I gave up the idea of "having it all" when I was 35. I was single, never thought I would get married - let alone have a family one day. My career was going great, I was exercising and maintaining my perfect body, going out with my girlfriends, traveling the world and fixing up my house.

Flash forward to 2010 and I am married (5 years), have a 4 year old son and a successful career. My perfect body has long since left me, I still want to see the world, grow my career, enrich my relationship with my husband, raise my son to be a great man and make my home look and feel like Martha Stewart was just there. I spend a majority of my time "striving 2 B supermom" which means I am trying to find a way to juggle a career, marriage and family and maintain some level of sanity!

Is it really possible to "have it all"? Most days are full of laughs, stress, craziness and some fun, but it's overwhelming to try to fit everything in before bedtime. This is my world - my daily strive to become "supermom". It's a combination of my stress, happiness, shortcuts and planning that help me get through the week. This is for all you gals "striving 2 B supermom" too!

Amalfi Coast - First Stop Agropoli

Agropoli...hmm, I have never heard of that city on the Amalfi Coast.  That's what most people say when I tell them about this stunning little seaside village.  My motivation for going to Agropoli was to find my family roots.  My mom's family came from Agropoli.  My great grandmother, Angelina came to America in 1909 shortly after getting married.  She was one of 21 children born to her parents, Davide and Elisabetta.  She lived all her life in Agropoli until she came to America.  My mom was raised in the same house with my Great Grandmother so she always heard the amazing stories about Agropoli since she was a baby.  We were so excited to find the actual family villa that Angelina grew up in - still in Agropoli.  It even has the family name on the column outside the gate....it was the most amazing moment for me to take my mom to this sentimental, special place.  We know that family members still live in the house, but we were not able to reach them to see if a visit was possible.

Here is the photo of the column outside the family villa:


Here is the photo of the street name that the villa is on:

Here are the amazing views of the Agropoli marina from the entrance to the old town of Agropoli:

Views from the Old Town:

Views of the Old Town:

The castle in Agropoli:

The amazing views from old town:

My son and I on the stairs leading up to the old town:

Agropoli was an amazing, beautiful place.  As I walked the streets, I imagined my family walking those same streets years and years ago.  There was just something special about being there for me and my mom.  This trip was a surprise trip for her and this was the highlight for me....taking her to see where her beloved grandmother was from.  My mom always told me how grandma told her the stories about the "scalone" (stairs in Italian)...and here I stand in the photo above on those same stairs with my son.  It's amazing to me. 

As far as trip details, we drove from Tuscany directly to Agropoli.  It was a fairly easy drive.  We stayed outside the town in a hotel and restaurant called Il Ceppo.  We had a 1BR/1BA suite for 120 euros per night including breakfast.  The staff was nice, but spoke little English (as most people in Agropoli).  The room was basic, nothing amazing, but clean and met our needs.  The breakfast was pretty good with lots of choices.  After checking in, we set out to check out the town of Agropoli.  The hotel had no map of the town, so we just went....and crossed our fingers!  We ended up at the marina area.  It was beautiful at sunset too!  We could see the old town up on the hill, but had no idea how to get there.  Somehow, we found it....(God bless my husband for driving....it's nuts there!!!).  We found some parking and walked to the main piazza and wandered around. We found a restaurant on the piazza for dinner and a book store that sold us a map of the town - which was a big help.  After checking out the piazza, we headed back to our hotel for the night.

The next morning, we wanted to try to find our family home and see the old historic town.  We went back to the main piazza and with a little wandering, we found the street the villa was on!  It was such a incredible feeling.  We walked down the street...until it ended.  We couldn't quite find the villa - it seemed like there were lots of apartment buildings and grandma use to tell my mom all about the olive groves surrounding the house.  I walked to the very end of the street and noticed the family name on the columns outside the gate of an old, beautiful villa  - that was it!  My mom's eyes teared up....she was speechless....so was I.  It was the best gift (other than a grandson) I could give my mom!  The villa was behind an iron gate and completely walled in, but we peeked through the gate and took photos through the bars on the gate as best as we could.  It was just as grandma described it..but clearly they had sold the land surrounding the villa (there were no olive groves anymore). 

For dinner tonight, we headed towards the beach (on the opposite side of town). What an amazing beach!  Wow...I wish we had time to enjoy the beach, but we were leaving in the morning.  There were so many restaurants and hotels in this area right on the beach.  This would make a perfect spot to stay if you wanted to enjoy a beach holiday and have dining nearby. 

It was so hard to say goodbye to Agropoli...I think I left a part of myself there.  I promised myself to go back one day and see it again as it is such a special place for me and my family.  It is a charming, non-touristy Amalfi Coast village with a wonderful beach.  I highly recommend a visit for a few days!  It's worth it. 
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