Positano Day 3: The Amalfi Coast

Day 3 we explored the rest of the cities along the Amalfi Coast.

Our first stop was in Amalfi. Luckily at this city we didn't have to hike up a big hill to get there. We walked straight in to the middle of town and saw this beautiful Cathedral.


I decided that I didn't want to wear myself at the beginning of the day so I didn't go up all those stairs to see the inside. Thankfully Margaret took some pictures so we could see what it looked like. It is a really old and beautiful Cathedral.

While everyone was exploring the Cathedral, Andrew and I did a little shopping and exploring. We found a cute little chocolate shop that smelled really good. They gave us a sample which I was very excited about, until I took a big bite and found out it had liquor in it. Oops.

We drove up the coast to Ravello. Unfortunately this was another city that you did have to hike up quite a ways to get to the main square. But of course this led to another great view!

Once we got up the main square I realized I couldn't go any further. So I had another lame pregnancy moment and I stayed back in this little corridor while everyone else went ahead.

Again, thanks to Margaret for taking pictures for me! (Andrew took the camera but the only picture he took was of me sitting there. He did bring me back the most amazing fresh mozarella cheese panini though!)

I think they went up to the Villa Cimbrone which is a public garden. It looks beautiful!

On our drive back we were all a little tired, hot and cramped in the back of a van. We entertained ourselves by taking funny pictures.

We took this series of pictures of Andrew eating a gummy cola. If you scrolled through them quickly on the computer then it looked like a movie. (It's not as entertaining on the blog, but I had to post so we could remember!)

I'm glad we didn't have to hike out to this building. I don't think I would have made it. It did look beautiful out there on the rock. I believe it was an old Mission.

That night we went to the most amazing place for dinner. It was clear up at the very top of the mountain above Positano. The view was gorgeous!

I should have taken pictures of the food that night because it was delicious!! We all had the most amazing pasta dishes and then we had really good steak. I really wish I had pictures of the steak! Each one was big enough to feed 2 people (or 4!). Andrew and I are not big steak eaters but these were so good! The restaurant had their own garden where they grow all of the fresh produce that they used in their dishes. I definitely recommend it!

Positano Day 2: Isle of Capri

On our second day at Positano we got on a boat and headed out to the Isle of Capri. First of all I have to thank Annette for all the pictures. We decided that since we were going to be on a boat and in the water that we would only take one camera. So all these pictures are courtesy of Annette!

We were on a small boat with about 6 other people besides our group.

Along the way we stopped and did a little swimming. Carl-Christian was ready to go in first!

I'm always really nervous to get in big bodies of water with fish and sharks and who else knows what! But I decided I couldn't pass up the opportunity to swim in the Mediterranean. The water was absolutely beautiful.

We stopped at a place where you could transfer to a smaller boat and go see the Blue Grotto. We had to wait FOREVER!! It was so terrible. It was frustrating because there was no organized system about who went next. And apparently our boat driver was not one of the favorites because we kept getting passed up. There were so many boats out there and we were constantly watching people throw up over the side of their boats from sea sickness.

We decided it wasn't worth the wait and money, so we didn't do it. I pulled this picture off the internet to see what we missed.

(Image taken from here)

The boat ride to Capri was beautiful. We drove through this rock formation. (We didn't get a picture of it, so I took one from online, here)

Here is a view of the Isle of Capri!

The boat driver dropped us off and said he would come get us in a few hours. We then went to explore Capri. The main part of the city is straight up the mountainside. We started walking, thinking it wasn't going to be that bad. It was TERRIBLE!! It was so miserably hot and humid. The pathway up just kept going and going. I really have never been so exhausted in my life! I blame the pregnancy but I'm sure it would have been terrible no matter what! We finally made it, only to find out that they have a tram you can take up that only costs about two dollars!!! I would have paid two hundred dollars!!

I was glad to have made it because this is the view from the top!

Everyone was a little worn out ...

We spent our time in Capri eating a delicious lunch, shopping, resting in the shade, and eating gelato! It is such a cute little town with fun shops and restaurants. When it was time to go back down Annette and I took the tram down while everyone else walked (did I mention it was only $2.00!!!)

We then got back on the boat and went back to Positano. Here are a couple pictures of the rocks and coastline along the way.

That night we had a great dinner. I don't have any pictures but we went to this great restaurant just down the street from our hotel. The owner of the restaurant was this awesome old man. As soon as he walked in he said loudly in an Italian accent "Happy Women!!" We then sat at this table with a big bell next to us and he would occasionally walk by us and yell "Happy Women!" and ring the bell loudly. It was great. Dinners in America are just not as entertaining as they are in Italy!

Rome to Positano

We had to wake up pretty early in the morning to make the trip from Rome to Positano. We took one last group shot, outside of our hotel, before we left. Viktoria and Sebastian were not coming with us so this was the last time we were all together.

We had to load all of our luggage up in the back of the van. A big group of people = a lot of luggage!

Before we left Rome we decided to stop at the new temple site. They haven't really even started construction, so there was nothing to see but a security fence. They had a security guard outside, but he didn't know anything about what was behind the fence.

This was the view from the future temple site. It's directly across the street from a large movie theater and IKEA. When I thought about the temple in Rome I guess I imagined it being next to the Colosseum or Pantheon, not IKEA. Oh well, I guess the Church took what they could get!

Positano is one of the main cities along the Amalfi Coast. It was about a 4 hour drive from Rome. The drive wasn't too terrible, except that the van we were in was really hot and crowded. Also, we didn't figure out how to work the air conditioning until the last day we were there!

We stopped along the way at this cute restaurant. It had a gorgeous view of the coast! Also, I think the food on the Amalfi Coast was a lot better than in Rome. The pasta was amazing!

This was our first view of Positano.

Our hotel is the building right in the middle of this picture.

Our rooms were so nice! They were air conditioned and the lights would turn on and off when you walked in and out of the room.

This was our own personal terrace.

You could just come out here and relax all day long!

View from our room. Not bad!!

After resting for a little while we decided to explore the little town. We arrived in Positano on August 15th, which is the largest Italian national holiday, Ferragosto (Assumption Day). We happened to come across this big parade for the holiday.

This guy was excited for me to take his picture. He stopped and smiled for me! (He even held up the parade a little ... oops)

After a delicious dinner we went back to the hotel to watch the holiday fireworks. They didn't start until Midnight, so we were all a little tired. But I decided that watching fireworks over the Mediterranean Sea was worth staying up for.

The fireworks were absolutely amazing. They were beautiful and I really enjoyed seeing the reflection of the fireworks in the water. The sound was also awesome. Because of how close they were to the mountains you would hear the constant echo. It was so loud. It almost sounded like we were being bombed! But it was great. I attached a video at the bottom so you can hear!