-hour traffic, headed for the town at the base of Mount Vesuvius where Tutta Bella’s tomatoes are grown. We were running late, and we were lost. In our effort to make up time we ran a tollgate and almost got chopped in half by the arm! I am sure that I could never drive in Italy!

We finally arrived, in one piece, and were met by four men dressed in black suits and sunglasses. The first gentleman was Dr. Napoletano, who introduced us to “el presidente.” I felt as though I were in some old Hollywood movie as the two men and their guards walked ahead of us up a cobblestone street. The community came out to shake hands, bow, and greet the men. We soon entered this small town’s government building, a beautiful old stucco structure with vines entwined throughout. When we arrived at the top floor, we were surprised to find the local television station waiting to interview Joe for the evening news! Next it was off to the tomato fields. The soil was darker than I could have imagined. It was onion season, and it was harvest time too! We sampled onions fresh from the earth, okra, and more. We even sampled some homemade wine—whoo, strong stuff. And we had the pleasure of meeting Zia Maria. She wouldn’t reveal her age, but her beauty was ageless.

From the tomato fields we traveled up to the mountains through the olive groves to see the amazing view of the valley from the Napoletano homestead. Our driver for Wednesday, Salvatore, met us after dinner, and we headed on our way to the Amalfi Coast to see his home. The roads were wild and winding; lemon trees grew out of every crack and crevice. We ate dinner at a local favorite tucked away in the side of the mountains. Great food and lots of local people sharing in the fun.


Wednesday
After breakfast on the terrace overlooking the Bay of Naples we met Salvatore in the lobby and headed out to the Feudi winery in the region of Avellino. From the outside the winery appeared to be nothing special, but once inside the large stone walls we entered another world. The landscape was amazing, with an Asian feel and a mesmerizing water feature. We were escorted into a large reception room in an ultra-modern building. We enjoyed espresso as we waited for our host, Robin Shay. He gave us a detailed tour of the inner workings, far beyond where the public usually gets to go. Robin was a charming host who answered the questions of those of us who are less knowledgeable. We then moved upstairs for a wine and cheese tasting. The cheese had been picked up that morning from local farmers. It was so fun! Finally, we all piled into the company van and traveled across the town to the vineyards, where we were taught about the different ways grape vines are pruned and staked.

Avellino wine region.

We walked through town and up to an eighteenth-century castle, where we spent an hour transported back in time. Afterward, we arrived at the new hotel owned by Feudi. We were the very first guests, and we would be dining at the only Michelin star restaurant in Southern Italy. The dinner was the best of the entire trip. It was five courses, each paired perfectly with one of the Feudi wines. The great part about the dining experience in Italy was the way the courses were spread out so you could really enjoy each one.


Thursday
We headed out early on our way back to Naples. We were scheduled to tour the Caputo Flour mill that day. When we arrived, the doors of the mill opened to a small community hidden behind twenty-foot walls. You would never know it was there if you were just driving by. Inside were flats where the employees and their families lived. Children were playing in the center of the court. We started the tour in the lab, where I learned about the importance of blending. Bowls of wheat from all over the world were being tested for the perfect blend. In the plant we witnessed the whole process of flour making, from the grinding of the wheat, to the sifting, sifting, and more sifting, to the final packaging.


Inspecting flour with Eugenio Caputo.

After the tour we all went out to lunch together. Joe had been there three years before, when he was studying in Italy and preparing to open Tutta Bella. They welcomed him like a member of the family and still had his business card at the front desk!


Friday
Our agenda for the day was to tour a buffalo farm to learn how fresh buffalo mozzarella was made. As we watched from behind a glass wall, three men stirred and hand-pulled mozzarella into perfectly sized balls in a quick rhythmic dance.


Water buffalo bath.

Next we toured the barns. These were some pampered buffalo. They each had their own mattress on which to sleep, and there was a carwash-like brush to clean them as they desired. We watched as they waited patiently in line for their turn…seriously! A picture of our favorite buffalo is on display at our Westlake location—check him out! The buffalo farm also had an amazing museum that showcased farming equipment dating back over the past two hundred years.

We were treated to a lunch made entirely from fresh ingredients from the farm. Served in traditional Italian family style with homemade wine, it was delicious. We finished with gelato cones made from buffalo milk. Then we piled into the van and headed to the Greek ruins in Paestum.


Greek temple in Paestum.

Having never traveled outside of the United States before, I was in awe of the history before me. The sheer size of the buildings and the organized layout of the city really made those high school history lessons come to life. We will be returning with our children when we have more time to explore.


Saturday
On our one day to explore on our own, Mike and I decided to visit the Isle of Capri. We boarded the hydrofoil and headed off on our adventure. It was one of the most beautiful places we have ever seen. We enjoyed a terrific lunch along the marina and then traveled to the top of the island via tram. The view from the top was phenomenal. It was all over too soon; we had dinner reservations that we had to get back for.

We ended our last evening with dinner overlooking the Bay of Naples. We were joined by our new friend Laura and our old friend Giovanni from home. We ate and celebrated late into the evening. The next morning we said goodbye to our home away from home and started our journey back to Seattle.

"Please send comments to Kelli at: (kphelan@tuttabella.com)"