1. Relax, take in the views
2. The 3 P's: Pasta, Pizza & Pastries
3. Drink lots of vino. It's cheaper than buying water and so fresh it never leaves you with a headache.
4. Fresh bread, cheese and charcuterie
5. Day trips - all of the cities in the Amalfi coast are relatively close, definitely close enough to take a day trip to spend the afternoon exploring
6. Boat trip/tours. Highly recommend a boat tour of the coast and taking the boat tour to Capri for the day - you must see all the gratos!
7. Cooking class at Buca Di Bacco Hotel
Don't forget to pack:
1. Comfortable shoes (you are walking through hills of cobblestone streets)
2. A great camera (you'll feel like you're in a postcard)
3. Euros
Day 1/Traveling Monday, 10/2/11 - Tuesday, 10/4/11
Our adventure began on Monday morning when driver, Chris, was given our incorrect address for our pick up in Huntington beach, which got us off to a bit of a late start. Chris was a very chatty driver which helped the time fly by.
Our flight from lax to Chicago was on time and a piece of cake. We had enough time at O'hare to get some bagel sandwiches and plenty of snacks for our journey. Our flight to Rome was delayed 50 minutes. Our flight to Rome was a full 9 hours but wasn't too bad for either of us. We both read our books and eat some crappy airplane food. We both slept for a little and began getting excited to land. We had no issues getting through customs and getting our checked luggage. We were greeted at arrivals by our driver, Antony, and his amazing Mercedes from Positano Travel Service .
During Our 3.5 hour drive to Positano we pulled off at rest stop for the restrooms and food. This was the first of our official Italian food ... We had two incredible sandwiches. We split a caprese and salami sandwich. They were so tasty! The finale of this drive was an incredible route through Sorrento along the winding beginning of the Amalfi coast. The views overlooking each twist and turn were more amazing then the one before. Antony did stop so we could snag a quick pic overlooking Sorrento.
After a full 24hrs of traveling, we finally made it! We were greeted by Paola who showed us to our villa at 2pm (ish) on Tuesday. We met her on the street and followed her down a stone path into the coast, past a boutique hotel and the up some stairs to reach our villa. We had found our villa through this great company that specializes in vacation rentals from places they or their friends have been, Via Travel Design, and they couldn't have been nicer or easier to work with!
Our Villa Casamare is very authentic Italiano. We enter into our villa, off of our veranda through a tall, thin, wooden door (that can only be locked by a key both from the inside and outside). You enter into a modest kitchen with window that open overlooking Priano (a smaller Town nestled into cliff on the other side of the bay). Continuing through the arched wall is a quaint living room with french doors that open to a small balcony with jaw dropping views of the sea. We had to stop to take it in for a minute. Continuing down the hallway (lit up by three wall sconces at night and large porthole like windows during the day these the first full bath (with a washing machine, not that we have any intention of doing laundry while we're here). At the end of the pseudo long hallway is the master bedroom with adjacent master bath. In true honeymoon fashion we have French doors off our bedroom with another small balcony supplying breathtaking views and letting in a delightful sea breeze. Ours is a one bedroom, two bath villa nestled in the coast of Positano.
Our villa has another attached below and the property Is probably a few acres of land up and down the coats with approximately a half dozen other properties, spread out tucked away into their piece of heaven nested in the coast.
After getting settled a bit we hiked (walked is an understatement) down to our pool and continued down to our private beach where Aaron enjoyed a swim in the sea. on our way down we discovered a stunning lookout spot that is just a few steps from our villa. It has a few lounge chairs and a table sets, perfect for enjoying the sunset. It has Panoramic views from Positanao to Priano.
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| unobstructed view of Positano off our villa's balcony |
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| View of Priano from the villa's shared outdoor lounge area |
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| Private Beach with our Italian Villa in Positano, Italy |
We have yet to mention the views here, O.M.G. The views! Breathtaking doesn't do them justice, we keep looking atone another saying we feel like we're living in a postcard or table-top book! Positano, and all these towns along the Amalfi Coast/drive are like nothing we've ever seen before ...Positano is a vertical city, the town is built into the cliff.nits also very private set back in a hidden bay so it's hard to be seen from out at sea, but the views overlooking the sea are crystal clear and endless.
When we had arrived Tiffany had a surprise delivered for Aaron of A sunset snack with local vini, a baguette, some local cheeses and salami (our favorite snack attack!!), so we sat and enjoyed this spread on our veranda and took in our first Italian sunset as hubs and wifey ... It's a perfect day!
