The Amalfi Coast

For the second part of our Italy vacation, we spent a week exploring Naples and the beautiful Amalfi Coast. The coast, along the Gulf of Selerno, is dotted with picturesque villages clinging to mountains that plunge into the sea. This is the type of scenery we'd be seeing all week:

We weren't kidding that this place is beautiful!

But first, we had to make our way there from Rome. We bid adieu to David's parents and Paul's family, and took a taxi to the train station, stopping for lunch again at Mercato Centrale. Our train to Naples was about 15 minutes delayed, but once we boarded it was a fast and comfortable trip. Arriving in Naples, we met up with Giuseppe, the driver arranged by our AirBnB. There are a few ways to get from Naples to Praiano, the village we'd be staying in. Most involved transfers between buses and ferries, or renting a car and driving on the narrow winding cliff-side roads. So we opted for the driver as the easiest option.

The area immediately near the Naples train station isn't great, it's kind of grungy, but the city is in the middle of a construction project to spruce up the main plaza in front of the station. It's not the best introduction to Naples, but when we returned a few days later we ended up loving the city. Leaving towards the South, we passed Mount Vesuvius. It was a dramatic sight seeing the volcano rising above the city and the coast. We'd be back in a few days to tour Pompeii. As we continued toward the Amalfi Coast, the road got narrower and we passed through a few tunnels. The final stretch, highway SS163, is a narrow road that winds along the coastal cliffs. The views are astounding, and the oncoming buses are terrifying. This road is not for the faint of heart (or the easily nauseated)! We'd have plenty of experience on this road throughout the next few days, on buses and on foot.

Pizza lunch at Mercado Centrale at Roma Termini.

Christina and David E with their last Roman lunch.

This is what the train stations typically look like. Always bustling.

This is actually a pretty wide part of the road on the Amalfi Coast. It's a narrow and winding route.

The Amalfi Coast is a UNESCO world heritage site, and it's really pretty. Our AirBnB was in Praiano, a wonderfully quiet town. In total we spent four nights here enjoying the sea, the sun and the food. We liked all the towns we visited on the Amalfi Coast, but some of the cities (especially Positano and Amalfi) get absolutely slammed with tourists. Praiano was a nice change of pace, with an unassuming main square with local kids playing soccer, and no huge hotels or gimmicky tourist shops. There's not much to do except enjoy the sunset over a shot of limoncello, and that's exactly the point. There are a few roads the wind up the mountain, but you have to do a lot of walking and climb a lot of stairs to get around anywhere on the coast. Our apartment was 111 steps up from the street level. A porter helped us carry our bags up when we arrived. All of the stair climbing helps to keep people fit. Our apartment was lovely, with a balcony and a couple of terraces with amazing views down to the sea, the church, and over to neighboring Positano.

Steps up to our AirBnB. We went up and down these 111 steps at least 20 times.

What a view to have from your living room!

Our back terrace, complete with outdoor shower.

Our front terrace.

The first evening we mostly just settled in. We took a short walk down to the Mediterranean, passing through the church piazza. It was 601 steps down... then back up. The pedestrian pathway to the sea wound past whitewashed houses and a couple of small bars and restaurants, ending at a small rocky beach and dock. We enjoyed a beautiful sunset, then had dinner at a restaurant overlooking the church. Seafood is the specialty of the region, so we had a mixed platter with mussels, clams, octopus, squid, scallops, and shrimp. The finale was a complementary digestif of delicious melon liquor.

Parrocchia di San Gennaro - the main church and square in Praiano.

There were a lot of fish and squid art on the pedestrian paths around town.

The path down to the beach.

Almost there!

Most of the Amalfi Coast is very rocky. Not great for swimming, but the views are amazing.

We caught the sunset from near the beach.

Stairs everywhere. Bonus rowboat guy.

Sunset from a seaside terrace with a tiny bar.

From Praino, you can see the sunset over the island of Capri.

Can't get enough of those Amalfi sunsets! Praino is the best place to watch them, since it faces west.

Back to the church. Only 111 more stairs up to the apartment from here. The area with the green umbrellas is where we ate dinner.

All kinds of seafood.

The moon and the church dome.

The next day we woke up and decided to tackle the Path of the Gods. This trail climbs up over Praiano and follows the ridge before ending in Nocelle, a little town just east of Positano. The trail is a must do if you're in this part of the world. The views are amazing! It's a Mediterranean version of our experience on the Kalalau Trail in Hawai'i. Most of the trail isn't too strenuous, it just takes a lot of work to get up to the ridge before the few kilometer walk along at the top.

