Fattoria Terranova

It's been a tumultuous last 12 days. We've experienced a lot, both wonderful and difficult and have managed to find a little piece of heaven here on the Sorrentine peninsula. This is a working farm, which produces products that are then sold in a boutique, rather rustic, shop in Sorrento, just off the main square, the Piazza Tasso. From our room, we have sweeping views down over the steep hills to the Gulf of Salerno. Just up the hill, you can also see across the Bay of Naples to the city and Vesuvius. Our dinner last night and breakfast this morning were sumptuous - simple but delicious and in overwhelming quantity.

The Amalfi coast was beautiful but crowded, overrun, exhausted. My afternoon trip to Capri was interesting but more of the same - just joining the vast river of tourists streaming around these places. Here, we're away from all of that and in a little sanctuary of quiet and peace. Late this morning we drove down the meandering road through Nerano to Marina del Cantone. I went for a swim from the white pebbled beach while Nadia sat and enjoyed the warming sun. This afternoon, we drove down into Sorrento and were both pleasantly surprised by it - a picturesque old town, lots of tourists but not so  overwhelmingly so as along the Amalfitana.

We discovered this place quite by accident when driving from our hotel in Praiano - we got to the end of the Amalfi coast proper and drove up to Sant'Agata sui due Golfi to enjoy the views. We'd read in the Lonely Planet guide about an Agritourismo farm called Le Tore and thought we'd have a look at it - instead, we ended up stumbling upon this place and promptly made a booking for two nights. A brief look at Le Tore confirmed our feeling that Terranova was much better - even more rustic, with the option of meals and with stunning views.

So, we're about to head over for dinner again - our last before returning to Rome. It's been a lovely few days away - the highlight being this place.

On the way from Rome to Istanbul

Photos here

It's taken me a little while to reconnect with that dormant, nearly-deceased part of me but it's coming back lentamente, slowly - just like the way you should heat the water when making a proper Roman coffee. I've recovered quickly from the jetlag, in fact I'm feeling completely normal after an excellent night's sleep. Not sure when it'll hit me again.

Had a nice time with Ennio - he is a gentle, quiet man and I like him a lot. We spoke a lot of Italian this morning, or better said: he spoke a lot and I fumbled with the odd sentence.

I'm still coughing and I'm thoroughly sick of it. Otherwise I'm feeling fine. Listening to music on the plane is what finally broke through the wall yesterday. Living in the suburbs in Melbourne, working 40+ hours a week, commuting, thinking about Mum's welfare, chasing things for the building project, doing all we can in our other endeavours:  all in all, this adds up to too much for me to juggle successfully. It overwhelms any parts of me that aren't integral bits of the immediate to-do list. So, my European side, my soul, my connection with nature, my love of the outdoors, my relationships with family and important friends - all these things start to slip away. And after a long, sustained period, all these things suffer greatly.

Listening to Almeno sta volta, tears welled in my eyes as I felt just how alientated I'd become from all these important things. It was somehow carthartic, because now I'm feeling much better. During my travels, I'll do my best to nuture all these parts of me, to slow down, to resist distractions, to remain in each moment with all my being.

In an hour I'll land for the first time in Byzantium, Constantinopole, Istanbul. Probably the only city on Earth that could possibly rival the city I  just left, Caput Mundi herself. What an embarrassment of riches, how overwhelming, how very much that which I lack and long for in that sunburnt, prisoners' island at the bottom of the world, that place I very gratefully call home. Caput Mundi, il centro del mondo, il cuore della cultura e della civilisazione.