POSITANO

After a great breakfast provided by our cave hotel in Matera, we packed up, made a few Skype calls and then hit the road, bound for the beautiful Amalfi Coast.

The Amalfi Coast stretches 50km along the southern side of the Sorrentine Peninsula and it is a postcard vision of beauty.  Against a shimmering blue backdrop, villages and lemon groves cling to the cliffs and the sun beats down from above.

After 2 or so hours of driving, we had a quick lunch in Salerno, a town just south of the Amalfi Coast, then hopped back in the car (which felt like an oven after sitting in the stinking hot sun) and commenced the coastal drive to Positano.

This coastal drive turned out to be one of the most hair-raising driving experiences I have ever been in.  The road is etched into the cliffs and apart from feeling like you could fall into the sea at any time, it is so narrow that at many times I thought we were going to lose our rear-view mirrors.  

things get really sticky and traffic comes to a hault when two buses have to pass each other!

Daz did a remarkable job of getting us to Positano, especially with the ooohhhs and aaahhhs coming from the passengers every time we passed a car or bus.

Anna ready for a punch on with the apartment owners

The instructions we had received on how to find our apartment were so bad that once we arrived in Positano, we spent another 45 minutes driving up and down and around the streets of Positano before finally getting hold of the owner Maria.  She was an absolute ditz and we were all quite angry once we met up with her.  Will and I did not appreciate her trying to kiss us when we first met!

All was forgotten though once we settled in and opened our first beer and the view from our bedroom window made it all the more easy to forget the earlier hassles.

Fireworks have seemed to follow Anna and I wherever we go, it's like the town finds out in advance that we are coming haha.  This time it was fireworks coming from the town of Montepertuso and is a celebration of the showdown between Madonna and the Devil that is said to have occurred there.

That night we enjoyed an authentic meal at Trattoria Da Costantino, an excellent down-to-earth Italian restaurant with fabulous views over the town below.

The next morning we were all up early, eager to explore the town and get to the beach.  Our apartment was a long way up the hill (826 steps to be exact!), so it was a decent walk just to get down to the main part of town and this walk was extended by Anna and Bud checking out every shop on the way down haha.

Daz and Will waiting patiently for the shoppers

After about 2 hours, I was so eager to get to the beach that I left the Batrouney clan and headed down to secure some banana lounges and start soaking up the sun.

The pebbles on the beach were so hot that you literally had to walk into the water with your thongs on to save your feet from getting burnt, it was like walking on hot coals......not that I have ever actually walked on hot coals, but I can imagine this is what it would feel like.

The views from the water back to town were absolutely stunning and made it hard to come back in, but after a few days away from the beach, we also needed some quality sun tanning time!

After a solid session on the beach, we picked up some supplies and headed back to our apartment (via the bus!).  Our evening ritual continued that evening - all sorts of nibbles prepared beautifully by Bud, beers, wine, limoncello and plenty of cards.

We only played one card game the whole time Bud/Daz/Will joined us on our trip. It is called President and Shitkicker and at the end of each session the winner (being the Pres) is able to order the loser (being the Shitty) to do whatever he/she wants until the next cards session when the Presidency is up for grabs.  We certainly had a lot of fun playing that game, and it was especially fun when Anna was the Shitkicker because she hated it so much haha!

That night we had another excellent meal at the popular Caffe Positano, which was located right on the side of the cliff and had even better views than the restaurant the night before.

I had eaten veal escalope with lemon sauce the night before and keen to keep the lemon flavour going, I had a delicious lemon risotto with prawns. I could easily have eaten two servings it was that good.

It was a funny night as the table of Amercians and Canadians next to us were so annoying that we just had to laugh, especially the Canadian bloke who took a real liking to Dazza.

Anna and I went for a walk down into town after dinner and also checked out the 'Music on the rocks' club.  It's a pretty impressive nightclub, right on the beach and is basically set in a huge cave right on the water.  It was completely dead that night, being a Wednesday night, but we were sure to be back there later in the week.
After again running into the Canadian guy who stopped us to make sure we knew how funny he thought Dazza was, it was time we got home!

The next day the sun was again out and by mid-morning it had already reached 32 degrees.  We hadn't planned any activities for the day, so we lazied around on the beach for most of the day.  The only energy exerted was trying to commandeer a free extra banana lounges without having to pay the 12 euros to lie on one!

the lemon granita stall that greets you as you walk up from the beach was a hit

Anna and I decided to get a bit of exercise in and walk the painfully steep 826 steps back to our apartment.

Although the walk left us so sweaty and gasping for air by the end, the views we were treated to along the way were worth every step!

The Batrouney clan had a siesta in the late afternoon, but I had a ridiculous amount of energy after doing nothing that day, so I went for a run along the road that takes you back into town and then sprinted back up the 826 stairs.  This made the beers and limoncello that night even more satisfying!

