Positano Amalfi Coast

we actually were located in Praiano whihc is the next village to Positano.  In local terms this is very near but for us it seemed some distance.  we could travel to Positano by bus for 1 euro but this was an experience for me in particular because i am not fond of heights or roads on the edge of cliffs with sheer drops to the sea!

we travelled from Dublin at 7am and were collected at Naples by a very nice young Italian man in a mercedes van.  It took 1.5 hours to get to destination.  it was a great shock to go from 13° to 40°.  we rested and Faye and I took a walk to get our bearings this took us to the beach.  Large stones to traverse to get to the sea, the water was refreshing tho.  We all had an early night.

the wine i purchased has been given to the lovley staff at our hotel as a tip!

Day 2 we went by water taxi to Amalfi a 20 minute ride with some stops on the way to look at the sights.  The driver was very pleasant and informed us of local sights as did all the drivers we had.  Amalfi was very lovely the shops and cafes were great and the church was beautiful.  We were very fortunate as a wedding was in progress when we were there.  It is wedding season here we have seen so many brides.

Day 3 Faye and Kevin hired a vespa and spent the day driving on the local roads.  Ian and I went to Pompei.  We hired a car and driver 200 euro and off to Pompei.  It was truly amazing to see that a city that must be at least 2000 years old was so sophisticated.  There are frescos on the walls that encapsulate the way of life depicting the people and their animals and their food, hunting etc.  5000 people go to Pompei a day.  We got there early but it was very crowded and hotter than the coast.  The new Pompei (which is very run down) is an area that grows flowers second to Holland.  the soil is very rich because of the lava.  After Pompei we visited an inlay factory and saw some amazing furniture.  We got our driver to drop us in Positano and we wandered around and finished with lunch on the beach this was very civil.

Day 4 We visited the local ceramic factory with Faye and Kevin.  They made a wonderful purchase of an outdoor dinning table for their new home.  we then had lunch on the beach in Praiano and went looking for a TV to watch the 1st race of America cup.   In the evening we went to Ravello which is very high above Amalfi.  This village is truly beautiful the bouganvillea is prolific on this coast and up in Ravello there were a lot of hydrangers as well.  we wandered around and i foolishly purhcased 3 bottles of wine to take home.  We had dinner at a restaurant recommended by the wine merchant.  After dinner we went to a concert in the garden of a loacl villa.  The concert was a string trio for the first half playing Bethoven and they were joined by a Pianist for second half for some Brahms.  It was pleasant, Faye fell asleep but Ian and Kevin managed to stay awake for the entire performance.

last day Faye, Ian and I went to Positano to shop. we decided to take the bus, what an experience they just kept packing people in i couldnt beleive they could get so many on one bus. Ian had found some great linen shirts and decided they were such a bargain he would go back and buy three more.  I managed a couple of small purchases also.  We finished with lunch at a restaurant on the beach called the "Three Sisters", we would recommned this restaurant good food and reasonable prices.  The house rosè we had was very pleasant.  We returned to hotel by water taxi 25 euro whihc gave us great views of the coast.  We retired to watch the 2nd race of americas cup the reception was very bad and in the end we didnt see much of the race but thankfully Cas Cowan txt me the result.

the hotle then knew we were Kiwis, there was much celebrating our win.  we have met a lot of lovely american people and last night we were shouting each other limoncello.  A lot of photos were taken with our new friends and the staff from the hotel.

this morning it is even hotter, yetserday it was 48° in Naples which is very near here.  we are now off to the Isle of Capri.  the wine i purchased has been given to the lovley staff at our hotel as a tip!  we have exchanged emails with our new friends.