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| Positano, Italy Sunset from our veranda |
We walked thru downtown Positano before settling on Buca Di Bacco for dinner. We shared some calamari, spaghetti bolangnese, and a Marguerite pizza. Everything was delicious. After dinner we were so exhausted from our wedding weekend followed by all that traveling that we came home and crashed by 8:30.
What a way to start our honeymoon!
Day 2, Wednesday 10/4/11 ~ We heart Positano, Italy
Aaron was bright eyed and bushy tailed at 7am, whereas Tiff needed to catch upon some serious lack of beauty sleep. Aaron finally woke her up around 10:45am & was anxious to get a move on. He ran out and grabbed some croissants and coca cola lights (as they don't really do coffee to-go around here).
Once we were finally ready to take on the day together we stopped for lunch at the picturesque (well everything is picturesque here) @ Ristaurante Bruno. it's located on our street just as we exit our villa and walk down a few steps towards downtown Positano. The views as you dine alfresco are overlooking the entire town, including the beaches and the entire cove that engulfs Positano. Of course, we both had delicious plates of pasta - one similar to caprese over pasta and one your traditional pasta with tomato sauce and parm. In true Italian form, every meal must be accompanies by the local vini! Se magnifique mmmmmm
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| Pasta with fresh tomatoes, mozzarella and basis at Ristaurante Bruno in Positano, Italy |
We then took a leisurely stroll thru downtown Positano (since the night before we were so tired couldn't have paid me to shop). Positano is a vertical city, literally. Everything is built into the coast and you're either walking up or down, there's no other direction.
Of course, we found a shoe shop that we couldn't pass by without stopping in ... I now own my very fist pair of custom made (yes, I left for the afternoon & picked them up later when they were done) true Italian leather sandals; and obviously Aaron couldn't leave without a new pair of shoes either! Our 1st purchase in Italy, none other then shoes!
We continued to the bottom of downtown where you then reach the beach ... The sea views are purely magical, the water is crystal clear and the sea is calm and seems never ending. There is not sand on the beach here, is all rocks, soft rocks, but rocks nonetheless. We rented to lounge chair under an umbrella because it is so hot here we couldn't bear to roast in the direct sunshine.
After relaxing we shared another gelato - our goal is to have a different flavor every time we enjoy this tasty treat! So far, mission accomplished with chocolate chip. We returned to our villa for our new afternoon tradition - sitting on our veranda with a glass of vini, a baguette with local cheeses and salami while we enjoy the sunset. We cant be in a better state of bliss.
Dinner tonight @ Chez Black started with (an Aaron must of ) muscles, which we dipped bread in the oil - mouth watering, then we splits the baked sea bass and the pasta of day (rose petal pasta with a zucchini sauce and shrimp) accompanied by a local bottle of vini. Off to sleep off our food coma ....
Day 3, Thursday 10/6/11 ~ Capri, Italy
We woke up to another glorious day here in paradise. We enjoyed a quick but very tasty (and free) breakfast at the Hotel Marincanto, which shares the walk way to our villas. We had fresh pastries and bread, and hard boiled eggs and fruit, and of course Italian coffee, while sitting on the patio enjoying the phenomenal morning view over looking the town and out at the sea. We then headed down to the beach as we were to set sail at 9am to Capri for the day.
The tour boat loaded up with about a dozen or so of us tourists and then we were off. It's just shy of an hour by boat from Positano to Capri so once we reached the island the driver took us on a tour around the coast. We saw the Grotta Bianca (white grotto), we drove the boat thru the tiny passage way of the famous Il Faragliono (Capri's landmark rock formation 350' high) - which was so much fun, we thaught driving was aggressive here until we inched thru this tunnel, Aaron and 2 other tourists jumped off the front of the boat and swam thru the Grotta Verde (green grotto). The water was an electric turquoise and so crystal clear, it was so beautiful. We rounded the island and has to see the Gratto Azzura (blue Gratto).
