Leaving the hustle and bustle of Rome, we zoomed down the highway for the the doorway to the south…the Amalfi Coast! We rented a car and Ron had the time of his life hugging the narrow and blind curves of the coastal road to Positano and our next home…a fisherman’s cottage, carved out of the side of the rock!
The string of small towns along the Amalfi coast seem to have grown organically, curving up the side of the rock, with roads, gardens and staircases that were carved out of the mountain during an ancient time with no trucks, jack hammers or cranes. The fisherman’s cottage I found for us to live in on line was in the town of Priano. Located between Positano and the town of Amalfi, this small fishing village was the real deal!
From the deck of our Fisherman’sCottage-image via Irene Turner
The rental agent assured me via phone, that it was easier to get to the house from the top road with only 10 stairs, then to climb up from the main street with 120 stairs. Luigi, the young man who took us there just shrugged, then drove us by vespa to the spot; or rather me and the luggage by vespa, while Ron walked behind. Well…I guess it was easier to get to from the top as we walked down rather then up stairs with our luggage. But anyway you look at it, it took us 160 stairs to reach our fabulous cottage going down; and 169 steps coming up from the main road…we counted!
walking out the front door of our Fisherman’sCottage-image via Irene Turner
It was worth every step. If you can’t tell by now, being a designer, the place we stay and the complete experience of local life is as important to me as where we go. While perhaps not the most comfortably furnished (by American standards) it was incredibly quaint and again, transported us to a different place and time. The back wall of the two stories in the cottage was the sheared rock of the cliff side. The terrazzo seemed to cantilever out over the other cottages below us and the turquoise water, with a view south of the roads and terraced gardens that lead to the town of Amalfi.
The Living Room of our Fisherman’s Cottage-image via Irene Turner
We parked our car on a very small side street and noticed that the drivers side of the cars had no side mirror, and were all scratched up; obviously due to the narrowness of the roads. Thank God for car insurance! Every day we traversed the stairs and narrow walk ways from one end of town to another, up the hill side and down to the restaurants and beach. We also spent hours just sitting on our terrazzo, gazing at the incredible scene that seemed to morph with the light throughout the day.
We found our local grocery shop called Il Tutto per Tutti where we got to know the owner quite well. One day I felt like cooking a simple pasta for dinner (I think to avoid another climb of the stairs) and went to pick up the ingredients. He was out of fresh basil, but seeing my distress he held up a finger and said “momento, momento”. He disappeared for a couple of minutes and came back with a whole basil plant, fresh from his garden!
a street in Ravello-image via Irene Turner
We also drove along the coast to explore the towns of Amalfi, Positano, Ravello and Vietri. And, I think that driving was the biggest adventure. The roads were so windy that you couldn’t see what was coming around the next curve. Once we had a large tour bus coming towards us. We pulled the car up and hugged the cliff on the passenger side so close that I had to pull in the side mirror so as not to have it knocked off. As the bus driver inched his way around us, he stopped, looked at Ron and motioned to him that he had to straighten the front wheels of our car…that’s how tight a squeeze it was to get by us. Understand that on the bus side of the road, the cliff fell straight down to the ocean!
Here the collage was made up of sunlit turquoise and emerald water; fresh seafood scrumptiously prepared; lovely locals; fabulous ceramics & tile work; lemons the size of grapefruits; local olive oil; winding roads; old towns with history and charm; domed churches; earthy smells; Old Roman towers; Moorish influenced architecture; sunwashed colors; and love everywhere…it was a wonderful week, a wonderful honeymoon, a real experience of La Dolce Vita and a Little Bit of Beauty™ for sure!
To see more pictures of this fabulous part of Italy, check out the video slide show below.
Have you been to Italy, or would you like to go? Why do you think Italy is such a draw for us here in America? Leave me a comment, I’d love to know! Ciao for now…
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11 Comments
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Buon Giorno, Bella!
Come stai? 😉
I bet you’re feeling great after your trip! OMG! You lived my dream…. and why we all dream about going there? Well.. for me it’s the culture, the people, the FOOD, the beauty of it all and the men.. nooo.. that I can’t anymore. I am married! lol.. but I think that Italy is a mixture of rustic, sexy and chic. Would you agree?
Thank you soooo much for this post. I’m going there after my two little ones are bigger. It’s a promise to myself and sanity. 🙂
xo
Luciane at HomeBunch.com
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It’s my favorite place to go and you will LOVE it. Shared your post on the Italian cottage on FB and twitter. It’s stupendous. Check out the previous blog post on Rome, part 1 of our honeymoon. I love it all!
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The best trip of my life was one similar to yours, only my friends and I rented a villa in Sorrento and explored from there. That part of the world bites deep and doesn’t let go. I have been all over the place, but nowhere before or since has fed my soul the way the towns of the Amalfi Coast did and continue to do. The scenery is otherworldly of course, but it’s the culture of the region that drew me in and showed me another way to live, even if it was only for a week.
No one comes away from the Amalfi Coast unmoved and each of us who’ve been there carry a small piece of Sorrento, Priano, Positano, Ravello, Amalfi, etc. with us forever.
Thanks for taking me right back there with you.
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it’s true, isn’t it Paul? It was my Husbands first trip and he is now as hooked as I am. Although I must say that Tuscany and Firenze is still my favorite part!
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Irene what a beautiful post. I have been to Italy many times, however I have never made it to the South of Italy, the Amalfi Coast. It is my number #1 Desired Vacation!!! After reading your beautiful post. I simply must go! Thank you for sharing! Bello!
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Irene, I was so happy to find your beautiful photos of Priano. I visited Italy in 1971until 2004, and lived 2 years in Firenze! I had the fortunate experience to visit a close NYC friend in Priano one summer who married a man from Priano. My bus ride alone from Salerno to Priano was hair-raising, to say the least. But my visit with my gal pal and her fisherman husband was absolutely divine. Especially riding in his boat along the Amalfi coast as we caught fish!!! Tks. for all the unforgettable memories.
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