As we only had the one full day we opted to do an Amalfi Coast boat tour, stopping at Amalfi and Positano. Everyone else seemed to go to Capri, but we were more interested in seeing the coast.
It was of course an early start and we stumbled up the hill to reception. While we were waiting, we read the sign which said "don't forget to pack your swimsuit, hat and sunscreen." Bugger, maybe there will be swimming today? Dan raced down the hill and back up again in a matter of minutes (making him quite asthma-y, unfortunately) to collect our bathers.
There was a handful of people waiting for the shuttle to the port, some for Capri and others on the same tour as us. This tour included the hotel transfer, making it so much easier. The path down to the port was very windy, and I was quite glad when we arrived.
Dan still wasn't feeling great from the race up the hill, so I positioned myself where the man had said so we could get a good seat. However, the Italian contingent from our shuttle just started wandering towards the port, making everyone else follow suit. This ended up causing quite a bit of confusion as we had purposely been separated from the Capri group. Down by the boats, they tried to separate us again, and Dan and I started talking to a Canadian couple.
"Do you think it's going to rain today?" He asked me, as we looked at the dramatic grey clouds above us.
"No!" I replied emphatically. I had looked at the weather that morning and it wasn't supposed to rain at all.
Almost on cue it started to rain. Big chubby droplets. He joked that I should give him my rain coat (which I didn't have) and chided me for giving the wrong information. These folks were lovely and we ended up chatting with them quite a bit on and off during the day.
The chubby droplets continued as our boat pulled into the dock. I was quite close to the front of the queue and sat Dan and I just on the edge of the cover but right next to the uncovered outdoor bit so we could take photos easily but not get wet. The seats here were dry but those right next to me were wet.
The boat ended up being completely full and by the time people were needing to sit on the wet seats, the rain had stopped. Next to me sat the bogan Australian contingent and across from us we had the "Flash couple" as we nicknamed them, as they insisted on taking photos on their fancy DSLR cameras with the flash on...(totally unnecessary for landscape photography).
The weather was gross, to be blunt. While it had thankfully stopped raining, the sky remained a horrid grey and the whole coast was hazy and grey. Bugger. So much for a beautiful view. However as we set off, it had its own beauty with the dramatic skies and anything in the foreground (such as small islands) were full of colour and vibrance. It made an interesting contrast. The tough bit was that the water was quite choppy - I was quite relieved for our first stop!
It would take about two hours until the first stop at Amalfi and on the way we passed a nature reserve, slowed right down to admire the fortress, house and church that some millionaire had built in a couple of the little islands (I wondered how they got water and electricity over?). We slowed down as we passed an incredible bridge that connected two sections of the cliff face - this in particular was quite a amazing feat of architecture and the effect would have been lost if you come this way by car or bus - we were very glad for the boat at this time!
After the bridge we passed a huge fortress which I think had been turned into a hotel, and above it the biggest cave I have ever seen, complete with enormous stalactites. There was another little natural arch we slowed down past, and Sofia Loren's house was pointed out to us. The whole coastline was filled with lemon tree orchards growing precariously on the cliff face.
None of this would have been possible to see from land and deported the weather and the greyness we were impressed.
At about 11am, we arrived to Amalfi. We were given until 2pm here, when we had to be back on the boat. Amalfi was nice but there wasn't a lot to do or see - I think the extended time was so that people could take an hour or more for lunch. We didn't want to spend too much, so we ate our snacks on the waterfront and jumped into the main streets.
We were immediately presented with a giant church which was quite beautiful and all the streets around sold Amalfi coast limoncello. I was quite excited by this and looked at all the bottle sizes, prices and where they were made. We passed a strange fountain filled with tiny figurines and passed another home also covered in tiny caves with figurines. Really not sure what was going on with all this. Soon we came to the end of the Main Street and realised we were heading into suburbia.
I wasn't completely full from the snacks so we opted for a couple f small hot items - we grabbed a slice of margarita pizza each and an arancini ball each from a little vendor. Not amazing but it filled the gap.
On the way back through the mainstreet I picked up a bottle of limoncello and we went back to the waterfront. We went for a wander along one of the jetties - the sky was still grey so the coast didn't look very vibrant. We sat on a rock for a little while and watched the world go by. It started to get really quite warm and some blue sky was starting to show in patches. We were falling asleep so that mean some gelato was in order.