The Gratto Azzura is what Capri is famous for. We read the best time to go is between 10:00am and 1:00pm and we arrived around 10:30 am, perfect time of day. The transition between boats is a bit intense .... Our boat pulled up to a hodge-podge of other tour boats, filled to capacity with people (some looked like there were 100 people smashed in there) all waiting for one of the 2 dozen or so tiny ('seats' 4 people at max) rowboats to come over and take them to pay the fair at the floating station then into the Gratto Azzura (blue Gratto). Since our boat brings tour groups daily we didn't have to wait that long for one of the 'guides' to row over to us. Aaron and I were the first to jump off our boat into the tiny row boat. We were tucked down sitting on the floor of the boat ( of course there are no seats) and another American couple (who were so nice, they were from NY and have 3 kids who are a few years older then us) sat on the other side of th boat. We had to duck as the row boat captain (he had an ore to pull and guide us) pulled us thru the 3' opening into the Gratto Azzura (blue Gratto). When you first enter into the cave it's pitch black, and then you turn around and see the reflections and the water is electrifying .... It's a picturesque shade of bright blue that is beyond anything we had expected. It's just breathtaking. All of the row boats travel thru the Gratto Azzura (blue Gratto) in an Italian sort of logical traffic pattern and you are only inside for a very quick few minutes, if that. All of the row boat 'captains' are singing and it becomes quite the spectacle inside, then you hit a traffic jam of row boats trying to exit thru the same 3' hole we came in thru. I found this video that gives you a sneak peak once you are on the small boat that will take you through. It was quite the whirlwind, but a once in a life tome experience. The row boat 'captain' quickly scooted us back to our boat and he was already onto the nex group.
Our tour boat dropped us off the Marina Grande, which is the main marina on Capri. Once on dry land we took the Finiculare (sort of a hybrid between a gondola and a train, it's on a track and takes you vertically straight up a few hundred feet) to Capri town. We did make the mistake of standing in line not realizing we had to buy tickets ahead of time, whoops, we definitely wont make that mistake again.
The views on the way up are show stopping; we saw a view of the entire Marina and mountainside. Once to Capri town we had to stop and have our picture taken, it was just so beautiful. We walked thru La Piazetta (the main square) and got a great feel for the small town, we walked thru all the quaint touristy shops and ended up finding an authentic pizzeria off one of the side allies. We were the only non- Italians in Pizzeria Ristorante Longano, which was nestled into the cliff side. We each had a mouth watering pizza (quatro formaggio/4cheese and tomato-basil) and a beer and overlooked Capri's famous views. When you order a pizza here in Italy it's not like ordering a personal pizza at home, they are definitely large enough to share with two people, but theres no way we could only settle for one.
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| Lunch at Pizzeria Ristorante Longano in Capri, Italy |
We ended our trip to Capri by finding the perfect open air cafe right on the marina and enjoyed a delicious cappuccino. We sat there relaxing, enjoying our afternoon treat and just took it all in. The magnitude of where we were and what we were doing is something we are completely absorbing and relishing the moments. There were a few options for the boat ride back, so luckily there were only 3 of us twosomes on the boat ride back, including our new friends that we shared the GA ride with. Aaron took a siesta on the ride back while I took in all the magnificent views of the Amalfi Coast from the sea, there's nothing like this anywhere else.
We got back to Positano just in time for our daily sunset snack, another rough evening watching the sunset on our veranda toasting with the bottle of vini the villa owners left us. Then it was off to dinner, down at the beach again, at Le Tre Sorrelle. We split a half bottle of another amazing local vini and buffalo caprese. Despite our good intentions of splitting a fish and pasta dish each night, I had raviolis filled with pumpkin and parmesan .... The thought of them makes my mouth water as they were beyond delicious, not too sweet but just the perfect blend of ingredients. Aaron had a pasta with sausage and pork still on the bone, he ate every last bite.
Day 4, Friday 10/7/11 ~Cooking Class!
It was raining on and off (mostly on) all day on Friday. We had been following the weather so yesterday afternoon we actually prepared for this a bought an umbrella and some sandwiches and pastries to eat in our villa (so we wouldn't have to leave in the rain).
We made the most of our day .... We slept in (which west desperately needed) later then I'd like to acknowledge, ate our breakfast/ lunch that we got the day before and then decided to take a cooking class! The Buca Di Bacco hotel and restaurant offers a two-hour cooking class every afternoon in between lunch a dinner (3:30-5:30pm). When we headed down to BDB, which is all the way thru the town down at the beach, so a good 10-15 minute walk from our villa, of course it was storming. Not thinking twice we had purchased the cheapest, most flamboyant umbrella we could find ... So barely a few steps down the road from our villa on the way to our cooking class our neon rainbow umbrella was uncontrollably turning inside out on us. There was nothing we could do but laugh and hurry on down to the class.
