Italian magic

The Amalfi Coast is everything I love about Italy. The dramatic coastline, crystal clear water, passionate people (here is where talking with your hands was born), ancient ruins, simply delicious food and limoncello.

Me at Anacapri

Heading south from Rome, we skirt around Naples – home to pizza, the mafia and drivers with a death wish. Although, the more I see this chaotic, crazy driving that seems sure to end in disaster, the more I am convinced there is actually some sort of method to the absolute madness – you just have to be born in Italy to be in on the secret. We learn a little sign that may indicate a real member of the mafia is around – look for the missing top on the left hand trigger finger – then slowly back away.

Pick your position

We arrive in Pompeii, the ancient city that was frozen in time when Mt Vesuvius, which is still active and has thousands living and working on the fertile land at its base, erupted thousands of years ago. I am surprised to see greenery among the ruins and we welcome a light breeze that keeps the heat from becoming overwhelming. Our guide takes us along roads, built with complete drainage systems, through bath houses which had hot and cold running water and even into a brothel with pictures on the wall to allow customers to choose their preferred style - the Romans had it all sorted. When archaeologists discovered gaps in the buried city, they filled them with plaster – many turned out to be perfectly formed human shapes, complete with the look of surprise that was on their face as they were immortalised in searing hot lava.

Sorrento is our destination for the two nights and across the harbour down below, Mt Vesuvius still looms in the distance. Lemons and tomatoes are everywhere down here and we taste some Limoncello and homemade chocolates before a four course feast of bruschetta, zucchini pasta, fish with fresh chopped tomato and tiramisu – finished with a Limoncello of course J





Inside the Blue Grotto

Next day is Capri. We cruise out and stop at the famous Blue Grotto where we are loaded into small boats of 4 people and told to lie down and close our eyes while we pass through the 2 x 2m hole in the cliff face into a cave filled with electric blue water that is absolutely dazzling – it’s impossible to capture its full effect in a photo, but I tried! Back on board we sail past the Green Grotto – beautifully coloured water, but not a patch on the Blue Grotto. Arriving at Marina Piccolo, we jump off and after a delicious fresh buffalo mozzarella, tomato and basil sandwich,  catch the bus first up to the town of Capri, then another bus up to the top – Anacapri. The road is extremely narrow and winding and miraculously two busses can pass each other, although how they do it is beyond me. We are standing on the bus and suddenly the houses end and we are staring down a sheer cliff face to the water, with only a tiny road barrier between us and thehuge drop. If my heart hadn’t been racing so fast, I might have been able to enjoy the spectacular views! Luckily, we arrive safely, walk through Anacapri and find a spot to capture the scene on camera – spectacular. It’s very hot so time for a relaxing swim in the beautiful water - until I discover that jellyfish are quite common there and retreat to the safety of my sun lounge. On the way back we pass under a natural arch in a rock, where it is good luck for two lovers to kiss

Kissing arch

The spectacular Amalfi Coast road was saved for the final day. We stop just before Positano to snap some photos of this gorgeous village and stock up from the fruit stand which also sold packets of rice mixed up with herbs - ready to make risotto, with cooking instructions in English. I thought I would take a chance and it seems even I can make delicious risotto when armed with the right packet mix – zucchini was a success, Limoncello still to be attempted.

First stop for the day is the actual village of Amalfi, with its impressive Duomo and a fountain with the water coming out of a lady’s breasts. We take a boat cruise along the coast to admire the homes and hotels that look tiny from the road, but impressive once you see how they climb down the cliffs, down to the tiny beaches squeezed in between the water and the rock. We head to a small family owned bakery where I have the most delicious lemon custard filled donut and as I am thanking the charming older man that owns it, I notice that the top part of his trigger finger is missing.



View from Ravello

Last stop is Ravello, a gorgeous place with sweeping views from either side, lush villas and the best eggplant parmigiana I have ever had. This one has been put back on my to do list, the beautiful gardens and views from the villas need more time to be explored – and I do need to make sure that the eggplant parmigiana wasn’t too good to be true………..I’ll be back soon Amalfi Coast