May, 2022
Active Amalfi
First dinner in Positano did not disappoint! When we arrived at the restaurant, they offered us a table right by the entrance with no view other than the wait station. Kevin pointed to another empty table and asked if it was free. The hostess disappeared for a second and when she returned, she sent us upstairs to the deck with this view. Clearly Kevin has the knack for securing the best table in the house!
Morning rises over Positano. The view from our rooftop deck.
The patience it must take to untangle and sort out the fishing nets!
An evening boat ride took us to Lo Scoglio (see Stanley Tucci’s episode on the area and his favourite zucchini pasta) for Kevin’s birthday.
Can’t get enough of the coastlines around here!
On the way to Lo Scoglio, we were quite enthralled by the huge sailboat moored near the beachside restaurant.
Lo Scoglio’s deck hanging over the water.
Quite the fireworks on Kevin’s dessert!
It was a lovely evening and we were quite chilled from the long boat ride (20 minutes took about 45 because our awesome water taxi skipper took us on a tour and showed us his favourite places). We passed brilliant blue grottos, views of his favourite hikes, hidden tiny churches teetering on the edge of cliffs. These old watch towers are dotted along the coast, each within view of the next. They communicated using mirrors or smoke. Turns out the people from the big sailboat who were dining at Lo Scoglio noticed our shivers and sent for blankets!
A day on the boat with a few hours on Capri: Amalfi Coast perfection. The boat was fantastic. We made new friends as we circumnavigated Capri and popped in to visit the blue, green and white grottos. Photo credit to #lifestylebymarco one of our new friends on the boat!
We could stay all day…oh right, we did! Photo credit #lifestylebymarco
Holding on tight!
The iconic Faraglioni jutting out from the coast of Capri. You’re supposed to kiss for good luck as you pass under this Faraglione di Mezzo.
Blue grotto ticket booth…actually, ticket boat
Inside the blue grotto. It can be a long wait (hours in summer), bobbing on the boat, to transfer to a row boat to go inside. It was about 10 minutes for us so we took the 14€ per person plunge and went in. It’s pretty and the row boat skippers sing Italian songs. I’m glad we saw it but would have been disappointed if we had waited hours.
Capri itself…meh. Crowded, expensive shops and constant hounding by waiters standing outside restaurants. Our goal was to have lunch and get out of Capri to Anacapri. There is a chairlift that takes you up Mount Solaro, the mountain in the background. We wasted far too much time looking for lunch and missed the opportunity to go up the mountain. Turns out it was too overcast to see the view. Instead we found Aldo, an elderly gent who makes the most spectacular Caprese sandwiches. We got a sandwich and sat by the dock where we watched the mega yacht Heed come into the port.
We wondered which Oligarch the Heed belonged to. Turns out it’s a rental that’ll set you back a mere 130,000€ to rent it for a week for you and 11 friends! Perhaps a yacht owned by a shell company, owned by another shell company, and another, and another and ultimately owned by a rental company that rents to…oligarchs and their friends?
Caper chips!
We also had Ellie, a wedding photographer from Lake Tahoe on board, on her honeymoon. Photo credit to Ellie.
Our homemade taglieri on our Positano deck
Ravello’s Piazza Centrale. Ravello was a welcome break from the hustle of Positano and Capri. A beautiful little village perched up high above the town of Amalfi, Ravello was our favourite place. Adam had a vocabulary misstep (I hope!) when he said he would go back to Ravello to remarry. I think he meant renew vows…
Kevin chasing the perfect photo
The perfect girl catches Kevin.
The gorgeous Villa Cimbrone and gardens. A lush landscape above the rocky terrain of Ravello, this huge estate has been the playground of the supremely wealthy since the 11th century. Somehow, someone dropped the ball in the late 1800s and the place was abandoned. In a bittersweet turn of events, the British Lord Ernest William Beckett came to Ravello to recover from a heavy depression following his wife’s death, fell in love with the Villa and bought it in 1904. He restored the estate and gardens to what they are today.
Zoom in… since when does Bacchus have a tail?
Write your caption here.
Almost alone in Ravello
Picture in a picture!
Amalfi has a huge cathedral that’s tucked in behind the city wall.
This enterprising fellow offered to sell us the cathedral!