There were 2 other couples, Robin & Michael from Pacific Palisades, CA (within an hour from us back home) and Neal & Maria from Sydney, AUS (we later learned that they were staying in another villa on our grounds), as well as Ms. Alabama (whose actual name i never caught but she was very much from Alabama and whose husband, a retired detective from northern CA, was so glad that other people showed up so he got off the hook from participating) that took the cooking class with us. Chef Andrea was fantastic, but he didn't speak much English so his translator, Michele (Michael), directed us throughout the class. To start they handed us each a small bag with a cookbook of the recipes we were about to make, an apron and chefs hat. We got into character and headed into the kitchen.
The goal for the class was to make eggplant parmesan, home-made pasta in a pesto sauce and home-made gnocchi in a fresh tomato-basil sauce.
Aaron and I got off to a slow start, all we had to do was peel two eggplants each and we were so far behind everyone else it was a bit embarrassing. they then put the eggplants with some rock salt off to the side so the juice would drain while we moved onto the next piece. They pulled out some already boiled potatoes and we cut them in half then pushed them thru a tool similar to a jumbo garlic crusher (pardon my lack of knowledge around the kitchen tools), and filled large pans with the pieces of potatoes for the gnocchi. We pressed all of our dozens of potatoes into one large pan and moved it off to the side to cool. Now it was onto cutting the small tomatoes-on-the-vines into 4 pieces and putting them into a pan with olive oil simmering with garlic to begin our pasta sauce. Then we all separated the good basil from the bad basil leaves and Chef Andrea prepared the pesto sauce. We learned the secret, that's not in the cook book, is to add one small, boiled and peeled potato to your pesto sauce to get a thicker consistency. You don't taste the potato but it certainly thickens the spread. We put the pesto sauce away for our pasta later, but we did each get a sample on a piece of bread and it was delicious! Now back to the eggplant .... The rock salt had forced all the 'acidicy' water drain from the eggplants, and we each rung out the eggplants (yes, rung them out, we literally squeezed all the water out of them), flowered them then deep fried them. I haven't mentioned yet that Michele was very good at making sure glasses of Prosecco never went empty, so by this point we've all had a few glasses and everyone was very having a great time and very friendly.
We then made our eggplant parmesan ..... Starting with a very condensed layer of the fried eggplant, followed by a layer of dehydrated mozzerella cheese and fresh parmesan cheese with fresh basil leaves and the tomato sauce we had been simmering earlier. We did this same layer 3 times before they went into the oven. While the parm was baking we were onto making pasta! The Chef prepared the mixture of two kinds of flower, eggs, milk, pepper and mild seasoning (oregano) ... We each rolled our own sections and cut them up into pieces of pasta! Who knew making home-made pasta would be so easy?! (if only it was that simple at home) We boiled the pasta and in the mean time returned to our now cooled potatoes to finish our gnocchi. We rolled small sections into snake-like rolls and cut the potatoes into half inch pieces. Once we had all of these complete, Chef gave us a tool, a wood block with ridges beveled in it, that we had to delicately (he had to repeat that a few times to me) roll each gnocchi piece down the tool to form their shape. After we all successfully completed this the gnocchi were boiled just like the pasta. We then put our home made pasta into a sauce pan to mix with our pesto sauce and piled the gnocchi with our tomato sauce and the dehydrated mozzarella. It was just after 5:30 now so our class was coming to end, but the reward was that now we were able to sit and eat all of our hard work.
As we were finishing up and snapping some pics with the Chef Aaron was taking a photo for our new CA friends and as he was backing up knocked a champagne glass off the counter and it shattered everywhere. Oops someone had to have a little party foul.
This is way too early to eat dinner in Italy, the restaurants don't get busy until around 8pm, so they set the best table in the house for the 8 of us (Ms. Alabama's husband joined us) .... It was right along the water and they had plenty of both white and red wine flowing for us (after all the Prosecco during the cooking). They served us each an overwhelming plate piled high with all 3 dishes we had just mastered.
