Amalfi Coast

Last weekend we headed to the BEAUTIFUL Amalfi Coast for some relaxation, hiking, and good eats. We stayed in Positano for two nights and we were spoiled with some gorgeous weather. Luckily, getting to the Amalfi is a short hour and a half drive. And it's easy too.. .if you don't mind some windy, coastal driving on cliffs. Okay, getting to Positano wasn't bad at all, but traveling between towns can be a bit sketchy, especially with huge buses driving through on roads that you can hardly believe are big enough to be two-way streets. But I'm not complaining... and I'll show you why. This is the view from our hotel:

The town at night was just as beautiful. I loved the way the buildings looked all lit up on the cliffs:

Other than the obvious (that Positano was beautifully set on a cliff in an unreal setting), there was something else a bit "different" from what we we've grown accustomed to in Naples- it was soooo quiet. I don't know if it's because the town isn't too big, or the fact that buildings are more stacked on top of each other so there's no chance for reverberation, but it was so calm and quiet. A great place to just sit on the balcony of your hotel and relax. After a night of exploring and eating dinner with friends, we hit the sack to rest up for an early morning adventure to hike the "Path of the Gods."

The hike starts in the town Argelo, high above Amalfi, and ends in Positano. Unfortunately, to get there we had to take two buses about an hour each on some of the smallest roads with tons of switchbacks, and all set on extremely steep cliffs. I don't mind these things in a car, but a big bus driven by a complete stranger adds an element. This is about how I felt about it (Okay, I was worse):

But we made it to Argelo safe and sound and had a quick picnic lunch. As we were sitting in the square eating, who drove up but our friend, Dave (Naples tour), and his family. What a great surprise. So our party of five turned into a party of ten and we were on our way.

WARNING: Because of the sheer beauty of the place, a lot of pictures are coming your way...right.. now

The hike was by far the best one we have ever been on. It had all the elements you could ask for: trees, coast, amazing cliff sides, and the most beautiful views we'd ever seen. It's definitely going down as our favorite hike to date.

Our first great view. Of course what we didn't know is that every time we would turn a corner the next view was going to compete with the last.

Keeping hydrated in the heat was the name of the game. Luckily Landon loves drinking out of the Camel Back :)

Family pic. #2 is definitely more prevalent in these pictures than in the beginning of our trip.

Now, when I say we were on cliffs, I really mean we were on cliffs (Don't worry we felt safe the whole time). If you look closely you can see a couple members of our group:

Starting to see a glimpse of Positano:

Whatever you do, don't look down!! ;)

Yes, we walked along there, too.

The 30 weeks prego me:

Family pic... oh wait... someone forgot to wake up Landon. I believe the quote from the British couple who took the picture was, "Ummm.. Your kid's dead."

Getting closer to Positano:

Ahhhh.. a much needed break in a church's courtyard in Novelle.

We smile because we don't know what we are in for:

Hike complete... except for the 2000+ stairs we had to go down from Novelle to Positano. It hurt. The smile in this picture is all a lie.

After a tiring day we had to stop to grab a lemon sorbet (lemon is all over  the Amalfi, and delicious). We got back to the hotel, got some much needed rest, and got ready for dinner. For dinner we were headed to La Tagliata, where everyone and their mom recommended we eat. It was easy to get to (they pick you up and drop you off at your hotel), delicious, had friendly service (family owned and runned), and had a beautiful view. This is our view from our table:

The meal was a traditional Italian meal which means Antipasti (about 10 different types to share with the table), primi (pasta dish), secondi (meat and/or fish), and a dessert. Our Secondi for the four of us (Joe, Margee, Nate, and me):

Needless to say we were stuffed to gills as we rolled out of there. I'm pretty sure the bus home dragged a little lower than on the way there ;) With full bellies and tired legs, we went happily to sleep that night.

The next morning Nate, Lando, and I were up pretty early to take a drive up the Amalfi coast. We left early enough so that the traffic wasn't bad and didn't even have too many run-ins with ginormous buses. But, I'm telling you, driving the coast is waaaay better when you're in a car.

After a beautiful drive we hit our last destination, Ravello. Ravello is a small town situated high up on a cliff that is mostly known for it's musical culture and the Gardens of Villa Cimbrone. The gardens are right on the edge of the cliff so hold the town's most magnificent views. I'll let the pictures do the talking:

Nate and Lando:

Me, Lando, and #2:

Cute boys I have:

We let Landon loose and he loved being free in the gardens. He especially loved running through flower bushes and getting little flowers all over himself:

Our goodbye to the Amalfi was a sad one. We had had a great trip and were going to miss it's beauty.

Now, believe it our not, we are down to two weeks in Italy. The time has flown and heading home will be bitter sweet. But next up, Germany :)