Immediately after exiting the trail there was a vendor selling Italian Ice (granita). Lots of people stopped there to hydrate after the long and warm walk. From here you can either catch a bus or walk down a million stairs to the main road and then finish last 1 or 2 km on foot to Positano. There was a friendly older Italian gentleman who didn't speak English directing people to bus or road from behind his gate in a sunlit garden. Every woman that he spoke to he called bella. Players gonna play! We went by foot, but would probably recommend taking the bus - walking along the main road isn't fun.

Buongiorno, Praiano!

Positano in the distance. We were going to hike there today.

Most of the trail looked like this. Beautiful juxtaposition of sky and sea.

Usually no hand-rail, but mostly not necessary. Paul's taking a lean.

Praiano below. The hardest part of the hike was getting UP here.

David sporting his Roma shirt. A mistake in Campania.

There were lots of flowers along the trail this time of year.

Path of the Gods Buddies!

Positano is getting closer.

There were quite a few goats up along the trail. This one just stole someone's lunch on a picnic table!

Granita shop in Nocelle that does gang-buster business.

Beautiful Positano on the Amalfi Coast.

After the long hike we were starving. We found a restaurant with views that overlooked the city and the sea. Paul and I got boozy banana drinks! After lunch we walked around town for a while and souvenir shopped. Positano is much busier and more commercial than Praiano. The sidewalks were packed with tourists. After an hour or so we got some gelato and waited for a bus back to Praiano.

Picture-perfect day in Positano.

The beach from our restaurant.

Lunch crew!

Quite possibly the prettiest caprese salad ever made. The buffalo mozzarella in Campania was to die for.

Plants and pottery are meticulously displayed everywhere on the Amalfi Coast.

Tourist strip in Positano.

Steps, shade and sun.

Chiesa di Santa Maria Assunta in Positano.

After returning to Praiano we decided to go down to the beach again. Cue 600 step voyage down to the water number two! Today we decided we'd actually swim a bit. The water was on the cool side, probably around 70°F. The beach is very rocky, and not the best place for people with delicate feet. Christina queened out a little bit about the cool water and slimy rocks. David E., being a solution-focused guy, turned some rocks over for her so she could stand on the non-slimy side. Princess. On the way back up at sunset, we stopped by a bar and had some Amalfi Mojitos (made with lemon instead of lime). The mint comes from their own little garden. Very cute!

Enjoying an Amalfi Mojito (with local lemons and mint) while watching the sunset.

The evening lighting was amazing every day we were here.

Yet another beautiful sunset from Praiano.

That evening we just got some groceries and cooked at home. We made a salad with chicken and tomatoes. Paul accidentally tripped a fuse and we learned that some of the vacation homes have fuse boxes both inside the house and out on the street! We had to call our host to tell us how to find the box. Interestingly, anyone walking down the sidewalk could at any time turn off our electricity...kinda odd. Next stop, Capri!

Arrivederci, Roma!

Like all good things, our time in Rome eventually came to an end. You can catch up on our adventures earlier in the week and look at the google map we created to plan our time:

Benvenuti a Roma

Exploring the Vatican

Family Cooking Class

Classical Rome

Museums, Catacombs, Churches and Baths

Google map of sites in Rome

This post covers our last day and a half in Rome and starts in the afternoon after our mad dash through museums and churches in the city. After half a day of walking all over the place and being super tourists we needed a drink. We stopped by Harry's bar on the way to our reserved ticket entry into the Galleria Borghese. You can tell it was a nice part of town by the price tag on the drinks, €16 each!

The Galleria Borghese is one of several museums and galleries located in the Villa Borghese park. This area used to be the private grounds of the Borghese family, but has since become a large centrally located public park. The Galleria Borghese is a must-see art museum filled with works from Bernini, Titian and Caravaggio. Unlike other museums we visited that focused on classical sculpture and frescoes, this gallery was mostly focused on Renaissance works. It's not a huge museum, but there's a masterpiece around every corner. We were in and out within about one hour. Make sure to order your timed ticket early, as this museum sells out days in advance.

Having a snack and an expensive drink before heading to Villa Borghese.

Grounds of the Villa Borghese.

Galleria Borghese, an impressive art museum.

Again the museum itself is really a piece of art.

Bernini's self portrait. He was a painter, a sculptor, and architect. He's our favorite Italian artist.

