3 Days - Close to Heaven
**Lots of great pics coming on this one - once that damn WiFi re-engages!
I remember Mom telling me how much she loved the Amalfi Coast. So, when I told her we would be visiting the Amalfi Coast for a few days on this trip, she said “you have to stay in Positano”. Well Mom – you DID NOT steer us wrong! To top it off, we ended up at the “top of the world” (or top of Positano anyway) in the little hamlet of Nocelle (it’s one of the 10 principalities that make up Positano). Check it out – it’s an UNESCO world heritage site and is right on the Walk of the Gods trail that spans the high mountains of the Amalfi Coast. BEAUTIFUL is an understatement. (Note: I’ve tried to include as many pictures of the views, but it was a little foggy so they are not as clear as they could be.)
Well . . getting there was interesting. So quickly after leaving Pompeii, we find ourselves in a small town with VERY small, narrow streets. Thank God the drivers weren’t as crazy as Napoli – but they do drive fast & don’t really follow any traffic laws that we could tell. We later found out that we were in Sorrento and once we got to the top of Sorrento – we started to “hug” the coast on even narrower, winding roads filled with hairpin curves AND tour buses (and mind you, we’re in off season here).
We have to WIND on those roads for about 35 minutes until we reach this sharp left hand curve to turn off to reach Nocelle. And then, the real fun begins. I truly don’t know how we made it up this narrow road that must have truly been built for donkeys – NOT cars! At one point, we come around this very blind & sharp curve and I have to slam on the breaks to avoid side-swiping a car coming down the mountain. I have to do about a “5 point curve” to back up & then a nice guy on the side of the road came over & directed me to a safe spot. The other car passed and we were on our way again! 6 km total and we finally arrive at the Nocelle parking lot where our host is waiting for us with a donkey. This is the last point that cars are allowed in the village and she was not going to have us carry our own luggage – good thing, cause it was about ¼ of a mile to the B&B, up & down so many steps I stopped counting – and if you remember, I still have ALL THAT LUGGAGE!!! (Note: On the way in, I have my first meeting with Agnello {aka Boyfriend #1}– the cutest blue-eyed, somewhat toothless “70 or 80 something” year old man – who reminded me of my grandfather. We fell in love instantly and he kept telling me how beautiful I was & kissing my hand.)
We arrive at this lovely 2 bedroom villa with a balcony that looks at the sea & Capri. It is stunning and Sherine says I’ve done really well in picking the spot and that she’s fine if we stay here for the rest of the trip. Of course, our host Amolia (who I started calling the “hostess with the mostest”) had left us SO MUCH food in the fridge, including a bottle of Prosecco and wonderful hors d’oeuvres, which we gobble right up. Amolia made us a reservation at the local restaurant up there in Nocelle and we had a huge dinner with a full bottle of wine and limoncello (on the house) – and we stumbled home to get some much needed sleep.
**Note to my “Zia Em-Meh” (that’s Auntie M) – the rooms were HUGE and gorgeous. I took some pictures for you. When we come back together we will stay here and you will feel like the queen you are! No worries about the steps – we have the donkeys!!
The next morning, Amolia suggests that we walk down the hill to Positano. It’s 1800 steps! It’s OK – after the last 2 days of driving, I’m perfectly OK to leave the car right where it is!!
It takes us about 45 minutes – as we keep stopping to snap pictures and talk to people (locals, Americans, Germans, even a few Chinese . . and Agnello!). This picture of me & Agnello was taken after he told me I was a model who belongs in the movies – and kept giving me endless hugs!!! We also come down to this gorgeous villa that has a magnificent swimming pool built into the steep hillside (these Italian men are superior & amazing craftsmen). As we sweep around the bend, we come to the front of the house with magnificent gates and a gorgeous entry garden – and Boyfriend #2. He had the same bright blue eyes (these Southern Italians all have gorgeous blue eyes), was charming and while he was OK to have me take pictures of his hard work – really didn’t want to be in the pictures – too bad, he was very handsome. He told me I was beautiful too and gave me those great Italian air kisses!
Agnello - Sorry you can't see his stunning blue eyes!