Bud had booked a restaurant that she had read about in her research and it was only a short walk away from our apartment, although it was very steeply downhill!

I was super impressed with my scampi pasta and Will and Anna were over the moon about their ravioli with pumpkin and seafood.

The lovely old waitress then easily convinced us to order the chocolate calzone and I am so happy she did because it was pure goodness.

There was that much chocolate in it that we all wore it everywhere, although Anna seemed to end up with the most of it on her haha!

Walking home, Will randomly ran into some girls who he knew from Australia, so we left him to continue his night.  It never ceases to amaze me how we can be on the other side of the world and run into people we know!

The next day was a real highlight.  We jumped in a relatively small boat and headed south about 25 minutes to a small secluded cove that housed the well known Ristorante da Adolfo.  The boat ride gave us a chance to see Positano from a different angle; the small town, clinging precariously to the steep cliffs, looked amazing!

The weather turned a little suss as we ventured out on the water, but we were hopeful that it wouldn't last long.  My skin could certainly enjoyed a break from the sun and I think Will welcomed the clouds as well after he overindulged the day before!

Up until lunchtime the sun broke through on occasions, but when it started to rain, we were a little worried.  Anna was happy as she had had a bet with the waiter that it would rain and after much banter and fun, he finally gave in and gave her a free beer.

The waiter was a great guy and explained the menu to us brilliantly.  He definitely added to the great feel of the place.

We had a great table just above the beach and as we expected, the food was delicious.  Not even the wind picking up and very dangerously sending umbrellas flying everywhere could dampen our experience.

fish

lobster ...... stating the obvious

Luckily the sun came out after lunch and we were able to get a few more hours in of swimming, jumping off the rocks and just generally lazying about.  The boat ride home provided us with an even more beautiful sight as the light shining off the houses on the cliffs made it really look like paradise.

That evening we continued our ritual of nibbles, beers, wine, limoncello and cards and then stumbled upon a great little restaurant just near our closest bus stop.  As the photo below clearly shows, I enjoyed my meal!

Friday was out last full day in Positano and thank god the weather gods didn't let us down.  After much deliberation amongst the Griswald family, we decided to hire a small wooden motor boat and find our own secluded spot.  Dazza, having plenty of experience on the Valiant back in Barwon Heads was the the obvious choice for skipper.

It was quite windy out on the water and once we got around the point, the sea really picked up. My stomach started to churn as the boat rocked up and down up and down and once Anna started to get scared, that was it, we had to turn around.  

We had some serious troubles with the anchor, so in the end we just turned the engine off about 200m out from the cliffss and just hoped for the best.

We had a great time in the clear blue waters of the Mediterranean, it was like being in a giant swimming pool, but with huge amazing cliffs as the backdrop.

We returned the boat around 4:30pm and headed back to the apartment for a rest and to get ready for our last night.  I went for a stroll and took the same route that I had ran a few days earlier as there were plenty of photo opportunities along the way!

The photo's don't really explain it, but these old guys were playing bocci on the side of the road and must have only been a few metres away from the edge of the cliff.  It looked like great fun and I really wanted to join in, but didn't think my Italian was up to scratch to ask....that and I think you needed to be over 80 years old to get a guernsey!

Even though it was after 6pm, the sun was still beating down as if it was the middle of the day.  Such a great place, and very upsetting to have to leave.

With only one night left, our bottle of limoncello was no where near being finished, so I increased my serving to try and help it along.  Writing this blog now a few weeks later, I haven't had limoncello since this night and I miss it so so so so much!!!

For our last dinner all together, we had booked a table at Da Vincenzo which Lonely Planet says is one of the best restaurants in Positano.  It was definitely up there with the other meals we had had previously, so we couldn't disagree.

We had a short wait out in the street and although we tried desperately to snag a table outside, we were eventually given the order to move inside.

Everyone on the Griswald tour of Italy had a job to perform.

As previously mentioned, I was Guida (tour guide and director of navigations), Anna was the translator if ever there was a language barrier, Bud had planned and made reservations for the majority of the trip, Dazza was the driver of all machinery and Will was in charge of dressing the salads each night hahaha.

the salad dresser in action

Along with our great meal, we had also some pretty good wine.....and plenty of it.

Anna, Will and I went down to the beach for a night out at Music on the Rocks which ended up being a larger night than I think any of us had planned (actually I kind of knew it was going to happen!)

We drank cocktails, beers, shots and carved up the dance floor to some great tunes.

If there is anything else to write from this night then I will have to get Anna to write it because from this photo onwards, my memory is sketchy at best!

Unfortunately for Will and I, we both woke up with stinging hangovers the next day and had to endure a painful drive from Positano to Naples.  Here, Anna and I sadly said goodbye to Bud, Daz and Will, wished them well and continued on our adventure.