The Amalfi Coast is one of our favourite places from our last visit so many years ago. And with a couple of days of good weather it did not disappoint this time either.
We are staying in Positano, a picture postcard little town seemingly glued to the side of a cliff.
Day 1 we took a ferry to the island of Capri for a look around and a visit to the Blue Grotto. Entrance to the grotto is by small boat and you have to lie in the bottom of the boat (literally) as the entance is very small with very little room for error. 2 days out of 3 the boats can't get in at all due to the swell so the tourists leave disappointed. We were very lucky to have a calm day and got inside - after our old bodies creaked down into the boat.
The colour is lovely - apparently caused by the sun reflecting off the mix of sand and coral at the bottom of the grotto.
Even the bus ride to the grotto was an experience. The roads are very narrow with long drops down to the sea, and the drivers are very 'confident' from long practice. The island is very steep and lazy people use the funicular to go up the hill. We were not lazy as we only used it to go down. Its a bigger version of Wellington's cable car.
As the next day was someones birthday, we (two of us) pre celebrated with dinner at a local Positano restaurant with an amazing meal, while looking at the amazing view. Better not repeat the food rating exercise again I guess .... but it was very, very good.
Day 2 we drove around the Amalfi Coast on hair raising roads admiring the scenery. We went high up into the coastal mountains to visit Villa Rufolo which is known for its gardens and its views.
There is an annual orchestral concert held at the villa and the stage for the orchestra was being being built while we were there. It iis a temporary scaffold stage built out over nothing much more than thin air. Depending on the conductor's head for heights I suspect there may sometimes be rather more 'allegro' and less 'andante' in the performance than the composer intended?!
Lunch was at a home way back in the hills where the famly cooks for visitors in their traditional way. The idea is that you can experience a 'normal' meal in a typical Italian family setting. So we sat outside and looked at the mountan and farm views and enjoyed a feast - so much so we were extremely full by the end! Somehow a birthday cake appeared, with 3 candles - 30 something again!
La dolce vita indeed.
A belated Happy birthday to you Phil. I remembered a couple of days prior and meant to post on the day! Sorry!
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