Paradise, Cocktails, "Strong" Chess Players

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1st October 2007

After rushing around in Rome it was good to know we had plenty of time to relax here. Weather is stunning, sunny, warm and a gentle breeze in the evening. A lot of locals told us we were lucky because it was normally a bit cooler at this time of year. Wandered about the town and found some interesting shops and galleries. Got talking with a women who was expecting her first baby, she was working in a gallery with a cat called “Phillipo”. We bought a few souvenirs and gifts, slowly making our way further up the hill from the main beach.

As you climbed the hill the prices reduced and it was obviously worth the effort of the climb to discover this fact. Make sure your credit card balance is in a healthy state if you visit this place! We had a great linguini with incredibly fresh shell fish for lunch, washed down with some nice, slightly effervescent white wine. The view form the restaurant was simply incredible.

We had dinner on our terrace, Al and Melissa had done some grocery shopping so we had bruschetta, lots of local wine and beer and soaked up the sounds of the town and the ocean. The sunset was soft and the pinkish tinge it gave our view was beautiful.

3rd October 2007 - Cocktails & The World's Strongest Chess Player

Spent the day lazing on the beach. Six euro for a sun bed and a beach umbrella for the day, plus use of the change rooms, showers and airbeds, etc. The water is so crystal clear and refreshing. The café overlooking the beach served great drinks and a cheap lunch. Seafood salad with the most tender octopus and calamari I have ever tasted. Cold beer, the beach, the sun, the amazing view, this place is as close to paradise as you could possibly get. Amazing to think that at the end of the Second World War it was completely deserted with many of the inhabitants having left for the USA. Things must have been really tough back then to leave such a beautiful place.

We had an afternoon nap after a very exhausting day on the beach! The girls went shopping and returned later to tell us we had been invited to a cocktail party. They had met a gentlemen called Juiio who was the president of the local chess club. He explained to Melissa and Lorenza that the local chess club was holding a cocktail party in honor of the worlds “strongest” female chess player, who was visiting Positano. He told the girls that we “simply must come and join them this evening”.

The story that Al and I got from Melissa and Lorenza about this invitation was hilarious. Both Melissa and Lorenza had two completely different interpretations of what the “strongest” female chess player meant. Melissa had pictured a women akin to a weight lifter, who played chess using real people as the pieces, picking them up using her amazing strength to move them around a giant chess board. Lorenza’s version was that she was the “strongest” player because she had taken on so many great male and female chess players and defeated them all.

So, in order to find out the truth we decided to attend the cocktail party. We did our best to find clothes suitable for such an event in our luggage. I had no black tie outfit, so the best I could do was a clean pair of jeans and a linen shirt. Luckily, once we arrived on the terrace above the beach we found out that cocktail parties are fairly relaxed affairs in Positano.

Also in attendance were the local mayor, the police chief, the commander of the customs police, and a few other local dignitaries. Also, we met a chess journalist and his wife from Switzerland, a well known Italian TV presenter, and some members of the local chess club. The guest of honor turned out to be our neighbor back at our hotel. Her name was Judit, and was visiting Positano with her husband and two children, having been invited to holiday there by Julio and his fellow chess club members.

During Julio’s welcoming speech to Judit he made mention of the four Australians who had joined the party and asked everyone to make us welcome. They certainly did, we found that the local chess fanatics are a very friendly and welcoming bunch.

So, we found out all about the international world of chess. I asked Judit what makes a great chess player, her response - “patience and decisiveness”. We were entertained by two local musicians playing guitar and piccolo. Julio told us all about his adventures in the sixties when he acted as the local guide and contact for the Rolling Stones. Some of the other locals told us about which famous person owned this or that villa in Positano and some stories of the celebrities who had visited the town over the years.

We had a fun night with this crowd and bumped into many of them during the course of our stay in Positano. It was good to have been welcomed by such friendly people and be able to chat with them over the next few days.

You can find out all about this famous chess player here ... Judit Polgar

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Photos

Expensive seafood indulgence
did the waiter know something we didn't about Melissa's eating habits???