Sorento, Amalfi Coast - Mediterranean Cooking Classes For Single Travelers and Friends

Day One of Four - or Six- night program

• Pickup from the Naples airport (around 12:00 noon) or train station (around 2:30 pm).
• Arrival at the charming hotel where you check in to your deluxe room. If you are not jet-lagged, you may wish to take a short walk into Sant'Agata to do a little exploring. This is a charming little town; perhaps stop with the locals for a coffee and one of the pastry specialties of the region, or just stroll along the old streets.
• Time to rest before your welcome dinner at the hotel's elegant restaurant, enjoying a superb dinner of local cuisine.

Day Two

• A lovely buffet breakfast awaits you.
• In the morning you will head to a local farm, where they have been producing top quality olive oil for years, and where the matriarch has been making mozzarella cheese by hand for six decades; she is one of the true local food artisans. If you like, you can try your hand with the preparation. A tasting of this wonderfully fresh and light cheese follows.
• Venture out into the garden to visit the lemon and olive grove, and learn the secrets of making the tasty limoncello liqueur.
• A light lunch will follow.
• Return to the hotel for an afternoon of relaxation. If weather permits, you might want to take a dip in the pool. You can also schedule a massage in the newly completed massage room (advance reservations of at least 48 hours is required).
• This evening, your first cooking lesson, followed by dinner with wine.

Day Three

• Breakfast.
• Today’s visit to Pompeii ruins by train with an English speaking local guide
• Light lunch in a very simple trattoria in Sorrento
• This evening your next cooking class, followed by dinner with wine.

Day Four

• Breakfast followed by an excursion to visit the towns of Amalfi and Positano, or Amalfi and Ravello.
• Amalfi is a town that seems to have climbed up from the sea like froth and crystallized onto the land. The town is dominated by the impressive Duomo, rivaling in size the cliffs that rise up behind it. You can sit and observe in the Piazza Duomo or wind upwards through the cobblestone streets, exploring the little shops along the way. Positano clings to the mountainside, navigable by a narrow winding road set against the backdrop of palms and citrus groves. At the city's center is the magnificent Santa Maria Assunta Church with its gaily-colored dome. And Ravello is a charming town also perched on the cliffs overlooking the sea. It is home not only to the best Amalfi ceramics, but also the lovely gardens of the historic Villa Cimbrone.
• Today's lunch will be on your own.
• After your Amalfi tour, return to the hotel for your third cooking lesson.
• Dinner to follow based on your efforts.

Day Five

• Breakfast. For those on the four-night program, transfer back to Naples.
• Today will be a full-day visit to the enchanting isle of Capri, weathering permitting. (Traditionally the hydrofoils to Capri run approximately mid-May to mid-October, and during the winter only if the temperature is mild and the water calm.) Depart around 7:45 a.m. You can visit the magical Blue Grotto, walk private paths past secluded villas, and gaze across the aqua water from the harbors.
• Today’s lunch will be on your own.
  (Please note that in the event of bad weather, Capri excursion will be replaced by a visit to an artisanal pasta factory in Gragnano. You will tour a factory associated with the Slow Food movement, where pasta is still made by hand and processed in methods used for generations by small company pasta makers.)
• Dinner tonight at a charming local restaurant.

Day Six

• Breakfast.
• This morning meet with Chef Carmen to learn the preparation of real Neapolitan pizza. You will prepare the dough and toppings that you will use tonight during your final cooking class.
• In the late morning depart for Pompeii, where you will enjoy a guided visit of the city that was buried alive by the eruption of nearby Mt. Vesuvius in AD 79. As you wander among temples, past pottery ruins, and through houses still adorned with frescoes, don't forget to seek out the city's former inhabitants, whose forms were preserved in the hardened volcanic ash.
• Lunch at a charming local restaurant.
• Return to the hotel for your special pizza cooking class during which you will finish the pizzas you began in the morning.
• Dinner to follow based on your efforts.

Day Seven

• Breakfast and departure from the hotel to the Naples airport or train station for those ending the six-night program

Cooking Classes - Prices
Bring a Friend and Save $350 each

Low season                 March – April – October and November

High season              May – June – July – August and September

Note: each daily class is of about 2 hours and is inclusive of

-         antipasto

-         fresh pasta

-         fish or meat second course

-         dessert

-         water and regional wine included
 

Included in the cooking program

• Six nights accommodations double occupancy with ensuite bathroom
• Arrival transfer from Naples airport or train station (Napoli Centrale)
• Return transfer to Naples train station (Napoli Centrale) or airport
• Daily breakfast
• Six dinners
• Two lunches, including one tasting lunch after the cheese demonstration
• Local wine, water and coffee with all included meals (Please note that other beverages and drinks consumed outside of mealtime are not included)
• Three hands-on cooking lessons
• Excursions and food artisan visits
• Transportation
• Taxes and service charges