As we all devoured or plates one was better then the next. Each was uniquely tasty and despite that neither of us is a huge eggplant lover the eggplant parmesan was so delicious ...the freshness of all the ingredients comes thru in the unique flavors that overcomes your taste buds and you just cant help yourself from stopping. The 8 of us became super friendly and we got to chatting and learn more about each other and share stories. After we finished our meal no one was ready to leave so we had a few more bottles of vini delivered to the table. There was some big Madonna festival taking place this eve, so after mass at 7 a parade comes down thru the town and ends with fireworks at the beach. We lucked out as we had front row seats to the fireworks spectacular.
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| Fireworks celebrating the Madonna festival in Positano, Italy |
As the night went on so did our empty glasses. We learned that Mr. & Mrs. Alabama were retired and had been traveling the world for the past 32 days. They were off to Sorrento the next morning, so they were the first to call it a night. Our Aussie friends had been here for 3 weeks already and had eloped in Rovello (a few towns down the coast) and were finally heading home the next morning so they were the next to bid arrivaderchi. And then there were two (couples that is) ...
The restaurant had really filled in over the course of the eve and since we lost half our party and were taking up prime space in the middle if the restaurant, the super friendly staff gave us a bottle of vini to move our table. We would've done it just because but we'll take a free bottle anytime. We really enjoyed our new friends (who are practically our neighbors back home) and we continued chatting the night away, they're a few years older then us and have two kids, a 3 year old daughter and 6 year old son, she's from the east coast, NJ, and he's born and raised in CA, they were relatible, personable, and really easy going. They're celebrating their 10 year anniversary and had spent the beginning on their trip on Capri. We ended our eve with gelato (and I had another new flavor - hazelnut and pistachio, random combo but oh so tasty).
Day 5, Saturday 10/8/12 ~ Montepertuso, Italy & Oktoberfest, Positano Style
This morning was still supposed to be gloomy, so we capitalized on that and slept in again. By the time we got up it was another beautiful sunny day. We open our french doors every morning and just stare out in awe over the views. We walked just slightly up the hill and enjoyed some coffee and pastries and a tiny cafe with a few tables set up to take in the views. This is the time of day we just look across the table at each other and just take it all in.
We decided to take the local bus up to the town above Positano called Montepertuso. It's a good 20-25 minute bus ride so you're way up there. We got a late start and caught the 2:20pm bus up there so by the time we arrived we walked into the recommend restaurant, Il Ritrovo, for lunch and there was only one other couple eating. And it happened to be our new friends, Robin and Michael. What a fun coincidence. The views are the reason to come to Montepertuso. You feel like you're up in the clouds it's so high, yet the views to below are so crystal clear. We definitely got a few photos in while we dined on more pasta and Aaron had a seafood platter of calamari, prawns and fried anchovies.
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| View of the sea from Il Ritrovo in Montepertuso, Italy |
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| seafood platter of calamari, prawns and fried anchovies from Il Ritrovo in Montepertuso, Italy |
I don't know if it's that all the local ingredients are so fresh or that every dish is made from scratch, maybe it's the water, but time and time again the food is just insanely delicious. I joked about eating my way thru Italy, but that's exactly what we've been doing and loving every bite of it!
We learned that Positano was having and Oktoberfest and pizza show that night, so we got really excited. We parted ways with our new buddies, went back ton our villa to relax then headed back into town and did some shopping before enjoying our sunset snack. Tonight we splurged for Prosecco and loved every bubble. As we were toasting we could hear live music coming from below so we headed down to Oktoberfest.
Oktoberfest here in Positano was a definite Italian spin on Oktoberfest. It was mobbed with Italians (we were trying to figure out where they had all come from there we so many). We bought our food tickets, grabbed a beer then waited in line for pizza. We have food trucks at home and this was the most unique food truck we've ever seen .... A small pick up truck had a brick oven on the back just for making pizzas! It was plenty big as there was a constant flow of pizzas in and out. We grabbed our pizza and beer and sat by the band. There was no one dresses up in a chicken costume and no Irish music at all, but rather all hip-hop, both American & Italian. The children were having a blast dancing in the middle of it all. The part that felt very much like you typical Oktoberfest were the people fighting for beer. The only had two kegs to serve everyone, so you cant do much other then have patience ... Apparently no one else saw it this way. People were pushing and forcefully and rude ... It was comical. At one point this much old woman in line behind me pushed her way thru and gave the men pouring the beer quite the attitude (from what we could understand). The guys pouring stopped, looked at the lady and gave it right back. What an experience.