Leda and the swan.

Marcello Provenzale's Orpheus mosaic. This was a small piece (maybe only a foot across) made from thousands of tiny tesserae. Very impressive.

Another impressive mosaic in the Borghese Gallery.

Every room was packed with art from the floor to the ceiling.

Bernini's beautiful sculpture of Apollo and Daphne. Daphne is turning into a tree.

Bernini's David - a marked contrast to Michelangelo's version. A look of determination.

The pillow (made of marble) of Canova's Paolina Borghese (Bonaparte) as Venus Victorious.

The marble carving was so delicate we had to double-take to be sure it wasn't really a pillow. 

Mariano Rossi's huge 1770s ceiling fresco in the central hall.

Hades and Persephone by Bernini. So much emotion depicted in marble.

St. Jerome Writing by Caravaggio. 

Another Caravaggio oil painting - David with Goliath's Head.

After touring the museum, we went back to the AirBnB and then to eat dinner with David's Uncle Rick and Aunt Terri in Trastevere at a restaurant called Hosteria La Botticella. Overall, this was probably one of the best meals of the trip and we'd highly recommend it. We arrived a little after 9pm and the place was pretty full. The waitress told us to hold on a moment and pulled out a folded table and chairs from inside the restaurant for us to use. She set them up on the street, which luckily had very little traffic. The waitress was endearingly surly and haggard, but very welcoming. For dinner David had lasagna and Paul ate a baby pig, and we drank some delicious Sicilian wine. After dinner we strolled through Trastevere, which was bustling on a Saturday night, and made our way back to the AirBnB for a nightcap on our balcony.

Hosteria La Botticella in Trastevere. We highly recommend eating here.

Bustling Trastevere around midnight on a Saturday.

For our last full day in Rome we split up for the first half of the day. Paul woke up at the crack of dawn to go ride some roller coasters at Rainbow MagicLand. Getting there involved a train to Valmontone and then a free shuttle bus. Rainbow MagicLand is a medium sized park that is really well themed and has a couple of great coasters - the launched Shock and the indoor spinning Cagliostro.

Cows on the way to the amusement park.

The impressive theming at Rainbow MagicLand.

Some kind of weird halloween dance thing when the park opened.

Shock was a unique and fun coaster, definitely the highlight of the park.

Catching the train back to Rome at Valmontone station.

While Paul was busy riding roller coasters, David went to Campo de Fiori to buy some produce since his Dad wanted a salad for lunch. Lettuce, tomatoes, arugula, and a red bell pepper cost around 4.50€. Then he came back picked up his mom and went to the Spanish Steps area for some shopping on Via del Corso. David bought his mom some perfume and they wandered around for a bit. After his AM roller coaster dash, Paul joined for lunch at a little cafe off the Via del Corso.

Spanish Steps from the top.

David's Mom at the Spanish Steps.

Lunch prosciutto. Basically 75% of meals in Italy involved us eating prosciutto.

Last cacio e pepe of the trip.

Piazza del Popolo. Near the Villa Borghese, the old northern entrance to the city.

After a week of running around Rome and Florence we were pretty tired and crashed for an afternoon nap. After we got up, we did some packing and went out for a farewell to Rome and family dinner with all of David's family at Enoteca Ferrara - another restaurant we'd recommend if you're in the Trastevere area. David's parents were heading home the next day and his Uncle and Aunt were heading up to Tuscany while we went to Naples/Amalfi with Christina and David E. It was also Paul's family's last day in Italy. They opted to go to a cat cafe for dinner. It was in neighborhood to the south.

Last meal in Rome at Enotecca Ferrara.

Not wanting to leave Rome, we took one last stroll through the city center after dinner. We walked past the Pantheon, the Altar of the Fatherland, the Roman Forum and the Trevi Fountain. We threw a coin into the fountain over our shoulder - a customary promise to return to Rome again in the future.

Pantheon at night.

The Trevi Fountain all lit up.

Altar of the Fatherland.

Column of Marcus Aurelius.

Close-up of the column.

The Arch of Septimius Severus.

With that we bid arrivederci to Rome. Quite possibly one of the most interesting cities in the world with countless layers of history. At first we thought nine days would be way too much time, but it ended up being appropriate - we didn't see everything on our list. We're sure we'll be back to this city again some day. The food, history, art and the people make it a great destination! Onward to Naples and the Amalfi Coast!

We'll be back.