Amalfi Coast

Sorrento, it started to rain...we decided to look for a place to stay before it got too late, and we got too wet. We found a phone number in our guide book for a cheap hotel, so we called and were directed to a restaurant. After trekking in the rain, stopping every 5 feet to look for cover, we arrived to the restaurant off a little side street, soaking wet, and were greeted by a nice Italian couple, who made us yet another espresso. Another woman took us to our hotel, where we dried off a bit, relaxed for a minute and then headed out into the rain to walk and explore the city a bit, which we pretty much covered in less than an hour. Sorrento is a beautiful little beach town high up on a cliff, with adorable shops, expensive cafes and is well-known for the lemons grown in the area, which were literally about the size of my head. The next morning, we walked down to the water, where a tiny harbor sat full of tourists and little restaurants, amongst the green landscape to create a perfect picture. The water isn’t dark blue like California, it is more an amazing clear blue-green and I would have given anything for it to have been warm enough to jump in! We could still see Vesuvio in the distance, and also the island of Capri. The sun came out for a bit so we sat for a while in the harbor, soaking up the rays and I enjoyed a fresh delicious granita (lemon Italian icy). Next stop...Positano

The bus from Sorrento to Positano rode around a zig zag windy road, on the edge of a dangerous cliff. We decided to get off early, out of fear for our lives, motion sickness, and the fact that the view was the most amazing thing we had ever seen and pictures needed to be taken. Millions of lemon groves sat high above the aqua-colored water, rocky cliffs hung over our heads, and a small town was tucked amongst all this luscious green nature. We walked for about an hour winding our way down to the little town. The town was full of touristy shops, the scent of lemon filled the air and boats lined up on the black, pebbly sand. We sat on the beach until the rain came, then headed into a café for an afternoon tramezzino/calzone snack, before heading off to Amalfi....

Amalfi was small enough to see standing in one place. The bus ride there was short but equally scary and zig zaggy and also with breathtaking views. Another quaint, beautiful little city full of lemon scented touristy shops, restaurants and cafes, which sat right on the beach. The main focus was the big, gold duomo church with about 100 steps leading to the top. We couldn’t find a hotel since everything was booked, so the receptionist at one hotel called up his friend and he set us up with an apartment complete with kitchen and separate rooms and bathroom. It was super nice, and since it was so late at night, we got a great deal. Amalfi had a lovely romantic feel, and after a crazy storm passed, it was nice to go on a late night stroll through the small town with Sean. The next day, we got up again bright and early and headed out to slowly walk the beach and town, and do a little touristy shopping. We walked to some other look out spots with a view of the neighboring city Atrani, where the winds were so strong they nearly blew us right into the sea. We took the bus South after that and got to see the rest of the Almafi Coast, including Maiori and Minori, which were also little charming beach towns, all the way to Salerno (which is just a big industrial-type city, described as la piu brutta cita di Italia: the ugliest city of Italy), where we got on the train and headed back to Rome.