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| Making pizzas from scratch about to go in the mobile brick oven |
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| The packed crowd at Positano's Oktoberfest |
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| Enjoying a panini and beer while in line waiting for pizza ... only at Oktoberfest in Italy! |
On our way back up through the town to head back to our villa we ran into Robin and Michael again. They were sitting finishing up their dinner (Oktoberfest was a bit too much for them) and watching the festivities from afar. So we sat and joined them for a bit and had another nee flavor of gelato (white chocolate and nutella with strawberries and cream mmmmmmm) before we called it a night.
Day 6, Sunday 10/9/11 ~ Sorrento, Italy
Today was a cooler day in paradise, so we decided to postpone our planned tour of the coast by sea to a warmer day. Since we were up at a normal hour we enjoyed another light breakfast (which we need after all the pizza and pasta we've been devouring) at the neighboring Hotel Marincanto, of hard boiled eggs (whites), fresh Bread, fruit, yogurt, and, of course, delicious pastries with a side of delish Italian coffee. The concierge at the Hotel Marincanto has been so helpful all week, so over breakfast we decided to head to Sorrento for the day. The concierge gave us the bus schedule and the advice of where to buy our bus tickets, which unless someone tells you, they're virtually impossible to find yourself, and if you didn't buy them in advance you either can't get in the bus or you pay an extra fee . We had to buy these tickets in the tiny gas station up the hill from us on the way to the bus stop.
It was an hour bus ride from Positano to Sorrento and the bus, although much bigger then the in-town buses, is quite cramped and they fill it until there's no more standing room. Luckily we got two seats together close to the front ... I barely had any leg room, so you can imagine how uncomfortable Aaron was. The bus ride along the Amalfi drive is one for the bucket list ... With twists and turns every few feet you sometimes feel like you're on a ride, until you stop to look out at the views again. The cliffs are very steep, so instead of looking down, we just always look out.
Sorrento is the first city that begins the Alamfi Coast (it's the furthest north and closest to Naples), and it's also one of the biggest. The bus dropped us off in the center of city and we just meandered through all the main streets and alleys, filled with overlapping rows of shops and deceptively big restaurants. We were just looking for a light lunch and ate at Sedile Dominova. I had a salami panino and Aaron had a rocket pizza (cheese, arugula and tomatoes) and again we were ear to ear enjoying every last bite! As were leaving the owner stopped me, gave me a flower, and posed for a picture with before before I got the double Italian kiss on the cheek.
We continued our leisurely stroll through Sorrento and stumbled across this beautiful entrance to what looked like a private estate or hotel of some sort with a beautiful flower trellis. So, we walked through and it was a beautiful huge garden trail that ended overlooking the sea. It was so such a hidden gem. We took some photos and spent some time enjoying it's beauty.
We finished our afternoon with nothing other than gelato! And, we fortunately stumbled upon a famous gelato shoppe with unlimited flavor combinations of pure gelato heaven.
The bus back to Positano was really delayed, so we had made from friends while waiting and decided to split a cab with them back. The cab ride took half the time of the bus ride. When we got back we just relaxed, hopped up the hill to our favorite little cafe stop to snack on some pastries and coffee. Before dinner we finished our bottle of Prosecco from the night before and decided to splurge for our 'fancy' dinner at Ristaurante Max.
It was around 9pm by the time we made it there and the deceptively large, but quaintly authentic, true Italian restaurant was packed, it was the first night we actually needed a reservation. So we stood and waited with a glass of vine (which is very uncommon here, not like home at all. The restaurants don't have bar areas where you sit and wait, in fact we were the only two standing and waiting for a table). We were not disappointed .... There were about a dozen or so tables set in the cove to the left of the entrance, the outdoor patio was closed as it was super windy and not all that warm, and the rest of the tables continued straight through the restaurant and continued around the corner. We had to walk down a flight of stairs to reach the restaurant so there was a spacious, yet cellar feel to the place. We were sat at a two person table set off in the cover area to the left. All of the bread in the bread basket was exceptionally fresh and the chef had every table sample his ricotta cheese puffs, one bite and we were smitten. We ordered only from their special menu ....calamari, lasagna and the seafood pasta. We couldn't pick a favorite not matter how hard we tried. We haven't been lacking in the great food department this week, but this meal at Ristaurante Max was the best we've had. We couldn't stop ourselves and finished with the tiramisu, the perfect finale to this savory meal.
