Saturday, February 6, 2016

Exploring Ravello

Day 15-
Our second day in Positano, it was overcast and drizzling so we decided to take the Sita bus to see the sequential towns. We started in Ravello, which is another town up on a hill with amazing views of the ocean. We found the most picturesque alleyways on the streets of Ravello, and Ryan subsequently took way too many photos of me. Next, we headed to the town of Amalfi, where we accidentally found a calzone with salsiccia e cime di rapa-- something Vanessa recommended that she could not remember the English word for, but likened to "sour spinach". Turns out broccoli rabe DOES taste an awful lot like sour spinach, and not in a good way either.

On the bus ride back to Positano, we got off when we spotted the most beautiful little beach to our right. We ended up having the Fiordo di Furore entirely to ourselves since it was a little wet and not at all sunny. Other than the Italian fishermen who were heading out to catch the next day's meal, we literally had the place to ourselves and it really could not have been more magical. After dark, we headed back to the main road and waited what seemed like hours for the next bus to arrive. We kind of thought after a while that we would be forced to walk along that narrow little road that winds between the coasts of those towns so we were very relieved when a bus did finally come. But I didn't go without entertainment while we waited-- Ryan was oh so generous to serenade me with his infamous Otis renditions, and I felt right at home.

Monday, February 1, 2016

Getting to Amalfi

Day 13-
Of all the places we travelled to, figuring out how to get to Amalfi without hiring a private charter was by far the most difficult. We had a flight to Naples, a shuttle to the train station, a train to Sorrento, and a bus to Positano. A full day of travelling but with a little research on the front end and two weeks of experience with European transportation, we made it to our private hostel with an ocean view from the balcony without a hitch.

Day 14-
Our first day in Amalfi, we took a boat to Capri, which turned out to be a much different experience than we were expecting. As the boat pulled away, the sky darkened and the wind picked up and we were beginning to wonder if we were actually going to make it to the island. We (along with about a dozen other passengers) huddled close under our jackets and tried not to worry. Miraculously, as the boat pulled up to Capri, the clouds parted and we had blue skies and sunshine for the rest of the day. The only down side was that we were not able to take many pictures from sea like we were hoping to. We shared a cab to the top of the mountain so we could enjoy the view, walked around the crowded island, sneaking down all the alleyways, enjoyed some pasta and gelato, and then got back on the boat for a better-late-than-never tour around Capri. The water was still a little too rough to stop at the usual swimming spots and the rain had brought with it cooler weather. Yet when they found a cove that was calm enough to anchor, the turquoise water was too great a temptation to resist. By the time we made it back to Positano, and hiked up the what seemed like miles of stairs to our room, it was all we could do to stay awake for dinner at the little restaurant next door.

Friday, January 15, 2016

All the cliches

Day 12-
On Monday, we woke up early and ventured to the Eiffel tower to try to beat the crowds. It was already too late for that but we found a place to grab some breakfast anyways and ate on the lawn. We decided it was imperative to have our photos taken in front of the tower, and while we were snapping away, a small man tried to sneak away with our satchel. It was our one and only "pick-pocketing" type experience while we were in Europe and since he didn't actually get away with anything, we thought it was actually rather funny. 

After breakfast, we went in search of the best cup of hot chocolate, according to one of our waitresses in London. It was near the Arc de Triomphe, which is a lovely architectural masterpiece that sits in the middle of a roundabout on quite a busy street. We talked about how interesting it would be to drive by such a beautiful, historic monument on your way to work every day.

We made our way back to the Louvre, since we had only seen the outside when we were with Vanessa and Remi. We covered as much ground as we could, making sure to see some of the most famous paintings housed there. It was a bit like herding cattle when we got to the Mona Lisa but we made it. We thought it a bit odd that in a massive museum full of some of the world's greatest art, this one tiny painting draws so much attention compared to the rest. We joined the herd anyways.

For supper, we dined with our hosts at one of their favorite restaurants and ordered what they recommended. We trusted their judgement wholeheartedly since our two favorite meals in Paris were both the home cooked meals they shared with us. We walked home through the streets at night, hand-in-hand, and laughed with our instant kindreds-- a magical evening and our last in Paris.