Early Sunday morning we all jumped up and readied ourselves, making our way to the airport for an early flight to Italy. Our destination was, in first instance, Rome. The flight as always was uneventful, but the next few hours were even more ridiculous. We landed just after 10am, but after playing baggage claim roulette, waiting in a lengthy queue to use a single train ticket machine, then walking a mile to the airport's internal train station, we arrived just in time to see the midday train to Rome central station depart. These trains at least run every 15 minutes... except at lunch time! So we could not continue our journey until 12:30. By the time we got to the city then redirected ourselves to our apartment, it was 2pm. 4 hours in transit was not fun, specially not with a massive headache. But our hostess had cookies and wifi.
Once slightly rejuvenated, we headed out in search of lunch. 2:30pm, we were all starving! A few stops over on the Metro and we found ourselves at the Spanish Steps. Now, mum has never been to Rome but always dreamt of going. Michael and I have seen this all before but it is still lovely. Telling mum that her first major sight seeing stop of Italy was just around the corner got her all excited, then she asked where it was as I pointed at the steps. She was not impressed. Luckily, all the other sites were compensation enough, but that came later. Just across the road from the steps we found a lovely upstairs restaurant where all three of us ordered pasta. Why not when in Italy?!?
We wandered through the back streets to find our way to the spot mum had most been dreaming of in Rome - the Trevi Fountain. If you have ever seen the Trevi for yourself, you know it is a beautiful sight to behold, such a stunning piece of sculpture/architecture. You also know it is full of crowds and some shady characters. We had pre warned mum of all of this. As we pushed our way through the crowd, I kept reminding mum to keep her hand on her hand bag. As we rounded the bend, we looked to our right, ready for our view to appear, a view of ... scaffolding! The entire fountain was in the process of restoration, was covered mostly in scaffolding with a few choice sculptures in the centre left for the public. The fountain was completely drained and there was a temporary walk way built across the front so people could get a closer look at the sculptures while the works were being done.
This once in a lifetime chance for mum to see the Trevi was a huge disappointment. Luckily there was a small pool of water fenced off at the front where tourists could still throw their coins and make a wish, so mum did that, even if it wasn't quite the real deal. Determined to cheer mum up, we knew just where to take her next. Gelati time!
Michael and I only spent 36 hours in Rome the first time we came, but it was like a map had been burned into our brains as we knew exactly where to go to find our next big attraction - which was right near our favourite gelati shop. Rather than reveal the sight to mum too soon, we went around the back way to the ice cream bar first. This gelati shop is known for housing over 120 flavours and caters to lactose free and vegans too. The queue just to get your ticket for your ice cream is usually half way out the door and this day was no exception. We first let mum have a look - with a shimmer in her eye equivalent to that of a kid in ... well, a candy shop! She didn't know which flavours to choose. In the end, we all decided a two scoop cone was a good start, seeing as we had had such a late lunch and dinner time wasn't that far off...
Ice creams in hand, we made our way down the cobblestone path and around a bend to reveal... the Pantheon. This colossal building finally had the right response from mum. She was impressed with the outside (while we finished our ice creams) but gobsmacked by the inside including the demons hole in the ceiling.
Having spent the majority of our Rome time in the vacinity of the Pantheon last time, we knew the area and shops surprisingly well, including our earlier gelati shop, and a second shop that was at the time known for one particular flavour. It was once said to be the favourite gelati shop of Sylvio Burlesconi - former Italian Prime Minister - and the favourite flavour was 'Viagra' which happened to be bright blue! Upon our revisit, Michael and I were disappointed to see that the bright blue ice cream had been renamed the Italian word for Smurfs - ipuffo (almost equally laughable).
Down a corridor from this ice creamery was the little wood carving shop full of beautiful hand carved gifts for children that I had fallen in love with last time. It is a shop that shows a clear dedication to the art of wooden toys such as Pinochio. Mum and I both went shopping for presents here for some special little people we have back home...
Our next stop was Piazza Navona - a place that we had not yet seen. Nor had we seen some of the sights en route to the Piazza. We stopped to admire the beautiful fountain in the centre of the Piazza, and we taught mum our favourite travel game - "Caption that Statue". We found quite a few options for some of the men sitting around the middle part of the sculpture.
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| 'Anything you can do, I can do better' |
On the way back to the train station, we wandered past a large obelisk with stunning ornate decorations around the outside of the column. Mum decided however that she had had enough of the nice posey photos, and instead decided to tackle me as Michael went to take the photo. I fought back!Dinner that night ended up being a single slice of pizza from a small pizza street bar where you paid by the weight of the pizza. Simple but perfect after such a huge day.
