Arriving at the Airport in Naples

I collected both of my check-in luggages at the Naples airport baggage claim area, without any problems. Claudio, the cousin of the owner of Punta Civita (the B&B that I will be staying at for the next week), picked me up and drove me through Naples, Ercolano, Torre del Greco, Pompeii, and then down to Ravello. Traveling along the cliffs and ridges of the coast, lemon trees abound. In the middle of the hour-long drive to the B&B, Claudio stopped off at a local Lemon Ice stand and bought one for each of us. Lemon Ice, among other lemon products, is a specialty of this region. It has a more slushy consistency than a sorbet and every few bites turned up a chunk of lemon (inclusive of the rind), but it was so refreshing on such a hot and humid day. Once we pulled into the B&B, Roberto (the owner) greeted us and together he and Claudio carried my bags down to my room. I said “Ciao!” to Claudio as Roberto introduced me to his B&B and gave me the highlights of the town of Ravello and its neighbors along the coast. The room is spacious and bright, but the highlight is definitely the seaview terrace that offers a commanding view of the coastline as far east as Minori and as far west as Atrani.
The first thing I did when he left was to hop in the shower and take advantage of the free-flowing hot water which was hard to come by at La Limonaia. After taking my time soaking in the heat, I got dressed and headed down to the town of Atrani. From Punta Civita, there is a stair pathway that winds down through the steep cliff side homes. The path is lit at night, since pretty much the only way to get to and from different areas of any village by foot is to climb the endless maze of stairs. If I made this climb back up everyday, it would be as if I was hiking my usual Koko crater climb with the girls. I surprised myself that I actually 1) remembered the directions that Roberto gave me without writing them down, and 2) really listened to him, as he was giving me the directions (as many of you know, I am really bad about listening to the answers to questions that I ask…for some reason, my mind always wanders off and many of my friends say it’s because I am thinking of the next question to ask.) It’s a terrible habit, one that I am trying to consciously break.
At the bottom of the stairs, the town of Atrani came into view. There were two separate beaches that looked like places that I’d like to take advantage of at least once during my time here on the coast. I located the stairs that led down to the main piazza and found the only Internet café in the entire town of Atrani. The one and only computer was occupied, so the owner, Andrea, told me that he would give me 10 minutes for free if I had a drink at his bar/internet café. Sold! Two bellinis and 6 euros later, I used the Internet for 10 minutes. I would’ve stayed on longer, had it not been for the half-broken data entry device that I wouldn’t really call a keyboard. The “I” key didn’t work, until Andrea shook entire keyboard side-to-side, then upside-down. After he fixed that problem, a new dilemma of duplicate letters started to occur. It was frick’n comical, and I couldn’t help but laugh. If I copied and pasted the email that I sent to Boyd, you would think that it was written in another language.
By the end of that fiasco, it was dinnertime. I followed Andrea’s suggestion and went next door to the Osteria Ristorante for dinner. I couldn’t pass up the fritto misto mare, and it proved to be another awesome choice. While I was planning my trip, I made it a point to include as many coastal destinations as possible, so that I could enjoy the seafood delicacies famous in each of those regions. After tonight’s meal, I look forward to indulging in many more of these seafood meals on the Amalfi Coast. On my way back up the stairs to my B&B in Ravello, I definitely felt winded, but knew that the hike back up helped to burn off some of the calories from tonight’s meal. Once my head hit the pillow, I fell right to sleep.

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