Sabbia, mare, templi greci ... e mozzarella di bufala!

Translation: Sand, sea, Greek temples... and mozzarella di bufala!

Jamie's sister, Shannon, her husband Matt & their son Ari came to visit us at the end of August. Jamie only gave them about a day in Napoli to catch up from their long flight before we were hopping on their tour.
Out-of-season by a few days, we headed to the beach about 2 hours south along the coast and stayed at a resort called Oleandri.

The months of July and August, you just don't want to be at the beach here unless you really love the crowds. The timing was perfect! We invited a few friends to tag along too, so we met them all shortly after upon check in at the resort. We all headed to the sand and sea, the kids began their fun as the adults chimed in to some relaxation.

Jamie had researched some nearby restaurants, so we headed out for dinner on our first night and ate some pretty amazing food!

The next day, it was hot, so we got an early start and headed to Paestum, a town known for it's most well preserved Greek ruins which included several temples.

It is quite an amazing place!! It could only be prettier if it wasn't the end of a hot, dry summer and instead had the lush greens and flowers in bloom all around.
We also visited the Tenuta Vannulo Mozzerella farm. We saw a ton of Bufala, indulged in some gelato, and brought home some fresh balls of mozzarella di bufala - possibly some of the best cheese ever!

After a few hours there, and to the kids delight, we headed back to the resort and back to the beach. Since we had some other friends at the same resort, and we couldn't stop talking about the food from the night before, the whole group of us made plans and meet up for dinner at the same restaurant. Again, it was a night of full bellies thanks to the excellent cuisine!

Our hurrah to Labor Day weekend, Italian style was a scenic, although semi-tortueous drive up the Amalfi Coast to the town of Ravello. Hairpin turns, cliffside two-lane road... a little scary, to say the least, at times, but OH! so worth the drive to get to beautiful Ravello!
We ate some lunch at a scenic little park to settle our stomachs, walked around and snapped a few photos before our last portion of the drive to get home.

I'm still hoping our first weekend excursion didn't completely wear out Matt, Shannon and Ari... a few days to rest before our next Italian adventure!