Spring 2016
Whenever anyone asks me for my favorite place to travel, it doesn’t take me more than a moment to respond; Italy. Of all the beautiful beaches and cities I’ve visited, Italy has captured my heart. Each city has its own unique culture; the mountainous landscapes and breathtaking beaches provide the perfect balance regardless of your travel style. And I haven’t even mentioned the delicious food and incredible wine. Most of the best meals of my life have been in Italy. Being a red wine lover, Italy is my happy place. It is also one of the few places in the world where I’m the cheaper drinking date than Adam!
I’ve recapped our quick trip to Lake Como with its breathtaking views, but I really fell in love with Italy during our two-week honeymoon in the spring of 2016. We spent two weeks visiting Florence, Cinque Terre, the Amalfi Coast and Rome. I can’t possibly cover them all with one post, so I’ve decided to start with my favorite. As I’ve stated many times, I am a big city gal at heart, but the Amalfi Coast might be the one place that makes me want to change my perspective.
From Cinque Terre, we took the train to Naples and a car service to Positano. I’m glad we opted for the car service. The roads along the coast are filled with gorgeous views, tour buses and experienced drivers who speed along hairpin turns. I wouldn’t suggest trying to drive it on your own unless you feel comfortable in such a setting. Since we were able to sit back and relax, we could take in all the beauty of the area as we drove to our destination. We stayed at Hotel Marincanto which is located just around a small bend from Le Sirenuse, which is likely the most famous hotel in Positano. While I can see why Le Sirenuse is so beloved, Hotel Marincanto’s views are almost identical at about a third of the cost. I had seen pictures online of the Tyrrhenian Sea from the room balcony, but I was still in awe when I saw it in person. It is a spectacular sight. I didn’t take one picture that can possibly do it justice. I think I could have sat there for an entire day just taking it in. But we couldn’t sit there for a whole day because we had so much to explore!
We chose Positano as our home base for a few reasons, one as previously mentioned the incredible views and two, the streets are too narrow for tour buses. Now I realize this sounds a bit hypnotical; we were tourists complaining about other tourists. But it does make a huge difference when you are touring quant little streets and alleyways without busloads of other people. While Positano is still bustling with tourists, it takes on a bit more of a relaxed, local vibe especially as you progress into the evening. On our first day, we stayed in Positano exploring the shops in town and the gorgeous beach. At the time, I didn’t have any intention of documenting our trips in detail, so I don’t remember our exact itinerary and each place we stopped but a few standouts are hard to forget. We ate dinner at Rada and made sure to mention it was our honeymoon in hopes of landing one of the tables looking out over the water. It was the perfect place to watch the sunset.
The next morning, we set sail for Capri. A friend suggested Barbara Positano Boat Tours and our day with Barbara was one of the highlights of our trip. As we drank champagne at the front of the boat we definitely laughed to ourselves a few times not believing this was indeed real life as the scenery and setting seemed too good to be true.
Barbara had arranged for a driver to give us a quick tour of the island and it was the perfect way to take in most of the sights. Driving in Capri is part of the fun. The streets are unbelievably narrow and when I say you are often passing other cars and busses by mere inches, that is not an exaggeration!
Capri is filled with gorgeous views and incredible luxury shopping. Adam claimed that Capri was a little too crowded for him to want to stay but really I think he was worried about the damage I could do at all the gorgeous boutiques.
We opted to not see the Blue Grotto in order to spend more time on the water. Adam was brave enough to jump in the sea. Since it was early May, I was not as brave as the water was FREEZING. I was content to stay warm on the boat drinking champagne.
Barbara gave us a few options for lunch, but we couldn’t down the opportunity to visit Conca Del Sogno which is mainly accessible by boat. I remember my pasta dish being delicious and that once again I found myself in awe of the views.
The weather that day was absolutely perfect, and we soaked it all in while on our way back to Positano. There are some memories that just stick in your mind and our day to Capri is definitely one of those memories for me. I can close my eyes and it feels like yesterday I was watching the Italian flag effortlessly float behind us as we made our way back to town.
After a day of indulging we decided to get in a little exercise and explored The Path of the Gods. We took the local town bus to get up to the start of the path.
Perched up on the hill, Santa Croce was the perfect stop for lunch.
Our next adventure was to explore Pompeii. We again hired a car service to drive us as we planned a few stops throughout the day. As a child, I was always fascinated by volcanos and in turn was excited for the opportunity to visit Hawaii Volcanoes National Park while on the Big Island and Pompeii while in Italy. It is a popular place to visit so I would suggest trying to arrive early. Even seeing it in person, it was difficult to wrap my head around the idea that the eruption happened in 79 A.D.
From Pompeii, we traveled on to Ravello. As much as I loved Positano, Ravello was equally gorgeous. It is a charming town that is a must-see if in the region. We had lunch at Al Ristoro Del Moro and once again the meal and views were outstanding.
I hadn’t done much research on Ravello which added to it being such a surprise. Our driver was the sweetest man who volunteered to walk around the Villa Cimbrone Gardens with us so he could take pictures. We have more pictures together on this day than we do on most of our trips combined! Ravello is known for its summer musical festival and I’ve promised myself that one day I’ll make it back to attend.
We made a quick stop in the town of Amalfi before heading back to Positano for our last night. It was the perfect day and end to our stay before heading out to our last stop of our trip, Rome.
Visiting the Amalfi Coast was the trip of a lifetime. It was so hard to narrow down a handful of pictures and even those selected can’t even begin to represent its true beauty. I hope that anyone with a love of travel has an opportunity to see it for themselves!
Postcards To Mabel 