Yesterday was one of my very favorite days since we’ve been here.  We headed out of Naples into the mountains to a little village called Castelcivita.  First we toured an underground cave system with mind-blowing, imagination-invoking ancient stalactites and stalagmites.

Next, we found the river (which is partly fed from the underground river that made the caves), and were amazed by the beautiful fall colors and the familiar scents of mountain/river/wood/autumn.  I inhaled deeply, feeling a sense of Montana more than any place we’ve been here yet.  Cedar loved skipping rocks, while Matt was obsessed with looking for fish and dreaming of fishing.  I would love to come back and sit by the river, if it were only closer to home (it’s 1.5 hours away).

Finally, we visited the village for the Festa della Patate di Montagna (mountain potato festival) and had a lovely time!  The town was a quiet, relaxed, very welcoming place where we wandered through the labyrinth of alleyways and stairs, up to the very top (of many, many stairs).  We admired the views of mountains and sunset and we met a number of very nice English-speaking people who shared stories and information with us.  We got to see live traditional music (with accordion, guitar and percussion), including joyful people dancing to the music!  We enjoyed a sort of scavenger hunt for the food booths, where we got to try different kinds of potato dishes (potato doughnuts, potato balls, roasted potato (cooked with coals under ashes) doused with olive oil, potato pasta, potato with pork, etc), and all the booths had FREE WINE too.  I know, right?!?!  It was the best festival we have been to, where we felt relaxed (not overwhelmed by crowds), welcomed, included, and happy.

I am falling more and more in love with Italy.