Amalfi to Praiano

Today was a day of hiking mishaps but in the end we got to our destination and found our hotel which is on the cliffs overlooking the sea.  Very lovely views from the restaurant and the pool terrace.  When we left Amalfi this morning, we missed a turn in the directions given by our tour company so we wound up walking on the main road from Amalfi to Positano for many miles before we realized we were not on the route they had mapped out.  We caught up with the tour notes in a little town, Cosca dei Marina, where we stopped to eat the lunches we had packed in Amalfi.  We sat in the shade next to the big church in that town.  Then we followed the tour directions up the cliff (all these towns are on steep cliffs overlooking the sea so the "roads" are actually small stone pathways, often in the form of long stairs up and down! ) We climbed more than half way up the cliff at Cosca die Marina to a little shrine.  At that point we decided not to do  a longer part of the tour that would have gone into more unmarked and wild territory as the directions were unbelievably confusing and we were not sure we'd manage not to get hopelessly lost.  So we then walked to the next little hamlet, Furore where we could see a beautiful gorge and little mini harbor way down below.  At that point we were able to get the local bus to Praiano and were delighted when it turned out the stop was just a short walk from our hotel.  We checked in and decided to eat here tonight as the restaurant overlooks the sea and has an outside terrace for dining overlooking the water and the boats.   It also has a rooftop swimming pool and garden and bar, so I'm writing this while sitting on that terrace looking out at the cliffs and boats.  Even with our goof up this morning we logged about 7 miles of walking and the bit in Cosca was all up hill and down - good aerobics!  Pics today are shots along the coast as we walked, the church where we stopped for lunch and shots from the pool terrace and dining terrace at the hotel.  Hopefully tomorrow we will manage our directions more successfully!!

Amalfi to Ravello

Today we walked starting at 9:30 AM and returning to our hotel by 7PM!  We started out on the main road out of Amalfi stopping to tour the Paper Museum.  Amalfi was, in the 16th century a major producer of fine paper.  We then walked up the mountain through lemon groves that went on forever and were amazing to see and then through a valley full of ruins of old paper mills.  Much of that part of the walk was through a national park.  We got to a small village, Pontone, where we stopped for water and snacked on some fruit and rested a bit before heading on to Ravello.  The walk to Ravello wasn't very long but it was hot and all uphill.  We walked up a LOT of steps to get there!  It was worth it however, as Ravello is a lovely town, with a very quaint town square and lots of winding little lanes with shops and restaurants.  We had a leisurely lunch and then visited Villa Cimbrone, a beautiful enormous villa on the top of the mountain overlooking the sea.  Gore Vidal apparently stayed there and deemed it one of the most beautiful places in the world!   We walked all through the villa grounds which are full of beautiful gardens, and statues and cypress trees and lemon trees and fig trees and rose gardens and a terrace that looks out over the sea.  After we left the villa we headed down the cliffs to Atrani and on back to Amalfi, stopping in Atrani for a refreshment break.  The walk down from Ravello to Atrani and Amalfi is a VERY STEEP DESCENT all on steps.  Really hard on the knees, to say the least!  They just go on and on!  By the time we got back to our hotel we were pretty tired.  It was hot and sunny all day. Not oppressively hot,  but we were pretty sticky by the time we got home. Showers felt pretty good after all that walking.

Pics today show one of the lemon trees, shots in the national park, shots out over the water from the villa, and Tracy and I at the villa.

Arrived Rome and On to Amalfi

Arrived in Rome, on time, yesterday and got the train to Tracy's friend's apartment in Rome where we enjoyed a quiet day, napping and then enjoying a leisurely Italian lunch and later went out for dinner.  Enjoyed my first gelato of the trip!  We slept in a bit today as we are still somewhat jet lagged and then packed up and headed to the train for the trip to Salerno.  The train was running 20 minutes late so when we got to Salerno we had to go at break neck speed to get from the train station to the ferry dock to catch the ferry to Amalfi.  Enjoyed a lovely 45 minute ferry ride to Amalfi.  We found our hotel after a few wrong turns and then went out exploring.  Amalfi is absolutely packed with tourists right now and we learned when we checked in that today is the patronal festival of St. Andrew the Apostle, the patron saint of Amalfi.  Tonight there was a huge parade, with the Saint being taken on a pallantine all through the city, with priests and altar boys and incense and candles and a huge band following.  We visited the cathedral this afternoon and then wandered through the city.  We decided to eat dinner a bit early so that we could watch the festivities on the cathedral steps at 8 PM.  The crowds were intense but we got a pretty good view of St. Andrew coming down the steps and the parade went right by us.  We then walked down to the seaside and up along one of the hills and back through narrow little alleys to the center of the town.  Our hotel room looks right out on the sea and tonight at 11 they are doing a big fireworks show.  Practice fireworks have been going off for hours and they are LOUD.  So we will not be going to sleep early tonight.  At this point we are enjoying sitting by our open window watching all the activity down below at the seaside and hearing the fireworks.  We're going to have a little champagne when the fireworks display starts for real later on!  It's a beautiful night, very pleasant now that the sun is down.  The town is gorgeous all lit up with colored lights ad there are a number of boats out in the harbor also all lit up waiting for the fireworks display.  I get such a kick out of the procession and parade for St. Andrew.   Reminds me of the way Hindus process their deities all over their villages with chanting and candles and festivities.  Catholics and Hindus have a lot in common!  Pics include the beginning of the procession out of the cathedral with St. Andrew, a fountain in town where folks fill their water bottles, and shots of the harbor when we arrived and then later, after dark when everyone was out for the festival.

Off to Amalfi Coast and Rome

Tracy and I are on our way to Italy to spend a week walking the Amalfi Coast before returning to Rome.  Will post late Monday evening about our first day adventures in Amalfi!