Italy: Pompeii and Amalfi Coast

At last, our European trip has arrived.  After many hours of planning and watching Rick Steves episodes, we were ready.  We flew Air Berlin into Dusseldorf, waited out a 4 hour layover, and then continued on for an early afternoon arrival in Naples, Italy.

To help combat jet lag, we had decided months before that we wanted to visit Pompeii on the way to Positano in order to stay active into the evening.  We were already planning on hiring a driver for a day trip along the Amalfi Coast on our second day, so we used the same service, Francesco Marrapese Tours, for the drive to Pompeii and Positano.

Luca, one of Francesco's business associates, was holding a sign with our name outside.  It was the first time we had experienced that, but we were both happy to quickly find our ride and be on our way to Pompeii.  It didn't hurt that he drove a Mercedes van.

It was a relatively short ride to Pompeii, most of which was spent listening to Luca talk about the surrounding area.  As we made our turn in to the Pompeii entrance, Luca suddenly started yelling 'No, No, No' at a man walking nearby.  Apparently his father was that man and was in the area hoping to catch a ride home.  We both laughed once he explained the situation.

Using a free to download Rick Steves podcast and map for navigation, we spent the next two hours on a self-guided tour of Pompeii.  Pompeii is a special place, a Roman town destroyed centuries ago that is now preserved for us to see and experience.  You can see casts of bodies frozen in time, beautiful frescoes in the Roman baths and villas, a bakery, restaurant, and even chariot tracks carved into the streets.

Ashley especially enjoyed hopping along the 'cross walk' stones.  These were used to keep your feet dry when the streets were wet.

Many of the large open areas and main buildings in Pompeii are crowded with tourists, but side streets and lesser known villas and buildings provided a chance to step away and really enjoy the experience of walking where Romans had.

The crowds continued to thin as the afternoon wore on, allowing for more quiet as we finished our walk through Pompeii.  As we were leaving, the clouds also thinned enough to see the ominous Mt. Vesuvius in the background.

Tired, but having enjoyed Pompeii, Luca drove us the remaining hour to Positano.  It will be hard to forget that first sight of Positano, with the colorful houses and buildings rising from the harbor straight up the mountain.

After checking in, we walked down to the harbor for dinner.  We were fortunate and found a cute place with an open table perfect for people watching as the sun went down.  Dinner was served quickly, but nearly two hours later and exhausted, we realized that we had to ask for the check in order to pay and leave.  Good to know for the remainder of our time in Italy.

Before going to sleep, we sat quietly on our balcony and enjoyed the sights and sounds of Positano.  Singing could be heard across the way intertwined with the occasional sound of a Vespa passing through.  Ah, the sounds of Italy.

We woke fairly early the following morning because Francesco was picking us up for a full day excursion along the Amalfi Coast.  We enjoyed homemade croissants and other goodies for breakfast on our balcony overlooking Positano.

Francesco met us at our hotel with his Mercedes van at the agreed meeting time.  The street is one way through Positano, and if we would have missed Francesco, he would have have had to drive another 20 minutes to complete the loop back to our hotel.

First destination of the day was Sorrento, located on the northern side of the peninsula.  Sorrento is known for its large lemons and limoncello, a lemon liqueur.  Along the way, Francesco shared some history of the area, including the plants and trees (i.e. olives) that were harvested locally.

We had several stops for pictures around town and then were free to walk through the main shopping district to look for gifts.    

After Sorrento, Francesco drove us back over to the Amalfi Coast to spend the remainder of the day.  The roads here were very narrow and winding with occasional 'blind' turns.  We felt safe and comfortable, and Francesco's itinerary had us avoiding the large buses and crowds as much as possible.

He knew all the best spots to stop along the way, allowing for different perspectives of Positano that we wouldn't have had otherwise.

After Positano was Amalfi, the namesake town of the Amalfi Coast.

Again, we were dropped off in town and were free to explore on our own.  The duomo in town is a must-see.  After some window shopping (and not buying) past the boutique stores, we were on our way for lunch in Ravello high above the shoreline.

Lunch was at a small family owned restaurant and served on the outdoor patio with an expansive view up and down the Amalfi Coast.  It was a perfect spot for a relaxed lunch.

Following lunch was a stop at the gardens at Villa Cimbrone.  This was a lush, beautiful garden in Ravello.  Several sections were named after Roman gods, and the look and feel was what one would imagine for a Roman garden centuries ago.

It wasn't until we got near the edges that we realized the gardens extended to the cliff's edge with a thousand foot drop.  The Infinity Terrace can be difficult to walk out on, but the amazing view of the Amalfi Coast encouraged all visitors.  This is also where we convinced Francesco to join us for a picture.

Ravello was our last stop for the day.  We stared out the windows as we passed along the Amalfi Coast on our way back to Positano.  Being able to comfortably enjoy the ride along the Amalfi Coast, in addition to Francesco's knowledge and friendliness, made this an excellent way to experience the region.  

It was late afternoon when we arrived back in Positano and we decided to go walk along the harbor and do some shopping.  Many of the small fishing boats were pulled up for the day, giving Ashley many photo opportunities.  There was also a number of street artists, and after some deliberation Ashley picked a watercolor for her travelling collection.  Needless to say, it was a good stroll along the beachfront before we began the walk back up to our room.

As you could guess, Positano has many stairs.  Some of the higher houses in Positano may need to ascend and descend several hundred steps just to do grocery shopping.  The section shown below led up to our B&B and was conveniently right next to a Delicatesen (tomorrow's lunch).

Our dinner reservations were at La Tagliata, which is located high above Positano.  A shuttle picked us up in town and drove us 15 minutes along a steep, narrow, winding road.  Some of the other passengers vocally disapproved of the trip up, but we thought it was part of the experience.

La Tagliata was family owned and had two serving times for dinner each evening.  The adult children served and interacted with the guests while the parents cooked in the kitchen.  All the food was from the family farm or the ocean and was cooked with Italian love.  

In addition to the great food, we had a view that can only be described with a picture.  Positano was below us as we and the other guests watched the sun fade behind the mountains.  Near the end of dinner, the mom came out from the kitchen to check on the guests and was greeted with many thanks and clapping.

It had been a long day of sightseeing and was easy to fall asleep after a large dinner.  Tomorrow we would be departing the Amalfi Coast for the big city of Rome.