Of course there was icecream everywhere so it was hard to choose, but there was one close to the beach that was a little tucked away which we went to. I ordered of course the limoncello flavour and also dark chocolate, Dan grabbed his and we went back to the beach, this time going down to the rocky shoreline and sitting watching people swim. My two flavours had to be the strongest flavours in the joint - they blew my head off a bit! So good.
By now it was bloody boiling hot - no real sun but very humid and warm. The black stones and sand on the beach weren't helping. I put my feet briefly in the water - it wasn't very cold - and then we went back to the boat terminal to wait for it to arrive.
I was looking forward to being back on the boat and some shade and breeze. When the boat arrived Dan and I made a beeline for the other side this time so we would again be on the coast side to take photos. The Canadian couple sat next to us and we had a good chat on the journey.
At 1.58pm the boat pulled out from the dock - I wonder if they did a head count first? And we joked that we will have to make sure we are back in time in Positano otherwise it might leave without us. The trip to Positano took about 20 minutes and when we arrived, the sun came out in full. It was quite beautiful - far more so than Amalfi!
Disembarking, Dan and I made a beeline for what we thought might be "the postcard" view up the hill a little way. The streets were so much prettier here and it was hard not to stop and peek in every shop. We walked down a street completely covered over with purple Bougainvilleas - beautiful to look at, impossible to photograph, and continued up the hill. We soon found a perfect little spot and took lots of photos of the coloured houses perched on the hill, the boats in the shallows and the black sand.
By now we were stifling hot, and desperately needed something refreshing. On the walk down we grabbed some soft drinks and made our way right down to the beachfront.
We found a tiny space in the shade - just enough for our heads but not our legs, which was fine - and sat here watching everyone go by. Some American was super loud in the cafe next door, and I couldn't help constantly tuning into his conversation. Soon enough it was time to leave here too. We walked along the foreshore and waited in the shade for the boat to start the return to the port.
In it came and as we lined up, a massive group of German hikers also joined the queue. I couldn't help but ask them "are you sure you're on the right boat?" As they definitely had not been with us until this point! I pushed in front of a lot of them as I still thought they weren't supposed to be there, and grabbed some of the last seats for Dan and I.
Apparently they were supposed to be there as the boat crew didn't bat an eyelid as our boat because obviously overfull with not enough seating for everyone. As we journeyed back, the weather grew grey again and quite cold - Dan gave me his jacket as I was covered in goosebumps - a far cry from how sweltering I had been feeling an hour before!
We arrived back in Sorrento at our camp grounds at about 5.30ish and collapsed in our little cabin. I was getting pretty hungry as we hadn't had much for lunch - the idea was that we would have dinner on the camp site as it was quite good and not too expensive. We drank the couple of beers we had bought the day before - one was called Peroni and the other was called Nastro Azzurro, which apparently tasted like Peroni does normally so it must be rebranded for international export.
After downing the beers we made the trek up to the restaurant. We grabbed a couple of tables inside with a nice view of outside and waited. And waited. I think the waiters were all on ish time - it was ok, they were all very smiley and friendly but I was hungry by this point! We got some menus, ordered some wine and pizzas (margarita and another tomatoey one) - I inhaled mine, far faster than Dan for a change! I had to slow down.
At the end of the meal we ordered a couple of aperitifs. Normally this would be limoncello but we had read that another liquor nocino was also regional. I asked the girl for this, pointing to a bottle of it that happened to be in a cabinet behind me. "Apple pie? Limoncello? Oh nocino!"
…I don’t think it gets ordered very often.
The Nocino is a walnut based liquor, and it was quite strong. I think we confused the girl by ordering it - she literally had to take it out of the cabinet behind us because they must not have had any at the bar. When one of the waiters delivered us, he said to us (in quite a difficult to understand speech impediment, which didn’t help at first) that we shouldn’t be ordering this one, but the liquorice one! I said we’d come back tomorrow for it - I don’t know what he was referring to, unfortunately!
We sat and finished our shot and our drinks, and slowly made our way back to our cabin in the dark. We had already booked our train from Sorrento - Rome for 6pm the next day, and we were sort of kicking ourselves that it had been booked so late in the day. We came up with a few ideas but decided to make the decision tomorrow.
