More Positano Please

The postcard we sent back to my parents informed them that we were never leaving and instead were staying in Positano. Oh how I wish.

The weather was still dreadful so any chance of seeing the Amalfi coastline as it looks in summer, clear skies, warm temperatures, crystal blue, calm seas was non existent. Instead we had steely gray skies and violent seas which also created atmosphere. 

The bus wound nauseatingly through small villages, passing lemon groves wrapped for the winter and yet the smell still filled the air. You would only drive here if you were suicidal. The buses passed each other and actually scraped side mirrors such was the squeeze! Here are some snaps so you can visualise. The whole time hubby was dying that he wasn't on a motorbike -hell he said he would even settle for a Vespa.

Amazing view of a church right on the coast

And then we were there. We had arrived and it was gorgeous. My photos do not do it justice and it hurts just thinking how good the shots would have been with my new digital SLR.

The town was nothing like we had visualised and we loved it. Despite being a massive tourist destination it still had a quaint feel about it. It is a tiny yet fashionable sea-side village.

While summer seas life spill onto the streets and beaches I am sure that winter sees the life of the town huddled around tables in kitchens with families and hot beverages.

Gorgeous detailing on the building

Finally in Amalfi the Italian food dreams were fulfilled. We found the authentic, simple to die for food we had been hoping for - but more of that later.

This romantic, fairytale town clings for life on the steep cliffs, which means steep stair cases. The houses are huddled on top of each other which today makes them look like they are escaping the cold but are the subject for the postcard images of Amalfi.

No retouching - the natural beauty of the buildings

I would love to come back here in summer but it was nice almost having the place to ourselves. We chose to ignore the 64 E tours and paid 6 Euro instead to be able to hop on and off the buses all day as we wished. Nick was wishing we had given Greece the flick and it was only the desire to visit the home town of his beloved Ducati that motivated him to move on.

I'm never coming home Nana and Pa!

An early visitor, John Steinbeck wrote in 1953: ‘Positano bites deep. It is a dream place that isn’t quite real when you are there and becomes beckoningly real after you have gone.’ More than 50 years on his words still ring true.

Ciao

The enchanting isle of Capri

 We left Sorrento on board a huge ferry for a day trip to the enchanting Isle of Capri. Known as a jewel in the Mediterranean, the Isle of Capri is a jet-setters paradise in summer. In winter - hmm we were about to find out.

Looking back up from the dock in Sorrento

 The ferry navigated very rough seas to deliver us safely to the harbour of Capri. The limestone cliffs were stunning and we could only imagine what the place looked like in summer - something like this we suspect.

Being January everything was closed in the rain and chill of winter so we took the Funicolare straight up the hill to Capri itself.

 As we crept up the hill we travelled high above reality to the world of the rich and famous - most of whom had departed Capri for warmer weather.

 The houses clinging to the steep terraced cliff faces were gorgeous and the streets were lined with luxurious shops thankfully all of which were closed. We were happy to wander and sip coffees quietly. Sunshine or not the views were amazing.

 As the rain headed our way we left Capri and caught a bus to the town of Anacapri - they are creative with name choices here - which has a completely different flavour to the Capri.

Checking out the views

Not sure if she was as impressed as her mum

 Anacapri has a rustic charm filled with churches, town squares and winding narrow back streets where children can be heard giggling just out of sight. Theses streets were perfect for wandering down and getting lost - trust us!

For Nick

Capri is home to the famous Blue Grotto which I was so disappointed to miss. The lack of tourists and the apalling seas meant a trip to the Grotto was definetely not going to happen. Sigh.

There was little else to do besides meander so we jumped back onto the taxi bus and with a case of vertigo held on for dear life.

On the ferry back to Sorrento we saw Vesuvius in the distance and despite the abismal weather we were still enchanted with this pretty Isle.

We met another Aussie couple who had been there 30 years ago and had returned, now that their children had grown up, to a place that held romantic memories for them. I would love to go back to Capri in summer and hopefully I won't need to wait another 30 years.

Sorrento Moon

"Sang your praises daily

And we let ourselves get swept away

It's true baby

We held heaven in our hands for days

You wait a long time

For something wild to take you somewhere

And all I needed was to fly

It's a long way from paradise to ordinary

Picture us just smiling there, we didn't have a care

I remember, how it all came true

It was oh so tender

And I was lost with you

By the sweet sorrento moon"

Just like the words of the Tina Arena song it was a sweet sorrento moon when we arrived in the evening and with the help of a backpacker with an Iphone made our way to the Hotel Mignon. We had survived the dodgiest experience of our travles - the train ride from Naples into Sorrento and so far we had escaped being robbed on public transport. We were pro's. We stood back to back at the station, we boarded quickly heading straight to the corner of a standing section, putting our packs behind us, then perching on top of them as seats - impossible to get to them. We could identify the local gypsies who were known for rolling travellers on this train and they could see that we 'saw' them but, they also saw we were parents and there was a common respect for that.

 As we walked along the streets with the true beauty of the place covered with a blanket of night we could smell a mix of salt and lemons in the air. A holiday destination which seems to call for Tequila - perfect!

The Piazzo-tasso in daylight

I loved this hotel. No, I mean I really, really LOVED this place. It was like a paradise and while the tiles only added to the chill of a city desperately shivering for enough warmth to ward off the snow - in the heat of an Italian summer it would be like diving into an ocean of coolness.

I still have dreams about this place. The pictures don't do it justice but it was just gorgeous and I could completely lift it up and take it all home with me - such was the style of the place. I adored the tilework and the family atmosphere. The rooms were simple but they were spotless. I have such wonderful memories of this city. Gorgeous accommodation , NO SNOW!!!, gorgeous shops, the BEST Limoncello and gelato.

Our plan was to base ourselves in Sorrento and to travel in and out of the city - to Pompeii, the Isle of Capri and further down the Amalfi coastline.

Sorrento Campania - with hundreds of steep stairs

View from the restaurant

More Italian discoveries awaited us!