Friday, August 3, 2012

Positano and the Amalfi Coast Bus

One of the things all four of us were looking forward on this trip was seeing the Amalfi Coast, especially Positano. One of the things we were looking forward to least was the bus ride, especially after the queasy ride to Sant'Agata a few days ago. Up until breakfast this morning we were still considering spending about 120 Euro on a round trip ferry to avoid the bus. Luckily, Valerio, our host at the Villa convinced us to take the bus.



We had breakfast at 7:30 and then rushed out to try and catch the 8:30 bus. Lori made fun of me for making her hurry when drinking her cappuccino, but changed her tune a bit when we just made the bus and got the last 3 seats. Michael sat on her lap in the front, while Abby and I sat in separate seats in the back. She was right in front of me sitting an older local woman. I was glowing with pride as she talked with the woman who spoke Italian and German, but very little English for most of the ride. That's the kind of experience I really wanted for the kids this trip.

Shockingly to us, nobody felt the least bit sick after the ride. We didn't get many of the much hyped views because we were on the wrong side of the bus, but we exited without losing our breakfasts, so we were happy.

The bus to Positano drops you at the very top of the town, which is built on the side of a cliff next to the sea. One of the locals who got off the bus with us suggested that we take and stairs we find down instead of following the road. He also offered to take a picture of the four of us (the one above).












Along the walk down there were plenty of views that were almost too amazing to comprehend. It didn't look anything like the Grand Canyon, but I had a similar feeling of awe as when I saw that for the first time.









When we got down to the beach, we found our way to bathrooms that cost .50 Euro to use. We changed into our bathing suits and made our way to the public beach.










We spread out the towels we had borrowed from the Villa, locked our bags with a combination travel lock we brought, and went swimming in the Mediterranean for the first time.















One of the coolest things on the trip so far was looking back as I floated in the water at the houses hugging the cliffs, and the rocky peaks that were so high that clouds were forming around them.




After hanging out on the beach for a couple of hours, it started to get a little crowded, so we left to explore the town. First we put shorts and shirts on and walked along the beach.












Then we walked back up the hill a bit to find a cheaper lunch. We ended up picking up a few panini and pizza slices, and picnicking on the steps of the town church.













The inside of the church looked incredible, but we didn't think we were dressed appropriately to go in, so we didn't. We walked back down to the bathrooms, payed our .50 Euro each, and changed back into our original clothes. We stopped in the Tourist Information office to figure out where to catch the internal bus that would take us back up to the SITA bus stop.









We explored the town until we were roasting, and then bought great fruit slushies. The cantaloupe one I got was fantastic with real bits of melon in it. Then we headed back up to the top of town, where we caught the next bus back to Sorrento. There were only 3 other people on that bus, so we got seats in the front and on the left, where we got the amazing views we missed in the morning. No queasiness on the return trip, either, which only took about 1/2 hour.



For the rest of the afternoon, we relaxed by the pool. Just as we were about to leave for dinner we ran into my one sister and brother-in-law who were returning from their excursion. We waited for them to shower, and then walked in to town with my parents and them for dinner. As we were walking down the hill we ran into my other sister and her husband who were on their way back to the Villa. With the whole crew together, we found a trattoria in town, had dinner, and then continued our tradition of having gelato every night.

Tomorrow morning, the kids are going on a tram tour of Sorrento with Mimi and Bapu, while the three siblings and our spouses are taking a bus to a trailhead that leads to an abandoned Roman Villa and swimming hole on Capo del Punto.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Via Sant'Antonio,,Italy

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