A trip to southern Italy, Part I

Days 1-2

"We live here with more passion," said Nicolas, the adult son of our Italian host Giovanna and her English husband Albert. It was Sunday morning and we had just arrived at their bed and breakfast in the Naples suburb of Posillipo.

"The soil in Campania is so fertile," he continued, "that it fills the foods grown here with extra flavor, extra..." he searched for the correct word, but couldn't find it.

"You know what I mean, don't you," he asked, giving me a double-handed, shrugged shoulders gesture.

It is often said that Italians punctuate their speech with their hands, but in Naples and Amalfi, I observed something more – they actually punctuate their speech with the entire upper body. Shoulders shrugs, head movements and hand gestures all complement their words, as if the English language is simply not adequate to convey the richness of their ideas.

Anyways, I wasn't exactly sure what Nicolas meant, but I still agreed with him. Pleased at our mutual understanding, he placed his hand on my shoulder.

"Now you simply must try this," he said, as he rummaged through the refrigerator. He took out a plate of freshly caught shrimp, bright red and with all their appendages. He peeled two for Jarmila and me as he explained that Mount Vesuvius not only makes the soil extremely fertile, but the sea more nutrient-rich as well.

He placed the uncooked shrimp on a plate, followed by a touch of olive oil, salt, and fresh pepper.

The delicacy of the flavors were immediately recognizable, and Nicolas loved that we appreciated it.

We retired to our room to freshen up and when we returned, Giovanna, who we later learned often appears on television cooking shows, had prepared a breakfast for us. Crispy flat bread on a plate, smothered with olive oil, tomatoes, mozzarella and garlic. Cappucinno. Fresh orange juice. Sweets. Fruits.

It was simply divine, and with apologies to my mother and mother-in-law, it was the best food I've eaten in years. Nicolas was right about the flavors of the food – the tomatoes were bursting with ripeness, the mozarrella was made from buffalo milk and so had an extra dash of... something, and the olive oil was more flavourful than any I'd ever had.

We had stumbled into a gourmet's kitchen, and for the rest of our stay enjoyed not only lovely food, but Nicolas would later break out his stock of fine white wine from the cellar. It was stored in a 10 liter jug which he lovingly poured into smaller jugs, bottles and a carafe which he shared with us on our last night as we all sat around speaking about life.

And though I realize I'm raving only about the yummies, it was only a small fraction of the hospitality that we enjoyed with that family. They were extremely open, friendly, funny, and helpful, which added to our overall sense of well-being.

Giovanna even spent two afternoons with us, showing us places in Naples that non-natives rarely venture to, for which we are extremely grateful.

If you ever plan a trip to Naples, do yourself a favor and try to arrange accommodation at www.posillipodream.it.

And tell them Jim and Jarmila said hello.