Hello From The Amalfi Coast -
It’s Sunday evening and we’re in Positano, where it is said there is nothing to do except walk the steps looking at shops (mostly women’s boutiques) and eat. It feels a little isolated here, as you come and go on the unbelievable side of the cliff road or via boat. This is the ultimate “do nothing week”, which is a challenge for me. I’m going from doing nothing to doing less than nothing.
After one day, I’m about to start another book. I’ve actually read a few since arriving in France. I’d like to head off running all week, but there are not many straightaways and the steps are many and enough of a challenge.
I can report on two good dinners (last night and tonight) at seaside restaurants just down the steps from our apartment. Expansive menus and real food! Marlene ran into the best cup of coffee she has had since leaving Portland last night and repeated it today (the same can be said about a slice of chocolate cake). I’m fairly fond of lemon items and fall back to French lemon tarts all too often. Well, this area is where they grow lemons and there are many things lemon. I must admit the lemon tiramisu I had last night was very good, but the piece of lemon pie I had today might have been even better.
The apartment is sensational. Booking all of these apartments, rooms and sometimes hotels is a bit of a guessing game. This is a winner. Lots of windows with views of the sea, with two large bedrooms, two baths and a nice kitchen, to say nothing of a deck with a dining table. With rain yesterday and today the deck is just to look at. It’s great to listen to the waves hit the shore, especially at night with the bedroom window open. We’re about a three-minute walk of steps to the beach below and about the same distance (some of it without steps) to the square, which is where you can find motorized vehicles.
We’re actively discussing what we’re going to do this week. There’s some discussion of taking a boat to the Isle of Capri, though it is reportedly a tourist trap. There are two more towns down the way on the Amalfi Coast, both reachable by that road or the boat. Marlene wants to take the bus, so that may happen. Otherwise, the focus is on where should we eat dinner and do we need reservations? There are a couple of fine restaurants well above where we are and they say to go eat there while there is still daylight is a great experience. There are some hikes that provide great views. I’d be inclined to give it a go, but it’s a marginal call. Taking Keaka is totally out of the question. I’ve seen photos and there are some narrow spots with steep drop-offs. No, not with Keaka.
Turning to the photos, from the bus stop late yesterday we caught a photo of the look down to the beach. Our walk to the apartment was in that direction and almost down to the beach. We elected to call the porter to take the bags. Yes, they have a company that just takes your bags up and down. There are a couple of photos looking down from the apartment to the beach area, which is lined with restaurants. There’s another photo of the hillside from our apartment window. In another photo you see how close we are to the town church. Yes, the bells are loud. There’s really not a harbor here, so boats kind of pull up to a small cement pier, as you can see from our deck. You can see the nearby residences and further down the shore in the photo looking out of our apartment to the left. If you go out the apartment door and up a few steps there’s a good view inland of the hillside. And, around the corner is a nice hotel – you see the entrance in a photo.
So, I’m not sure how interesting sitting, walking and eating is going to be to report on this week and I don’t know how many photos of this incredibly picturesque coast I can take, but stand by.
The Wilsons
