The Amalfi Coast

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In southern Italy there is no such thing as straight down or straight up; one must wind. Although, when travelling, I have no objection to a little bit of winding, I would prefer it if we wound on the back of some Italian stallion's moped... but the bus did us fine.

So there we were, winding all the way from the immaculately touristic centre of Sorrento to the outskirts - which were'nt so immaculate, but which emitted an air of faded and unkept beauty that left us craving some sort of miraculous unearthing of something perfect. When in Italy you become accustomed to pretty and charming coves and crevices on each corner, complemented by breathtaking views. Therefore if you ever find yourself in a place that doesn't quite live up to the words "picture perfect" you feel utterly cheated and violated. However, we didn't know what we were about to discover whilst sat on the winding rickety bus.

What awaited us was the Amalfi Coast. A cliff side town terraced with scented lemon groves peering down onto endless, sparkling seas where charming cottages cling to perilous, winding slopes. And our crazy Italian bus driver was navigating those "perilous, winding slopes". We were probably close to death about 3 times. However, the views were worth it. But... when choosing my seat on the bus, I hadn't taken into account which side the views would be on. So, instead of seeing the wonderful views for myself, I had to lean across the isle and view them through an Asian woman's ipad. The juxtaposition of one of Italy's finest coastlines with the technologically advanced Apple item detracted somewhat from the feeling of awe that I would have felt if I had positioned myself on the other side of the bus.

When we arrived we bought yet another ice cream - I had completely lost track of how many I had consumed by this time - and took our packed lunch, which consisted yet again of tomato and mozarella sandwiches, to the water's edge. And we ate this delectable lunch whilst perched on the breakwaters looking out to where the sky met the sea in one infinitely blue horizon.

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