Italy 2012 – Pompei and the Amalfi Coast
We did manage to fall back asleep this morning, but not until about 7:30am and we had to wake up again by about 8:15. We made it, and had a fabulous breakfast at the restaurant. Omeletes, lox, yogurt, fresh-baked bread with local preserves, fresh fruit, and the most flavorful drip coffee we’ve ever experienced. Strong bacon favors, with a light smokiness. It was so thick I was scared to drink more than a few sips for fear I’d be wired the rest of the day, but overcaffeination did not appear to be one of the side effects of this magical new coffee.
After breakfast, we met our driver, Giuseppe, at the hotel. He took us to Pompei, where he had also pre-arranged a guide for us. We spent about two hours there, but we easily could have spent an entire week without seeing or learning everything about it. The technology was fascinating, as was the political and geological history. Pompei was an established city for hundreds of years until it suffered a severely damaging earthquake in I think 62AD. Just 17 years later, it was buried.
It was 12:30 by the time we were done at Pompei, and we headed to Ravello. It’s a town built into the upper hillside on the Sorrento side of the mountains. We shopped at a very sizable ceramic store, then had lunch at what our driver described as an Italian Mama restaurant. The food was good, although I thought my pasta was over salted, if there is such a thing. Rich disagreed, so maybe it was just pregnancy playing with me. Either way, we had a nice lunch, then spent some time walking around the town. There’s an old castle that the city is built in and around. Various different buildings in the city were built at different times (as in different centuries), and it’s fascinating to see how the pieces all (sort of) fit together. There was also a long pedestrian Via that may have gone all the way down the mountain to the coast if we’d followed it that far.
Next was a drive through Amalfi, although we didn’t stop there. The town was big, and plainly geared toward tourism. If I were in a shopping mood I would have wanted to stop, but just driving through was fine. Our driver lived in the next town, Positano, and he said we should spend more time there instead. I think he meant we should spend our money there instead. Either way, the Italians we’ve met so far have a lot of local pride, which is fun. They’re also extremely friendly – and not just the people trying to sell you things. They’re genuinely very friendly people, at least from what we’ve seen.
We took a stroll through Positano, but didn’t end up buying anything there. But the town was very nice, and we easily could have spent at least an entire day strolling around it. We forgot where we were supposed to meet the driver, so we found his office and asked for him there. The other drivers greeted us very warmly, and we found cups of Limoncello in our hands almost immediately. Then we waited for a bit while they tried to call the Rome airport for us because my iPad claims to still be there. But, after 2 days of calling, we still can’t find the right number for British Airways in Rome. Everything we try either gets us through to London (only to confirm multiple times that only BA Rome can help us), or the number we call does not exist. So frustrating! My iPad is so close, yet so far away.
Anyway, after some friendly refreshments and help from the other drivers, we headed back to our hotel. On the way out of town, the driver pointed out his house and his wife was on the deck waving.
Now we’re in the bar, taking advantage of the Internet while we wait to call Mo at 9pm. We have dinner reservations at 9:30, and even though we planned to go to town for what is apparently the best meter of pizza we’ll ever have, we’ll do that tomorrow evening. Tomorrow is Capri day!
Update: Here’s a map of our trip! Italy Trip: Pompei & Amalfi Coast by indieradiochic at Garmin Connect – Details