The following morning, we tried to achieve an early start as we were aiming to be on the Amalfi coast by 1pm. Sadly, the car rental company's location was almost impossible to find, and we spent an hour wandering around in search of it, all the time being only a stones throw from the front gate. What a disaster. By the time we all suddenly saw the green banner floating behind a large gated area, we were sweaty and frustrated, and sore from dragging the luggage up and down countless stairs. But at least we had finally located our car. A few more teething problems with the company owners, we had our keys, and then Michael found a broken tail light and a new packet of pancetta in the boot of the vehicle....All inside the vehicle, we started our roadtrip (albeit late) to the Amalfi Coast. The car hire company's grounds happened to reside within the confines of a movie set (hence so difficult to locate) and driving out required us to loop through part of the back lot full of large props and ancient looking Greek style columns and statues. I thought nothing of it until we drove past the trailers for the actors, including one for Billy Zane (aka the Phantom)! That did indeed peak my interest. Funnier still was the next trailer door stating that it was for 'Adriana's sexy assistant'.
Excitement over, we got on the (scary Italian) roads and made our way to Amalfi. A relatively unexciting journey, with no dramas and a fairly smooth drive until we got to the Amalfi coastal road itself. Then it became a mixture of scary and stunning.
Michael handled the drive beautifully and mum and I both felt in safe hands the entire way.
Once we finally arrived at our home for the next three nights (an hour later than planned) we were happy to sit and soak up the view - because we undeniably had an amazing one! For once I was really proud with my choice of accommodation! Right over the water!
As good as the view was, we did decide to see what the main area of Amalfi was all about. Walking down (the car stayed put in its carpark for three days) to Amalfi along the coastal road, we stopped every few hundred meters for more photos. It was just beautiful.
Amalfi itself was quite touristy, yet at the end of our 3 nights here, we felt it was the least touristy of the area. It had some great shopping, wonderful food places and a more down to earth 'daily living' feel to it. We walked past a massive church that almost overshadows the whole township, and we even did some grocery shopping for our dinner.
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| The weirdest fountain.... |
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| The rumours were true - Lemons as big as a babies head.... |
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| yummy Italian pastries! |
Dinner that night ended up being a delicious home made antipasti platter, complete with fresh buffalo mozzarella, rockmellon and parma ham along with other meats and cheeses, plus crusty bread. It was all washed down with a lovely red wine (beer for Michael) and finished with delicious pastries.
This was all devoured on our beautiful balcony, drinking in the stunning outlook!
Tuesday dawned bright and sunny, and we happily enjoyed breakfast out on our little sea view balcony. Then it was straight onto a crowded bus to get us out to Sorrento. The bus journey itself was more than a little scary, and we were really pleased that driving the car the previous day we had chosen to come in from the top end of Amalfi, as the lower end heading towards Positano was positively dangerous for all motorists. The roads were narrow and very windy and at points, were both so narrow and turning that a bus only just made it if there was no other traffic around. On more than one occasion, the bus had to sit and wait, toot its horn countless times, and shuffle back and forth on the tight bend of the road because too many cars were queued up coming towards the bus and could not get around, but the bus could not move back because there were too many cars queued up behind the bus. Meanwhile the vespers shot through the gaps and helped by telling cars to move back along the queue.
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| driver on his mobile... |
Despite the tight and hair-raising journey (including a period of time where the driver of the bus happily chatted on his mobile while navigating the tight roads), we did safely make it into the sunkissed town of Sorrento, just in time for lunch (the bus took 2 hours!).
We took a stroll around the town to find a nice lunch spot - of course looking for a waterfront view. We found a lovely place with well priced and delicious food, and sat ourselves in the shade of a lemon tree.
After lunch, we wandered. Down to the foreshore (which was a cliff over looking a man made pier for beach goers) and then up through the shopping precinct full of lovely little things to see, try and buy. We sampled lemoncello as one does in the Amalfi district, along with some delicious cookies and sweets from various shops.
Back into the main intersection of town, we found an old, almost forgotten, ruin of a former township. It was an old building in ruins, deep down in a gully, overgrown with moss and vines. But once you turned away from the edge of the bridge, you found yourself back face to face with the busy going ons of Sorrento, including what we felt was quite possibly, the best speed sign ever!
Knowing that we had a 2 hour bus journey ahead of us to get back to Amalfi, we chose to have some sugar for the road - yup, another gelati! How could we not! I promise that I was just holding Michael's while he paid.... I did not eat two whole gelatis by myself!
We then boarded the bus that would take us back to Amalfi. What started off as an uncrowded bus soon became crowded as the bus made stops along the mountain pass and by the time we reached Positano, the bus was positively heaving. I was still nursing my headache from Sunday and the overly warm and stuffy bus was not helping matters, thank goodness I had a seat for the journey.
The restaurant in question was a seafood restaurant, but it also had a beautiful atmosphere, and a wine list 5 times thicker than the menu!
The food was divine and we were not left wanting for anything. As our drinks hit the table, so did an amuse bouche courtesy of the chef. This mouthwatering little taster went great with the self-warming bag of breads and breadsticks that came to the table as well. There were about 6 different types of bread rolls to choose from and all were really yummy, but I think my favourite was the black olive breadroll that was the size of a baby's fist. So cute.