Til next time,
xx
It was of course an early start and we stumbled up the hill to reception. While we were waiting, we read the sign which said "don't forget to pack your swimsuit, hat and sunscreen." Bugger, maybe there will be swimming today? Dan raced down the hill and back up again in a matter of minutes (making him quite asthma-y, unfortunately) to collect our bathers.
There was a handful of people waiting for the shuttle to the port, some for Capri and others on the same tour as us. This tour included the hotel transfer, making it so much easier. The path down to the port was very windy, and I was quite glad when we arrived.
Dan still wasn't feeling great from the race up the hill, so I positioned myself where the man had said so we could get a good seat. However, the Italian contingent from our shuttle just started wandering towards the port, making everyone else follow suit. This ended up causing quite a bit of confusion as we had purposely been separated from the Capri group. Down by the boats, they tried to separate us again, and Dan and I started talking to a Canadian couple.
"Do you think it's going to rain today?" He asked me, as we looked at the dramatic grey clouds above us.
"No!" I replied emphatically. I had looked at the weather that morning and it wasn't supposed to rain at all.
Almost on cue it started to rain. Big chubby droplets. He joked that I should give him my rain coat (which I didn't have) and chided me for giving the wrong information. These folks were lovely and we ended up chatting with them quite a bit on and off during the day.
The chubby droplets continued as our boat pulled into the dock. I was quite close to the front of the queue and sat Dan and I just on the edge of the cover but right next to the uncovered outdoor bit so we could take photos easily but not get wet. The seats here were dry but those right next to me were wet.
The boat ended up being completely full and by the time people were needing to sit on the wet seats, the rain had stopped. Next to me sat the bogan Australian contingent and across from us we had the "Flash couple" as we nicknamed them, as they insisted on taking photos on their fancy DSLR cameras with the flash on...(totally unnecessary for landscape photography).
The weather was gross, to be blunt. While it had thankfully stopped raining, the sky remained a horrid grey and the whole coast was hazy and grey. Bugger. So much for a beautiful view. However as we set off, it had its own beauty with the dramatic skies and anything in the foreground (such as small islands) were full of colour and vibrance. It made an interesting contrast. The tough bit was that the water was quite choppy - I was quite relieved for our first stop!
It would take about two hours until the first stop at Amalfi and on the way we passed a nature reserve, slowed right down to admire the fortress, house and church that some millionaire had built in a couple of the little islands (I wondered how they got water and electricity over?). We slowed down as we passed an incredible bridge that connected two sections of the cliff face - this in particular was quite a amazing feat of architecture and the effect would have been lost if you come this way by car or bus - we were very glad for the boat at this time!
After the bridge we passed a huge fortress which I think had been turned into a hotel, and above it the biggest cave I have ever seen, complete with enormous stalactites. There was another little natural arch we slowed down past, and Sofia Loren's house was pointed out to us. The whole coastline was filled with lemon tree orchards growing precariously on the cliff face.
None of this would have been possible to see from land and deported the weather and the greyness we were impressed.
At about 11am, we arrived to Amalfi. We were given until 2pm here, when we had to be back on the boat. Amalfi was nice but there wasn't a lot to do or see - I think the extended time was so that people could take an hour or more for lunch. We didn't want to spend too much, so we ate our snacks on the waterfront and jumped into the main streets.
We were immediately presented with a giant church which was quite beautiful and all the streets around sold Amalfi coast limoncello. I was quite excited by this and looked at all the bottle sizes, prices and where they were made. We passed a strange fountain filled with tiny figurines and passed another home also covered in tiny caves with figurines. Really not sure what was going on with all this. Soon we came to the end of the Main Street and realised we were heading into suburbia.
I wasn't completely full from the snacks so we opted for a couple f small hot items - we grabbed a slice of margarita pizza each and an arancini ball each from a little vendor. Not amazing but it filled the gap.
On the way back through the mainstreet I picked up a bottle of limoncello and we went back to the waterfront. We went for a wander along one of the jetties - the sky was still grey so the coast didn't look very vibrant. We sat on a rock for a little while and watched the world go by. It started to get really quite warm and some blue sky was starting to show in patches. We were falling asleep so that mean some gelato was in order.
