Blogs from Amalfi, Campania, Italy, Europe
May 7th 2012
Ciao from Capri, Sorrento, Positano and Pompeii Italy! WHEW! What an amazingly beautiful and serene weekend I had with the Bus2Alps crew heading down the Amalfi Coast. After flying into Rome, taking a bus into the city just to have dinner (crazy right?) we were ready for the 3 hour ride to our hostel, Hotel 7. This hotel was absolutely beautiful with pebble stoned flooring in the main room with convertible open rooftop, both base floor and rooftop bars and comortable 8 person rooms it was definitely the best place I've stayed at so far! Each room had a cute name that started with the same letter, changing depending on what floor you were on but of course we were the "Sweet" room! The first day started off pretty early and after a bit of a ... read more
April 2nd 2012
Today was rest day and there is no better place to rest than in beautiful Amalfi. After a quick trip to the "supermarket" to grab breakfast and some panini for lunch, we took a stroll down to the pier and the beach. The beach is black sand and pebbles and the water is very clear. There were lots of tourists taking in the sun and it was amusing to watch the Europeans sunbaking on concrete and rocks around the pier. Nick and Emily were deserate to post their postcards so we grabbed some stamps and headed back to our apartment for lunch. Susy and Lino were there to greet us, always happy and smiling (and smoking) and why not? What an amazing place to live. All Damian could say was "e una bella giornata!" His Italian ... read more
Arrivederci Roma! On our way to Costiera Amalfitana!!
Published: April 1st 2012Europe » Italy » Campania » Amalfi
April 1st 2012
After waiting for almost an hour in a tiny Hertz rental office, waiting for some South Americans to stop arguing over 20 Euros in their bill, we finally took possession of our car - not the Ford Mondeo wagon but a Ford Galaxy minivan. It's great to see that even in Italy, you never get a rental car with a full tank of fuel. Luckily the TomTom GPS we brought with us from Australia worked and we managed to get out of Rome on a relatively quiet Sunday morning without much fuss and get onto the Autostrada heading south towards Napoli and, eventually, the tiny town of Amalfi. At 130kph, we were passed by most cars but made good time. A stop along the way at the Fashion Outlets allowed us to get lunch and get ... read more
September 23rd 2011
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 ... read more
August 25th 2011
Last year I mapped out some amazing walks in the Amalfi Coast. Firstly, I based myself in the town of Amalfi and set off with some local maps and the Sunflower walking book which I used as a base to construct the walks. The most breathtaking walks included mule tracks linking the 4 townships of Amalfi, Atrani, Minori and Maori; a meandering walk from Ravello through Minuta and Pontone to Amalfi; the famous and spectacular Path of the Gods from Bomerono to Positano; and the Path of the Mills in the valleys behind the Amalfi township. Another favourite was on the Island of Capri where I completed a 3 hour route taking in the Arco Naturale and beautiful coastal forest pathways off the beaten track. Either join me in person as I head off again in ... read more
July 20th 2011
This is our last blog from our honeymoon in Italy. We got the train from Pompeii to Sorrento and decided to get a coach from Sorrento to Amalfi, we could have got a boat instead but seeing as this was the part of the trip where we actually got to relax & sunbathe I didn’t want to spend ages trying to find out where to get a boat when the coach was in front of me. I should have really done a bit more research as the coach journey was nearly two hours long and the boat trip would have been about 40 minutes. The Amalfi coast is full of long winding roads on the edge of cliffs, if you’re on the side of the coach that looks out you have a great view but if ... read more
June 27th 2011
We took the train from Pompei to Sorrento, a picturesque (but very touristy) town with lots of narrow streets on the cliff edge over looking the Amalfi coastline. Decided we would take the bus on the coast route to Amalfi. Wow! Some excitement the road was narrow in places and hanging off the side of the cliff...good job it was me who had the window seat and not Kim. The bus swerved, backed up, and bibbed at the approaching traffic, something the drivers must do every day, a journey of 1 1/2 hours of adrenalin and amazing scenery. Amalfi was lovely, quieter, with some interesting tunnelled walkways in the town. We couldn’t resist a swim in the sea before heading back on the bus. Amalfi contrasted sharply with Naples , to which we went, again ... read more
May 22nd 2011
What a fabulous place to wake up in the morning. The sounds of the sea, the small boats plying their trade on the water and the sun twinkling like silver on the sea. Lemons hanging from the trees like christmas decorations on the christmas tree. Lemon granitas refreshing in the hot sultry weather. Amalfi town small but perfectly formed. A fabulous sea front, gelato counters and young Italians strutting their stuff . Felt a little like the song about the girls watching the boys watching the girls go by. The weather was mixed a touch of fog in the morning but bright sunshine in the afternoon. Woke up most mornings listening to the birds in the climbing plants which surrounded our small house which overlooked the bay. What could be better - a view of the ... read more
Day 2 - Sorrento to Amalfi to Ravello to Positano to Sorrento
Published: May 20th 2011Europe » Italy » Campania » Amalfi
May 20th 2011
This will be a short blog because I am tried and just have jetlag. Woke up this morning at 4 am local time and could not go back to sleep. This means we had an early morning to start. Since our Hotel breakfast was not served until 7 am, we went for a walk to check out Sorrento Harbor where usually people take a ferry to Capri Island. We now know where to catch on the ferry to Capri... After breakfast, we went to buy our bus tickets at the train station where we begin our bus trip from Sorrento to Amalfi, then Ravello and finally a stop at Positano on our way back to Sorrento. Which town do we like the most? As for me, I like Positano even though all of the places that ... read more
April 25th 2011
Another glorious day on the Med and we headed off to Sorrento on the train planning on a short visit then down to Amalfi and then back. Arriving in Sorrento Pam suggested we hop a boat out to the Isle of Capri, the playground of the rich and famous in the know. Sterling idea and we brought return tickets at a cost of 70e, sitting in the café with my morning espresso thinking about the boat trip and we decided to exchange the return tickets for tickets from Capri to Amalfi, great idea, only problem was the trip from to Capri to Amalfi was not till 4.30 and was around an hour and we had to then get a bus from Capri to Sorrento and then train back to Pompeii, not knowing when the bus left ... read more
