A Full Day of Tasting and Walking

We are still in the area of Benevento and today started at 6:30am with the alarm going off. Around 7:30am we went down to breakfast and then back to the room to get our things and meet in the lobby. At 9:00am we got on the bus and headed out to start our day.

Ingredients and final product.

We drove for a bit and ended up in San Marcos del Cavoti. Linda took us to Autore – a chocolate making place. We met Antonio and his staff (including his mother) and he told us about the ingredients they use and the process of making the chocolate. After his talk we got to taste all of the different flavors of chocolate they make. We ended up buying a few boxes to take home for gifts. We were here for about an hour and then we barded the bus and headed out to our next destination – an hour drive away.

We arrived in Guardia Sanframondi and made our way to LaGuardiense Winery.

Quid Spumante

Our guide was Marco and he gave us a tour of the winery and explained the processes they use to produce their wines. After the tour we had a “light” lunch” or so our tour guide (Linda) said – it turned out to be some starters (3 different things); then a first course of pasta made with chicory in a sauce from beans (like chickpeas that are called "the bean of the queen"); then the second course was a slice of veal with mashed potatoes mixed with spinach & cheese. Finally we had an almond cake. It was a great tasting and a nice lunch – but I definitely wouldn’t call it light.

Finished piece.

After lunch – sometime around 2:45pm we left the winery and headed to the village of Cerreto Sannita where we saw a pottery demonstration. We went to Ceramica Artistica Marina. Very interesting work and some beautiful pieces. Back on the bus we continued with our day. We stopped in Guardia Sanframondi and made a visit to a cemetery – unfortunately it was closed so we continued on to the next place the Palazzo Municipale Sale Museali. Here we viewed oil paintings on wood by Paolo de Matteis. Beautiful paintings.

Fresco - Chiesa di San Sebastiano

Then we walked a couple of blocks to Chiesa di San Sebastiano Matire and saw fresco done by the same artist. This church was really elaborate with paintings, frescos and carvings on almost every surface. Then we walked another couple of blocks to a castle. We took an elevator to the top to get a wonderful view of the valley below. We spent about 20 minutes here before returning to the bus. Before we left the town we stopped in to Mary & Rosy Café for some gelato. Then it was back on the bus and on to the hotel.

We got our things into the room and then decided to go and walk the town. We also needed to get some more Euros since we were running low and still have five days left of the trip. Deanne & Dave joined us and we walked up and down streets doing some window shopping. At around 7:30pm Thomas and I decided to call it a day. We weren’t hungry because we ate so much at lunch so we returned to the hotel and took showers. I am now playing catch up – getting some blogs posted and editing some pictures. Tomorrow we are on the road again – this time to Salerno and the southern Amalfi Coast.