Day 3:
We awoke determined to not fall prey to jet lag. I had looked at the ferry schedule the night before, and decided that I wanted to take the earliest ferry to Salerno so that we would have plenty of time to sightsee, go to the beach, and make it back to the last ferry. I was also debating on whether I wanted to spend tomorrow in Amalfi town or sailing along the coast.
After packing the accouterments we needed for our day trip (sun block, hat, bathing suit, water, guidebook, kindle…) we headed down the stairs to the main spiagga. On the way down we stopped at Zagara, a bakery, wine bar, and cafe that sold fresh crostinis and other pastries. I’m not a big fan of pastries in the morning, but I was on vacation, and the sight of them in the store window made my mouth water. We picked up some crostinis, fruit, and water and headed down the stairs.
I purchased two ferry tickets, which are around 20 euros roundtrip per person. The price depends on how far you are going. Then Jason and I had some time to kill before the ferry arrived so we headed over to the tour boats to see what tours were available for tomorrow. I saw the Capri tour, but wanted to save that one for my birthday. There was a tour for Amalfi Coast. The girl behind the counter had a Australian accent, she described the tour as a swimming tour that would take us along the coast and stop at various caves, in which we could swim. Swimming in caves sign me up!! The boat would have a small group, and then in the middle of the day we would stop for lunch at a surprise spot. Jason and I thought it was a good deal, and signed up. It cost about 80 euros per person, lunch cost an addition 30 euros per person, but the girl convinced us that it was very much worth it. She reminded us to bring our swimming costumes and to meet up at the beach around 10 am tomorrow morning.
The ferry moved pretty fast, and it was a great way to beat the heat and humidity of Positano. We went past Praiano, which was the smaller neighboring town immediately to the east of Positano. It too had small white homes, and building built into its hillside. Then we came to Amalfi, which was our first stop. There was a large church tower with a clock. Unlike Positano, Amalfi Town actually had a dock, which was pretty flat, and then the city rose past it.
The ferry’s next stop after Amalfi Town was Ravello, another city that was high up in the hillside. I had heard that Ravello was very beautiful, and had lots of hiking trails. So I added it to my list of possible day trips.
We walked through the pedestrian park and came across a gelato stand. Still hungry, I ordered a cafe flavored gelato and Jason had the lemon ice gelato, which was more like a sorbet. It was heavenly! We ate our gelato in the sweltering heat, which helped cool us off, and proceeded to get lost in a maze of quaint and very European-looking side streets. Jason took pictures of all the facades, and I kept walking in search of adventure. We came to a church, where a bride and groom had just gotten married and were taking pictures in. Being the wedding crashers that we are, we walked into the church’s courtyard, and tried our best to stay out of the wedding pictures. I admired the bride from afar, while Jason snapped more pictures of the church’s courtyard. The fountain in the center of the courtyard had been filled with large sunflowers native to Italy from Tuscany. It was a beautiful moment to witness true love commencing on a Monday afternoon, only in Italia!
When we arrived in Positano it was still too early for dinner so we headed to the beach to cool off. Then climbed the stairs to freshen up for dinner, then back down to the main spiagga for dinner.
We chose La Pergola a restaurant right next door to the famous Bucca di Bacco restaurant and hotel. It was an open air restaurant perfect for people watching. I wanted to be adventurous in my cuisine selection, so I ordered the sea bass, never having tried it before. Since it was still hot we ordered a cool white wine, native to the region, Costa di Amalfi, it tasted a lot like a pinot grigio. The sea bass arrived, filled with tiny bones, but it was still delicious, white and flakey and very well seasoned with herbs and lots of olive oil. We sat and enjoyed our dinner while people watching. The perfect end to a day filled with walking around exploring Salerno. and getting our first breathtaking views of the Amalfian Coastline!