We arrive in town and head to the beach for lunch; Amolia says we must go to Tre Sorella and have seafood. I am to ask for Salvatore or Guare and tell them “I am the granddaughter of a fisherman, so I know fresh fish. . . none of this tourist seafood for me”! We order wine (it’s hot, so we go for Pinot Grigio) and a wonderful seafood pasta. They bring us limoncello on the house and I ask if Salvatore is here. The waiter says, “yes, that’s him over there”. Salvatore comes over and we find out that Guare has been serving us all along. Then Fabio comes over too (women traveling without men get a lot of attention you know?). We all start talking and I tell them about Amolia’s comment and they just laugh and say, “you got the best”. I wouldn’t disagree!
We wander through town and find “THE” bakery! Of course, it’s got gelato too – so finally, my first gelato of the trip. I order a bunch of pastries to take home from Boyfriend #3 – Pepino! Now, Pepino could have been a model for a Roman statute. He’s probably mid-60s and really handsome and really charming! I find out later he’s the boss. He packages it all up so pretty with a gold tray, paper & string and comes out from behind the counter to deliver it (as I’ve now moved on to the gelato counter for my cioccolotto & pistacchio gelato – DELICIOSO!!!). I give Pepino a big “grazie” and we do a double European kiss to say goodbye . . he tells me to be sure and come back again!!!
We take the bus back up (we are full & a little tired) and decide to have light dinner at the villa with our pastries and all the food we have left over from breakfast. I guess I forgot to mention that Amolia & her staff come into our room each morning and COOK us breakfast. Whatever we want and believe me, the choices are endless (cause she’s stocked our fridge with even more treats while we were traversing the steps of Positano . . this time, it’s fresh strawberries & tomatoes from her garden and more meats & cheeses . . I love this woman . . really, a woman after my own heart!).
Next day – we’re going to take the bus to Amalfi town, walk around there, take another bus to hill town of Ravello, take bus back to Amalfi, transfer to another bus and go to Bocalinga (the head of the Walk of the Gods) and walk back to Positano. Now, despite really planning & looking at bus schedules, Italian buses are sort of on their own time schedule, so it’s Sunday and by the time we go to the Tabbachi to buy our bus tickets for last leg of this journey, the clerk tells us it’s too late to do the walk but we can do it tomorrow (we can’t, we’re driving to Sicily tomorrow). He was right, we wouldn’t have gotten to trail head until 3:45 and it takes 3 hours and we didn’t have flashlights or trekking gear – so while disappointed, we opt instead to drink Aperol Spritzes and sit overlooking the harbor to wait for the next bus back to Positano. Aperol was refreshing until we boarded the most over-crowded, HOT bus and it was standing room only (would NOT have been prudent to wait for next one – as it was the last bus of the day). I end up sitting on the back step area with an English couple from Cambridge and Sherine (who gets worse seasick than I) stands with a German gal and they are leaning on each other for support. We’re all getting sick and anxiously waiting for each stop so the driver will open the doors and let in some fresh air. By the time we get to Positano – we’re all wanting to puke. It took about an hour and some lemon soda to “sober up” – because remember, we have to get on another bus to Nocelle (6km up that winding, narrow road!).
We arrive in Nocelle to find Amolia excited to see us. She said she’d been worried all day that we wouldn’t make it back and kept telling her husband to watch out for us (of course, we hadn’t met him at this point). We lay down for a bit and then join Amolia & her husband, as well as some other guests (Russian couple) for dinner at Amolia’s. Her husband, Natale (no he wasn’t born at Christmas, but his father was, and after all, he’s a junior) made this stuffed “tart thing” with fresh tuna (he caught) and escarole encased in really good “pie-like” dough and she made pasta with fresh mussels. Of course, the limoncello came out again and we drank that after the prosecco the Russians had brought and wine that Amoila served. Our contribution was a big tray of Martorana Reale (marzipan candy shaped & painted like fruits & vegetables) but everyone was full, so Amolia sent them home with us for our travels. I kiss & cuddle Big Jim (Amolia’s cat who I’ve fallen in love with – and he with me) and we have an early night so we’re fresh for the drive to Sicily in the morning. We tell Amolia not to worry about cooking breakfast, as we’ll just have leftovers.
The next morning, she knocks on the door to deliver fresh, buffalo mozzarella and croissants and checks to see that we really DON’T want breakfast (it’s killing her) but she agrees that we can go “light”. The donkey arrives at 8am for our luggage and we pack up our stuff to hit the road. The drive down is a bit easier as most of Nocelle is still sleeping or preparing for a late start at work. We head back to Sorrento on an easier route that the GPS arbitrarily decides to select and we’re on the autostrada in about an hour headed to Sicily.
Three Days Close to Paradise . . . undeniable & amazing!