Day 7, Monday 10/10/11 ~ San Pietro Hotel in Positano, Italy
Our last full day in Positano, and Italy for that matter. After another delightful breakfast at the Hotel Marincanto we were supposed to set sail for a three-hour tour of the Amalfi Coast by sea, which then drops you off in Amalfi for the afternoon. We had an unusually windy night last night and unfortunately the sea was too rough today to take our the small tour boat, but that's ok, we decided to spend the day just relaxing ... we'll just do that next time!
We grabbed our books and lounged on the chairs on the overlook next to our veranda. It's so peaceful and quiet and the views aren't that bad either .... Shockingly we were hungry again, so we walked past downtown and up the winding street that leads into the main square. We felt we had to work up some sort of appetite since we had just been lounging all day. We stopped for lunch at Cafe La Zagara. We had stopped in earlier during the week and grabbed some take-away as they call it locally, buy hadn't experienced their outdoor deck. It was nestled away from the street and surrounded by an abundance of flowers on all sides, including above you. The open-air 'ceiling' was lined with trellis after trellis of really pretty foliage. The wine was cheaper then both the water and coca cola light so we figured why not. We each enjoyed a glass of red vino with our calzones (mine mozzarella and tomatoes and Aaron added eggplant to his).
After lunch we got picked up by the San Pietro Hotel shuttle. The travel group we booked our villa thru highly recommend having a drink on the terrace here and to just enjoy the view (celebs vaca here). The San Pietro Hotel is just outside of town so we hadn't made much of an effort to get there this week until today. And we we so glad we did. When we pulled up we didn't quite know where to go, the valet concierges had to direct us to the hidden elevator, which we then realized how every piece of the San Pietro Hotel was built into cliff. We got off the elevator and the lobby wad just magnificent, it was very elegant and very grand. There was no detail overlooked. It was really quiet this time of day and only one other couple was sitting out on the terrace. The terrace was exceptionally large, the biggest one we've encountered. It extended out almost above the cliff side so the views of Positano and out to sea were so exquisite and panoramic. We perched on of the benches that was built in along the edge and sipped on a glass of Prosecco and just enjoyed the serenity of it all.
It really has been such a perfect honeymoon.
For our last dinner in Italy we wanted to enjoy the beach one last time so we had dinner at La Cambusa, the only waterfront dining we hadn't eaten at all week. For our last dinner in Italy we shared a half bottle of red vine (love those half bottles, they're just the cutest) and caprese. not sure what came over me, but the menu was quite overwhelming and the thing that stood out was the seafood risotto and Aaron ordered the tube pasta and muscles. I don't really know what I was thinking in ordering something with seafood in the title ... As much as I love my select fish, there's also a ton I don't like, some based purely on look and texture and how much work you have to do to eat them. So when my risotto arrived with muscles and oysters still in their shells and the 'tentically' squids, Aaron ended up with more of mine in his pasta then left in my risotto. That said I had a tasty risotto with shrimp (remaining) and Aaron enjoyed his as well.
For whatever reason we didn't get gelato, but I did end up at the bakery and was so happy. I went home with a jumbo cookie; 'u' shaped almost to the point where it completed a circle but each end was dipped in chocolate and the middle was filled with a light layer of apricot spread. I love the pastries here!
Day 8, Tues 10/11/11 ~ Ciao Italia, Hola Barcelona
Our last morning in Italy. So sad. It was the perfect place for our honeymoon ... A picturesque, charming authentic beach town in Italy.
We read the following quote by John Steinbeck (who wrote about Positano from the Hotel Sirenuese, which happened to be a few steps away from where we were staying) ... "Positano bites deep. It is a dream place that isn't quite real when you are there and becomes becomingly real after you have gone." We really tried to not let this happen to us, so we soaked in each and every day we were there and really submerged ourselves into this effortlessly enchanting way of life. We didn't take one view, or one taste for granted.
We enjoyed one last breakfast on the terrace at the adjacent Hotel Marinto while enjoying every ray of sunshine that reflected off the sea. The view was more beautiful each day.
Our driver from Positano Travel Service picked us up for an hour and a half drive along the Amalfi Coast and we stared at the the views the entire way to the Naples Airport. It's a quick flight over the sea to Barcelona and before we knew it we had gone from a quiet, quaint small beach town into the midst of an energetic city.
As you found out, Italy is one of the best countries for getting to know new foods. For that we made a Venice Food Tour, which showed us great places and Restaurants in Venice.
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