Salerno, Amalfi and Positano

View off of our hotel balcony

Wow! When we woke up this morning and looked off our balcony....what a view! This coast is beautiful. It is not flat like Myrtle Beach. There are gorgeous mountains where there is literally just a drop off from the mountain into the ocean. The sand is a grey/black with lots of larger rocks mixed in with the sand.

Almalfi coastline from ferry

We met our exchange student and his family and walked from our hotel down just a couple of blocks to catch a ferry to Positano and Amalfi. It was an amazing ride. Carson said it was his

Ted relaxing on ferry

favorite thing to see so far. You pass many small towns that are embedded on the side of these mountains. Each one having its own basilica whose dome/steeple can be seen over the whole town. I don't see how these people built these amazing buildings. You wonder how they haven't slipped off the side of the cliff. One hotel had an elevator built on the side of the mountain to take it's guests down to the beach. The Frommer's book of Italy suggested driving down the Amalfi coast but my vote goes for the ferry. There is no way that you can put into words what you see from the boat. So, it is impossible to see this from a car or a tour bus.

We got off at Positano first. It is known for it's pottery mostly but also it's lemons. They are the size of a big peach! I had already bought the pottery that I wanted in Florence, so I was a little worried that I might find something I liked better. Anyway, I decided to go to a shop that the Frommer's 'Born to Shop Italy' suggested: Ceramica Assunta. Well, don't buy there. We stopped at a little shop on the way up to Assunta called Emporio della Ceramica and it was much better. Prices at Assunta were higher and the quality and choices were not that good. Emporio's owner was very friendly and he had more unique pieces. His tables were to die for...OMG! The quality of the pieces was better at Emporio also. I ended up buying a small scene to put in the kitchen as a back splash.

Another town along the Amalfi coast

We got the best fresh lemon slushies here also. YUM! We walked around a little more and toured the local basilica which was beautiful. After that, we headed back to the beach to catch the ferry back to Amalfi. The ferrys leave about every hour at about 15 after the hour.

Basilica in Positono

Amalfi is another charming town on the side of these mountains. You see right away that it attracts more upscale visitors. Frommer's Italy book says that these towns are appealing to the rich and famous because of their inaccessibility to the masses! Our local family that we were with knew a restaurant owner so we stopped there for our lunch. They had the best bruschetta that I have ever eaten. You could choose from several different kinds. One of which even included tuna! After that, we went to a shoe shop that was owned by our new friends' aunt. She gave me a great discount on some shoes for my granddaughter, Hollins!  The boys then went to try out the ocean. It was pretty cold but a great relief from the sun and most importantly...from shopping.

Positano beach area

While they were swimming, I checked out some of the shops with all the gorgeous linen pants, dresses and blouses. They were incredible and were incredibly high priced. I skipped the linen
because it wasn't really any cheaper than in the US: better choices though.  They had some very unique tops and dresses, but I wasn't in the market for those things. Amalfi also had wonderful handmade sandals. You can basically pick out which one you like and then the guy will make them in 30 minutes. I didn't get to this shop in time to wait for him to make them, so I couldn't get any sandals. Next trip!

The breathtaking views are endless

We caught the ferry again back to Selarno. We saw some windsurfers around which were fun to watch. Our boys and Pietros' family went back to Pietro's house and tools us ti he ready at 7:30. We were having supper at their house. Pietro's father came to pick us up and we began our long winding trip up the mountain to their house. There were so many narrow winding streets that I got a bit carsick on the way up. There town was really neat and you can sea the water from their house. Pietro's dad has his car mechanics shop under the house. It was really neat. The first floor had Pietro's aunt and uncle on it and then the second and third floor belongs to Pietro's family. We had a great meal which of course included appetizer, first plate(usually pasta), second plate(usually meat) and then dessert. The meat was a chicken dish that was made by Pietro's grandma who raised and killed the chicken!! Pietro's grandparents were delightful. It's been really nice getting a glimpse of how a local lives and survives.

Basilica in Amalfi...beautiful!

Still wishing u could get pictures up, but no internet yet to try. the only bummer is that we can't go to Capri because the seas aren't calm enough. Well, we could go but we couldn't get into the Blue Grotto, so it's not worth going for us.

Tomorrow we are at the mercy of our local family, so remarkably...we don't have a thing planned! Surprise...surprise.

Tip of the day, you can buy Frommer's Italy guide but don't bother with the shopping counterpart. I have found several things that I don't agree with so just go explore and find your own shops. That's more fun anyway!