We ordered an entree to share of our favourite Italian snack - fresh Buffalo mozzarella and parma ham which was then followed by our seafood mains. Mum and I both had pasta, and Michael enjoyed an octopus dish.
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| Mum's big seafood pasta extravaganza! |
Overnight, the wind was quite vicious and at one point Michael had to wind our balcony awning in, but in the morning, the sun shone bright once more. After breakfast, we wandered back down into Amalfi itself to jump aboard a boat. I must admit this was a much nicer way to travel than the crowded hair raising bus trip. This boat took us (in a much calmer and more timely fashion) to Positano.
Positano was another famous picturesque town of Italy, The houses and shops set into the mountain side, with all paths leading to the beach front and pier where we disembarked.Naturally, Michael and I were curious and started climbing stairs, which was just a bit too much for mum so after a while, she turned around and went back to go shopping, while we continued our venture. When we did reappear out of the narrow laneways and stairwells, we found ourselves at a great viewpoint out over Positano. We were by no means near the top, but it was a nice view none the less.
Once back on the road, we followed it down and back around into town on a lovely meandering path. We spotted what would have been the most beautiful place for lunch, but without mum we decided not to stop. Along the way I stopped at a few shops and had a great look at the clothing and trinkets, along with all the beautiful ceramics.
As Michael and I reached the end of the path, who should we bump into but my mother! She was also having a good wander in the shops, but had also started scouting for the best lunch venue. In the end, we went to the restaurant closest to the boat ramp where we got off the boat earlier. We had seen many people dining there at 10am in the morning, many of which not eating breakfast dishes. We were intrigued enough to go back and look at the menu.We ordered 2 large pizzas to share along with various delicious beverages (wine/beer). The pizza toppings were delicious and a little more unusual than our normal choices. To finish, I ordered the intriguing dessert I had seen many prior diners enjoying... the Lemon Sorbet. But it wasn't just a lemon sorbet - this was the freshest, cooling, most thirst quenching lemon sorbet I had ever had, and it was served ever so beautifully inside the hollowed out lemon! It came sitting in a cup standing on one end, with the other end perched so nicely atop the sorbet. Mum had ordered the same and had she been able to lick the lemon out with her tongue, she possibly would have!
Michael enjoyed a lemon sponge cake dessert that was covered in a white chocolate crust. I cannot remember the name, but I know he did enjoy it.
After lunch, we all declared that we needed another walk to work off the pizza. We decided to split up once more with the aim of meeting in time for the 3:30 boat back around to Amalfi. Michael and I were off in search of porcelain products, particularly with a squid on it as we had seen a lot of the typical Italian painted porcelain in our Amalfi apartment adorned with funny looking squids. I had declared to Michael my desperate need to own something porcelain adorned with a funny squid. Hence we came to a small porcelain product shop in the hills of Positano searching for squid products.Of course we found such products, but found ourselves far more attracted to an actual porcelain squid! He is about 15 cm by 15 cm, with wild tentacles and bulging eyes. He is orange and we called him Squiffano! He lives in his own little crate now sitting on our bookshelf!
So with Squiffano in my bag, we set off further up the hill. But by now, my headache (yes, still from Sunday) was really starting to invade again. The mopeds speeding past us on the tiny streets were not helping. A few more sweeping landscape photos and I kindly asked Michael to take me back to the waterfront where we could wait for mum and the boat.Mum had also had enough of the shopping (as there wasn't nearly as much as she had been hoping for, not her style anyway) and so the three of us bought our boat tickets and sat by the water until the boat was due to arrive.
One major problem - after a whole morning of beautiful sun, the sky suddenly split open and decided to absolutely drench the township of Positano. As the people crowded onto the boat dripping head to toe, we all tussled for seats. This boat trip was nothing like our beautiful morning one, and I was happy for it to be over quickly.
In Amalfi once more, Michael and I bid adieu to Mum and made our way back up to the apartment with a few groceries in hand. Mum was determined to get some of her shopping done (gifts etc) that she hadn't achieved in Positano. Once back at the apartment, I crashed. A quick shower, pyjamas on, painkillers taken, I took to bed for the rest of the afternoon.
Dinner was once again a simple yet delicious antipasto platter, but this time inside the apartment as the balcony was still being rather drenched and blown by the wind.
Sad to see the next day arrive, we made our way down to collect our little faithful car. Being that we were staying directly on the Amalfi coast road and over the water, parking our little beast was no mean feat. It had been lucky to find such a gorgeous position complete with a carpark - but said carpark was reached using a parking lift. Thank goodness we were not in a hurry, and thank goodness we only had to use it on arrival and departure as it was narrow and not easy.
We said goodbye to the Amalfi coast, driving up through the hills (even passing through a heard of goats!) on the way to our next stop Pompeii. But I will save that for part 2!
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