Praiano Day 5 - My Birthday

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I woke early (for holidays) it was 7.45. R suggested the previous night that we might get an early start and it was moving day. We decided we’d take time about in the two rooms here so my turn came today for the room with the view, perfecto!

Out the door and we had decided…well I had, that we could walk along the cliff from our end of Praiano to the Marina as we could see the old lighthouse from our villa so I gathered, and we had seen a walking track heading this way from down at the cliffs. We had seen a sign to the beach near the Piazza down the hill so all set, off we went. Found the sign walked for about 15 minutes then came to a dead end, we were lost, so started to head back. I saw some stairs which we climbed (and I do mean climbed!) and they popped us out on the main coast road further down the village towards the Marina. No point turning back so we kept walking, so now we were those lunatics that we had discussed, on several occasions that walk the coast road playing human dodgems with the traffic. And it seemed a lot of guys in cars and on motorbikes knew it was my Birthday too as there were quite a few horns honking and kisses being blown our way :p.

We asked a guy directing traffic was there stairs somewhere close that lead to the Marina, which was no there wasn’t so we asked how far to the Marina via the coast road…stupid question really…answer…10 minutes! (Of course!) We kept walking and around 15 minutes came to the top of the cliffs so he wasn’t far off. When we reached the bottom the old fella in charge of the sun beds seemed to remember us from yesterday and showed us to two and we settled in. The sheer cliffs and their rugged harshness really is something else and there is nothing in oz that I have seen that I could compare them to. The sea here is a lovely deep blue becoming clear and light in the shallow places close to the small shoreline.

Lunchtime soon arrived and our table looked back towards the Marina and lovely Villa that looked like it has either not long been built or recently restored. I commented to R that I’d live in that place and come down to the restaurant for lunch daily and bang out a few chapters finding the view and surrounds very inspiring.

Lunch for me was grilled king prawns and a side of French fries. The fries were made from fresh potatoes and cooked to perfection as where the prawns. R had spaghetti with clams with fresh cherry tomatoes. We shared a lovely bottle of vino too. Wish I could remember the style of wines we have been drinking, none that I recognise and none that we can buy in oz anyway.

The owner came over to clear our plates and said “Oh Ciao!!!” (she hadn’t been there when we arrived) Wished me a Happy Birthday in Italian and also best wishes. We asked her about the Villa and also why we saw no women in the hospitality industry here. She gave us quite a lengthy explanation and as I had commented how much I loved the place and Praiano in general she was quick to offer R and I jobs…”one of you in the kitchen and one of you out here” we all laughed and I said “Sure no problems”. She also told us about the background of the restaurant when we asked which had been bought by her Father (the old fella that now dishes out the sun beds) some 40 or so years ago. Actually he and her Uncle had “bought the mountain”. She showed us a picture later thant had been taken from the water looking back on the place 40 years ago and how much it had been developed and changed. Oh btw when the bill arrived there was no charge for my lunch…which I thought was so lovely of her.

After lunch another hour or so on the beds and then the trek up the hill to the bus stop. Yep…we had just missed one. The bus timetable is only a guideline really as none have ever turned up on time, except of course when we arrive to catch one that we’ve missed! So we decided to walk home amidst the whistles, horn blowing, etc. We laughed most of the way back which was good as it took our minds off the trek up the winding road and then the steep steps that we found through the village to reach our villa.

Before anything else R asked if I wanted to go out to dinner (silly question) and if so she had the bus timetable so we might be organised enough to catch one without waiting! Dinner and dancing was decided to cap off an already perfect day and a time set to coincide with the appearance of a bus. The ride at night is something special with the coast lit up like a Christmas tree…or have already mentioned that?

Before we left Rafael the owner of the villa arrived with some information about transport times for when we have to leave on Sunday. It had come up in conversation earlier in the day that it was my Birthday and we may be out when he returned with the info that we needed. He brought a bottle of white wine for me and said that it was a very “good” one. Again how lovely.

The people here in the village are all lovely and when we talk with them ask if they were born here, they all have been including Rafael and the owner of the restaurant at lunch. It’s their culture and way of life she told us and it was rare that someone moved from the area.

Back to the evenings entertainment…I had found a sunglass shop in Positano that stocked the same brand of sunnies as my reading glasses and as they are not available in Australia R asked if I wanted to visit the shop whilst we were there. I’d been in the previous days when we were there and they only had a few pairs but said they would get about 10-20 pairs in from their Sorrento store if I told them I would be coming in the following day. So the visit was just to say I’d be in the next day. When we arrived the ladies husband was there by himself and they already had the box of sunnies there. I tried a few on and he suggested I come back in tomorrow so I could see them in the sunlight. I asked where was good for dinner as we were celebrating and he recommended a place on the hill that we have walked past several times and I thought I’d like to try it as the location was pretty spectacular with great views of Positano. He called the restaurant and made a booking as it was pretty busy. Miss flirty R suggested he join us if he wanted, the banted had been going on between both of them since we walked in the store…

We walked down into Positano and then back up the other side to the restaurant a table inside and 1 that the people had just left outside. Unfortunately the nights are now a little chilly, we tried outside but it was just too breezy. As I was choosing some wine Mr sunnies man popped in, asked were we drinking white or red and had a short convo with the owner and best wishes all round and he was gone. I ordered pasta with shrimp and sundried mushrooms, (yes sundried mushies) sensational! R had grilled steak cooked to perfection. When the bill arrived it was minus the wine thanks to Mr sunnies man…another lovely gesture.

We then walked back down the hill and onto the beachfront to the nightclub, we noticed that there was a restaurant above it something we hadn’t noticed on Saturday night when we there. Different place on a Wednesday night and I think there were, umm maybe 6 other people there, plus staff. We ordered a drink and the DJ had disappeared and the music was on automatic, great we thought this looks like we are in for a short night…

R disappeared to the bathroom and in that time I could have sworn I saw a girl in a wedding gown and a guy with a collar and tie for an instant and they disappeared behind the DJ’s area. Then a gentleman was helping an elderly lady down the stairs at the side of the building. When R returned I said I think a weddings going on upstairs and sure enough within 5 minutes another 60 or so people joined us…it felt like we had just gate crashed a wedding reception. After 15 minutes the music changed and “Sweet Home Alabama” was on and the bride and groom (who still hadn’t been seen) took centre stage on the dance floor…complete with cowboy boots each…their version of the bridal waltz then took place…line dancing…it was hilarious! Formalities now over the party began. A video camera was running and it was my goal to be on the video…300 times, so much so when they all sat down to watch it the conversation that took place would go something like this, “Who is that blonde woman related to and where was she for the rest or the day, we haven’t seen her till now?” At one point R had to sit down as she was laughing so much, I’ll let her tell you about it when you speak to her. Great music for the next 4 or so hours until 4am and a great end to my Birthday.

We arrived home around 5.30am thanks to Michael Andretti…yes there is a story here too…

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