With a great visit to Bordeaux behind us we flew to Naples where we were so psyched to meet Nikki and her awesome BFF Nicole at an AirBnb – our jumping off point for a trip to Southern Italy.
Quick note about discount flyers like Easy Jet. Make sure to check the luggage allowances! Some Easy Jet tix allow one piece of checked luggage (some don’t), but our allowance was only for 15kg per person, not the usual 23kg, ouch! So, upgrade online to avoid the high charges at the airport.
Naples is an intense city with tons of action everywhere. We met Nikki and Nicole at Palazzo Carafe Della Spina. That’s a very fancy name for a vacation rental apartment directly in the middle of the old city – also known as the Centro Storico. [http://www.booking.com/Share-eQq1xA]. Perfectly adequate and clean place if you are looking for two bedrooms (one is a loft) and two bathrooms for under $100. And the manager, Maria, is very nice and awesome. After our ride to Positano fell through, she quickly arranged another one. And was great with suggestions for restaurants. The Centro Storico is actually really cool, but one night in Naples was plenty for us.
Positano is a pretty magical place. Very hard for mortals to describe in writing, so I’ll give you a bit of a guy named Steinbeck.
“Positano bites deep. It’s a dream place that isn’t quite real when you are there and becomes beckoningly real after you have gone. Its houses climb a hill so steep it would be a cliff except that stairs are cut into it. I believe that most house foundations are vertical, in Positano they are horizontal. The small curving bay of unbelievably blue and green water laps gently on a beach of small pebbles. There is only one narrow street and it does not come down to the water. Everything else is stairs, some as steep as ladders. You do not walk to visit a friend, you either climb or slide.” – J. Steinbeck. For more Steinbeck on Positano go to: https://sirenuse.it/media/57085/Steinbeck.pdf
This enchanted village is built directly into a steep hillside above the Tyrrehenian Sea – that’s what the Mediterranean is sometimes called on the west coast of Italy. It’s very possible to get a place that requires walking down literally hundreds of steps to the sea. And, of course, hundreds back up. The steps were supposedly built uneven to ward off enemies back in the day. Not sure I believe that. But, if you want the best location in Positano, check out Villa Costanzo. It’s a two bedroom, one and one-half bath VRBO [http://www.villacostanzo.com] just 12 steps from the beach. Kitchen and dining room as well. And best of all – an amazing view. We thoroughly enjoyed our stay in this place.
Positano is loaded with quaint walking paths and little streets lined with boutiques – great linen and jewelry. Shawn, Nikki and Nicole did quite a bit of damage here. I might have done a bit of shopping myself. 😉 There are also a ton of excellent restaurants.
Two of our favorite restaurants were Chez Black [http://www.chezblack.it] – a Positano institution that is right on the beach – and Ristorane Max [http://www.ristorantemax.it]. Chez Black has great pizzas, pasta and seafood and is a terrific place to see and be seen – awesome people watching! Max is a combo art gallery/restaurant and is much more of a fine dining experience. The food at Max, however, is excellent. Probably the highest quality dining we had in Positano.
Another great place is La Tagliata [https://www.latagliata.com]. It’s built into the very top of the cliffs above town. Way, way up there! If you call them, they will send a bus to pick you up. The ride up is pretty scary. Views from the bus windows make you feel like you’re flying as you traverse the impossibly narrow streets clinging to the mountainside.
Tagliata is not “fine dining”, but authentic and high quality – owned and operated by an Italian family – and really, really good. They are very friendly and ask you only two questions. Where are you from? And, do you want red or white wine? Then the food just starts coming – and coming. Best to arrive here on an empty stomach or you won’t get through the first 30 minutes of this two and a half hour feast. It’s a fixed menu – with lots of vegetarian mixed in. The friendly waiters just keep bringing more dishes. Anti-pasta, pasta, cheese, veggies, breads, meats – all kinds – and loads of desserts. All you can eat and drink for 40 euro per person. And an amazing view! Very fun!
The road along the Amalfi Coast – AKA the Amalfi Drive – is a marvel of engineering and is arguably the most spectacular road in Europe. It’s built directly into the cliffs, hundreds of feet above the sea. Tour busses, cars and motorcycles all fight for position on the ultra-tight curves. Years ago, Shawn and I made the mistake of renting motor scooters with our pre-teen girls for a “fun” trip down the coast. Pro tip – this is a bad idea and an example of poor parenting 🤔.
But if you really want to see the coast – and you do really want to see the coast – you have to rent a boat. I can’t emphasize this strong enough. You must rent a boat! One of my top 10 favorite things to do in the world is to rent a boat in Positano on a sunny day.
On the beach you’ll find several kiosks where you can rent boats and buy tickets for the ferries to Capri and other coastal towns. We rented at a kiosk is called Lucibello. It’s not inexpensive – was 600 euro for 8 hours – but oh so worth it. We were blessed with a glorious sunny day and a cool breeze. Our captain Roberto took us for the slow ride down the coast from Positano to Amalfi. The water is bluest you’ll see anywhere and the scenery is other-worldly.
We pulled in for a terrific lunch at La Tonarella [http://www.ristorantelatonnarella.com/en/storia/]. Apparently Jackie “O” used to come here for a special pasta with courgettes (that’s zucchini). It was delicious. Also great just to watch big groups of Italians have a lunch. It always sounds like they are arguing – until they bust out laughing.
Positano is a place that you must see. But, in my opinion, it is much more “touristy” than when we visited about 10 years ago. Our sense was that many more busses of visitors are being jammed into town than before. It doesn’t ruin the experience – especially if you get a boat – but it’s something to be aware of just so you can set your expectations accordingly.
Next stop – Puglia.
Hi You 2. once again great pictures and dialog. I t bought back many memories of the part of the world. Thanks for doing this.
Ernie