Special Kind of Cheese

Waking up a little earlier than yesterday, we grab breakfast downstairs. When I go to pay the lady in cash, she does not have change, so we end up using the credit card for the bill. Very strange as yesterday we watched several people pay in cash as the machine was not working for the cards. I don’t know how you can not have change ready when you know people are checking out. Anyhow, we get it done and then are given a ride in a bicycle cart, compliments of the BNB, back to the parking lot and our vehicle.
We plug our destination onto the GPS and begin our drive for the day. We drive north along the coast to Bari, an important seaport on the Adriatic, before heading inland and into the Italian hills.

Driving to Paestum

Leaving Bari, the terrain and the traffic quickly changes. The terrain becomes more hilly and agricultural, while the traffic disappears into my recent memory. It is very easy driving and the further away from the sea we get, the more sparse the amount of dwellings we see becomes. Midway across, we start to climb dramatically with the small hill town of Altamura off to one side. The views are incredible as we crest the mountain range and then start our winding descent. Once down, we pass the town of Potenza and again enter a rural but slightly more mountainous area. We get on a highway towards Salerno and things are going good when suddenly the road is blocked and we must exit. The GPS is trying to get us to make a U turn back to the highway and does not help us in deciding the initial direction to turn. I take my best guess, following about five trucks withe another four or five behind me.

Rural Mountains

The road is not wide enough for the trucks when traffic is coming the other way. The GPS finally gives up on me and recalculates to point the right way. We don’t know how long we will be on this small back road but hope it is not too long as the speed limit is only about 25 mph. At one sharp turn in the road, two,trucks in front of me stop completely. All I can do is wait and hope there is a plan. Apparently, they are in radio contact with trucks coming the other way and we’re waiting for them to make the curve before they proceed on. We get going again and in a few miles we rejoin a highway. We start to descend as we are once again going to a sea side town. Our destination is the town of Paestum, which has some Greek temples in it. It is also an area where they make buffalo mozzarella. We have not tried it yet but it seems to be getting popular in some regions of Italy. This is not made from the American bison but rather from the milk of the water buffalo.

Water Buffalo

We hope to make it to a local farm that makes all their own cheeses and products, which they serve in their restaurant for lunch. The plan is to have lunch and then visit the Greek temples.
As we get closer, the skies begin to look gloomy and threaten rain. We pull into Casaficio Bartello and as we get out of the car, the first raindrops begin to fall. We get a seat indoors and order a cheese plate antipasto, homemade ravioli, and pasta with water buffalo sausage. While we are waiting they bring us a quiche like starter with their cheese in between. It is excellent. Then our antipasto comes which includes buffalo mozzarella both regular and smoked, hard cheeses, and buffalo baked ricotta. We both actually like the regular cows mozzarella better as it is sweeter. The buffalo mozzarella has a slightly sour taste to it. The smoked is very good as are the hard cheeses.

Our Cheese Antipasto

The best of the bunch however is the ricotta. It is incredible and super rich and creamy. I could make a meal of that. Our ravioli shows up and and it is filled with the ricotta and also amazing. The pasta with sausage is good but compared to the ravioli is definitely not the star. Our bellies full, we go outside and check out the water buffalo. It is a quick visit as it is starting to rain a little heavier. We decide to do a quick drive by the temples to take a look but not pay to go in and walk in the rain. We drive around the area seeing a few of the temples. Since we went to the Greek temples in Sicily, we do not feel that we have to walk around inside the archeological area. All that is left to do is find our hotel.

Greek Temple at Paestum

We pass a nice beach area on the way there and then pull in front. The desk clerk tells us where to park and we check in. Nothing to do now but relax as the rain continues. We look at the weather report for tomorrow and it has me nervous. It says heavy rains and storms and we have to return the car by 1045. It is not a far drive, just about 35 miles but the speed limit the whole way is 30 mph so it will take at least an hour in perfect conditions. I don’t know if the roads flood and after our experience in the hills a few days ago, we will have to leave extra time. We will just have to get up earlier to allow some extra time but other than that there is no sense worrying. See you tomorrow.
Expenses
Rental Car 90.3E
Casaficio Bartello Lunch 32E
Take Away Dessert from Casaficio Bartello 5E
Poseidana Mare Hotel 72E
Walked .5 Miles