Florence, and then Positano

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Another early start for a day: we traveled from Florence to Positano today, catching a 9:10 am train that went directly to Naples. We were met by Ottavio, the driver organized by our hostess at B&B Villa Mary in Positano.

The train ride was relatively short -- just two and a half hours on the high-speed train. Once in Naples, we had another hour in the car, and Ottavio pointed out the sights along the way: Vesuvius, Pompeii, the Bay of Naples, Capri, Sorrento, and finally Positano.

Positano, like the towns of the Cinque Terre, is perched on a steep hillside, with lots and lots of narrow passages and stairways leading through the residences. There is just one main road that curves through Positano, and residents park in a car park in the lower part of the city. It’s beautiful here, with colorful stuccoed homes that nestle upon one another. My first impression after getting over the beauty of the place was relief that Villa Mary has porters who carry the suitcases up the many stairs leading to the hotel!

We were very tired because we’d had to get up early and had had a rather late night. It was raining outside, so we felt perfectly content to take a long nap before exploring this new town. We slept for a couple of hours, and by the time we awoke the skies had cleared and we were able to explore without concern for rain.

Our hotel is pretty high up on the hillside, but it takes only a few minutes to walk down to the bay. The walkway down was full of little shops displaying their wares -- definitely this place is much more touristy than the Cinque Terre. There were many little shops featuring clothing designed by families here in Positano. We also passed several intriguing art galleries. Tomorrow, I will visit some of them to see the work of local artists. They appear to be talented.

We stayed down in the marina and did some people-watching, then got dinner at one of the restaurants on the bay. It was a good restaurant and the views were fantastic.

After dinner, I went back up to the hotel and allowed the girls to participate in the night-life. All of the adult residents I met assured me that the town is very, very safe and that the girls will be completely fine on their own in the late evening. And since there is a free shuttle-bus going up to the hotel, I think the girls are probably having a fine adventure at the moment.

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