Amalfi Coast - 10/16/15

Today was the day we took a mini-bus tour of the Amalfi Coast. Another good choice had we gone in the car, Lou would have had a stressful day and would not have seen a thing. I would have been a nervous wreck!

Our tour guide, Robert, told us early on that today was about beauty, history and culture. For me, it was mostly about beauty and a little about culture (tourism and food). I truly didn't care about the history. That's okay, right?

And what a perfect day to be enjoying the beauty of the Amalfi Coast. Bright blue skies and warm comfortable temperatures.

We were picked up at our hotel at 9:25 this morning. We asked Robert if one side of the mini-bus was better than the other. He said no. He lied. We sat on the left side. How many times did we hear If you're sitting on the right side...? Zillions of times! Very rarely did we hear If you're sitting on the left side. Disappointing.

As soon as we reached the start of the Amalfi Coast, we pulled over to look at the best view.

A first stop was Positano. When I was a luxury travel agent for Pisa Brothers in the mid-80s, that was a place I booked regularly. I was excited to see it. We spent a little over an hour there.

Next stop was Amalfi. We went on a boat ride, then had about an hour in the square.

 

The lower portion of this hotel was built in the 13th century with the top completed in the 18th century.

 

During our hour in the square of Amalfi, we tried treats. Santa Rosa pastry on left - a sfogliatella with cream popping out the top with the addition of a cherry - and on the right a lemon delight. So light and delicious.

Last stop was Ravello. It was the least touristy of our stops and had the most interesting architecture of any of the towns. We saw the view, ate some chestnuts and did people-watching in the square.

Finally, the drive back to Sorrento as the sun was setting.

No real surprise that I got bus sick on the way back. We rested a bit and then headed out for a dinner that my queasy stomach could handle. We walked along a little alley behind the main thoroughfare. It's got souvenir shops of all sorts and some places to eat. We stopped at some tourist restaurant and had our worst meal of the trip tonight. My meal was fine. Lou's meal was sorely lacking. We stopped for gelato on the walk back to the hotel.

A week from now we'll be back in the States.

Pompei on our own tomorrow. Buona notte!