Of course there was icecream everywhere so it was hard to choose, but there was one close to the beach that was a little tucked away which we went to. I ordered of course the limoncello flavour and also dark chocolate, Dan grabbed his and we went back to the beach, this time going down to the rocky shoreline and sitting watching people swim. My two flavours had to be the strongest flavours in the joint - they blew my head off a bit! So good.
By now it was bloody boiling hot - no real sun but very humid and warm. The black stones and sand on the beach weren't helping. I put my feet briefly in the water - it wasn't very cold - and then we went back to the boat terminal to wait for it to arrive.
I was looking forward to being back on the boat and some shade and breeze. When the boat arrived Dan and I made a beeline for the other side this time so we would again be on the coast side to take photos. The Canadian couple sat next to us and we had a good chat on the journey.
At 1.58pm the boat pulled out from the dock - I wonder if they did a head count first? And we joked that we will have to make sure we are back in time in Positano otherwise it might leave without us. The trip to Positano took about 20 minutes and when we arrived, the sun came out in full. It was quite beautiful - far more so than Amalfi!
Disembarking, Dan and I made a beeline for what we thought might be "the postcard" view up the hill a little way. The streets were so much prettier here and it was hard not to stop and peek in every shop. We walked down a street completely covered over with purple Bougainvilleas - beautiful to look at, impossible to photograph, and continued up the hill. We soon found a perfect little spot and took lots of photos of the coloured houses perched on the hill, the boats in the shallows and the black sand.
By now we were stifling hot, and desperately needed something refreshing. On the walk down we grabbed some soft drinks and made our way right down to the beachfront.
We found a tiny space in the shade - just enough for our heads but not our legs, which was fine - and sat here watching everyone go by. Some American was super loud in the cafe next door, and I couldn't help constantly tuning into his conversation. Soon enough it was time to leave here too. We walked along the foreshore and waited in the shade for the boat to start the return to the port.
In it came and as we lined up, a massive group of German hikers also joined the queue. I couldn't help but ask them "are you sure you're on the right boat?" As they definitely had not been with us until this point! I pushed in front of a lot of them as I still thought they weren't supposed to be there, and grabbed some of the last seats for Dan and I.
Apparently they were supposed to be there as the boat crew didn't bat an eyelid as our boat because obviously overfull with not enough seating for everyone. As we journeyed back, the weather grew grey again and quite cold - Dan gave me his jacket as I was covered in goosebumps - a far cry from how sweltering I had been feeling an hour before!
We arrived back in Sorrento at our camp grounds at about 5.30ish and collapsed in our little cabin. I was getting pretty hungry as we hadn't had much for lunch - the idea was that we would have dinner on the camp site as it was quite good and not too expensive. We drank the couple of beers we had bought the day before - one was called Peroni and the other was called Nastro Azzurro, which apparently tasted like Peroni does normally so it must be rebranded for international export.
After downing the beers we made the trek up to the restaurant. We grabbed a couple of tables inside with a nice view of outside and waited. And waited. I think the waiters were all on ish time - it was ok, they were all very smiley and friendly but I was hungry by this point! We got some menus, ordered some wine and pizzas (margarita and another tomatoey one) - I inhaled mine, far faster than Dan for a change! I had to slow down.
At the end of the meal we ordered a couple of aperitifs. Normally this would be limoncello but we had read that another liquor nocino was also regional. I asked the girl for this, pointing to a bottle of it that happened to be in a cabinet behind me. "Apple pie? Limoncello? Oh nocino!"
…I don’t think it gets ordered very often.
The Nocino is a walnut based liquor, and it was quite strong. I think we confused the girl by ordering it - she literally had to take it out of the cabinet behind us because they must not have had any at the bar. When one of the waiters delivered us, he said to us (in quite a difficult to understand speech impediment, which didn’t help at first) that we shouldn’t be ordering this one, but the liquorice one! I said we’d come back tomorrow for it - I don’t know what he was referring to, unfortunately!
We sat and finished our shot and our drinks, and slowly made our way back to our cabin in the dark. We had already booked our train from Sorrento - Rome for 6pm the next day, and we were sort of kicking ourselves that it had been booked so late in the day. We came up with a few ideas but decided to make the decision tomorrow.
Til next time,
xx
No comments:
Post a Comment