While London felt like home and Paris was a sweet interlude, Italy topped our trip off and Capri and the Amalfi coast were the favorite parts of our overseas adventure.

CAPRI

We arrived by ferry from Naples. Immediately we noticed the flowing and beautiful Italian language, picking up on words here and there from knowing bits of it. We also noted the bouncy, affable and confident flow to the Italian way.  One that suits our personalities, sharing, caring yet assertive.

Our ferry ride to Capri was about an hour, in a storm and choppy waters with rainbows guiding the way. Once in Capri we found it difficult to get a taxi, in torrential downpours we decided to share one with two guys who happened to be going to the same, Hotel San Michel, for a wedding.

The roads up felt precarioulsy close to the edge, like a thrilling adrenaline rush. The driver wound with expertise into Anacapri. It looked surreal with colorful homes dotting the hills. We arrived to our hotel, which was nestled up on a cliff and walked out of our hotel room to a huge patio with this. Needless to say we didn’t want to leave this paradise.

The first night there was an Italian couples’ wedding with about 75 people. After dinner we heard the music up in our room, so we decided to crash the wedding party and went down to see it hopping with a rambuctious crowd that we assimilated into. We were the Americans that were a bit out of place. After about 10-15 minutes of hanging with this party all the lights in the hotel went out. Music stopped and everyone was left mingling about. This is where we took our leave and went walking through Anacapri. For being a small island there were many people out in the squares.

While visiting, we explored Capri by hiking its trails and walking through the main centers of Capri and Anacapri. We ate delicious fresh food sitting outside, enjoying the balmy nights. Feeling serenaded by the magnificent views and tastes of Capri.

We met a couple at our hotel pool and hung with them for the day, having fun sharing travel stories and finding new things to do. We had been up in the air of where to stay next, from Positano, to Amalfi and with the suggestion of our new friends we decided on Maiori.

We visited the Blue Grotto. Which has a line that winds down the mountain. We thought this somewhat pricey tour would at least give us a while in the grotto, but to our surprise we were rowed in, went around a stunning blue cave, sparkling with unreal colors, to be rowed right back out. I’d say it was 4 minutes or less.

 

AMALFI COAST TO MAIORI

We took the ferry to Positano because of a storm. This added several hours to our trip, but the views of the coast we wouldn’t have seen otherwise given our time there. We took the bus, again winding precariously along the high cliffs that at times felt unnerving.

The fresh ocean air was intoxicating and invigorating, smelling of salt with slippery winds.  We drove through Positano and Sorrento into Amalfi. The views were absolutely breathtaking along the coast.

 

We arrived to Maiori and walking through the square, it felt almost empty, which was a sweet relief from the bustling touristy areas that we had been in. People there did not speak english as much, so we made due with the little Italian I knew.

 

We had the best food we’ve ever eaten in our lives in Maiori at Mammato dal 1890. An unassuming restaurant that knocked our socks off. While all the food we ate in Italy was out of this world, this place was mouthwatering. We had fish baked in sea salt, mussels and seafood fresh from the sea in pasta dishes that melted in the mouth. Savory, rich and addictive with flavors bursting of simple spices, fresh cream and tomatoes.

 

We delightfully porked out into a food coma and were so impressed we decided to give our sentiments to the cook. We stopped in the kitchen to find the chef, a little lady, about 70, who we were interpreted to that her restaurant’s recipes had been handed down from her family members for many generations.

We went to the place across the street the next night and were immensely impressed with the food there as well. Ahhh Maiori, you captured our tastebuds fancy.

We spent our last day exploring Amalfi. It just so happened it was the first storm in the area for the past several months. We were not dismayed and still enjoyed our time exploring the shops and cafes of Amalfi.

The next morning we had to jump on a bus to get to the train station in Salerno to make our train to Rome, the last stop on our Italy trip. What we weren’t prepared for was how packed the buses coming from Amalfi were. We waited for two which were already full to then, luckily, share a cab with a lovely woman from Toronto who also lived in Italy.  With her angelic help, we made our train just in time.

 

xo,

Nicole

 

Apologies for the delay in my travel writing, which happened in September. There has been a bustle of new activity which I’ll share, along with a creative block, which feels like it has (finally) dissolved. I’ll be back with our trip to Rome and Stockholm.