January 30: Matera

We began to explore Matera  in the early morning.  According to Google, “Matera is the third oldest city in the world, after Aleppo and Jericho, with over 10,000 years of history.”  We practically had the ancient city to ourselves as we walked through the cobblestoned streets.  We took several pictures as we marveled at this magnificent place.  I kept wondering about the thousands of people who were displaced from their homes in the 1950s due to poor sanitary conditions.  The end result is an extremely amazing place with many restaurants and hotels popping up around the abandoned “caves.”

Next, we made the 3.5 hour drive to the Amalfi Coast with the last 45 minutes along the Mediterranean Sea.  The picturesque views came with a price — extremely tight, windy roads to carefully navigate.  We had two near miss accidents along the way. After safely getting to the center, we were informed that we must park in the mountains.  While making this last 10 minute ride, I scraped our side step against a cement walk — the sound was chilling.  Shaken but safe, we took the bus back to the center for a delicious lunch of pasta, pizza and wine.  We met an awesome older man who helped us with the bus and picking a restaurant.