Costa Amalfitana

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Well, we’ve been on the Amalfitana Coast for about 5 days now. We’ve been staying in Praiano, a little village between Amalfi and Positano. It’s much better priced here than in the tourist hotspots. The hotel, the Margherita, is very nice and very clean with a pool and a good restaurant. It’s family run and the owners are helpful. We’re on the 3rd floor facing the Mediterranean. We’re actually facing SSE in a large protected bay. The weather has been progressively better and better. Today, it’s positively hot but the thermometer is still in the 20’s.
Over the last few days, we have explored the coastline, firstly by bus and then, when the confidence on the roads grew, by our car. Amalfi, itself, is quite a small town, but with a good sized harbour. The best towns that attract the tourists are the ones with good harbours. The market type stalls get to be all the same after a while and we’ve been concentrating on the history, the architecture and the locals. From what we’ve gathered, food costs are about the same or high than home but the wages seem to be much lower as most establishments have more than adequate staff. Positano is a much larger town than Amalfi. Pretty much exactly the same, but bigger. Sorrento is much bigger still. A real working town, but the port areas and the views to Mt Vesuvius were amazing.
Driving on the roads is a real experience. The Fiat Bambini and the Smart car and motorbikes are the best ever. GPS’s are not much good because the zigzag roads confuse it completely. It can’t work out which road you are actually on because you may only have moved ½ a kilometre and still in almost exactly the same spot, only 50 metres higher or lower. A trip, as the crow flies may be 6 km but on the speedometer, you’ve traveled 18 km. Parking is simple; you stop where you are and put on your hazard lights. Hah. People actually park on diagonally across corners straddling stop signs. Seems to work, though. No-one really gets aggro. The locals do tend to drive only a couple of cm from your back bumper. You just pull over a fraction and they pass you…. Anywhere - on hairpin corners, in tunnels…. Anywhere there’s 5m of clear road in front of you. Buses are incredible! Going around the corners, the back wheels stay still and the front wheels go round the corner. And when you get a couple of the bigger coaches trying to pass each other, a sight you’d never forget. In the bus at that time, you have the windows of the other bus a couple of inches out one window and the cliff side a couple of inches out the other side window. We took a water taxi yesterday from the “beach” at Praiano to Amalfi to get a different perspective. The cliff sides, the cave holes and the little grottoes are amazing. The night before, we went to the Praiano beach, the first time, to a little restaurant where you walk on a carved out path around the cliff side. Overhanging rock almost touching your head. At dusk, sitting there sipping Chianti, watching the small working boats come in was one of those moments when you wouldn’t want to be anywhere else in the world. (yet!)
Deb and Lorraine arrived from Rome yesterday afternoon after taking the train to Naples and then a ferry to Positano. We met them for dinner to hear their experiences and tips of Rome as that’s where we’re going tomorrow. I don’t think we’ll get the same quality room as the Raphael Room they managed to upgrade to. (helps to be a travel agent hah (and us, green with envy))
I think we’ll call into Vesuvius and Pompei on the way. We’ll log in again from Rome.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY KATHY oxoxxoxoxxxooo

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Photos

Amalfi coast from Boat
Trip taken yesterday Sat 24th

Amalfi Cafe
Called in for a coffee - no water no coffee
Had to drink wine ....Damn

Amalfi Duomo (Church)
We saw a wedding there yesterday. Beautiful

Neccesity breeds invention
We had 1 load of washing done at the Lavendier 10 items =$100 = doing ourselves from now on.

Praiano beach
Quaint

Praiano restaurant
We may never come back :)
Taking Deb and Lorraine there tonight.

From the road.
On the way back from Sorrento

From the road.2
Again on the way back from Sorrento

Sorrento
Private beaches

Sorrento 2
From a church yard

Sorrento 3
On the way out

Vesuvius
That IS cloud at the top, not an eruption :)

Comments

[Alicia Curtis]

Wow
The photos look beautiful Dad! Glad you are having a wonderful time! Love, Ali

[Lib]

Thank you
for bringing Praiano to me again. Felt I was there with you. Pics were lovely. Keep them coming.

[kath]

amalfitana
Do Know how lucky you guys are! I can't believe youre driving on those roads , I remember saying once you would have to be insane to drive on the Amalfi coast !!!! Did you love Sorrento? Cant wait to hear about your visit to Roma, looking forward to the next installment and thanks for the Birthday wishes xxx

[brettnfran]

Sorrento
Yes, Sorrento was really beautiful other than the rubbish probs they're having as well as Naples.

[brettnfran]

red red wine
We're really italian wine converts now! We're having a drink for everyone lol (laughing out loud)