Day 13: 9 July 2010

Today was our laziest day so far.  Our plan was to see the Amalfi Coast and explore the towns of Positano and Amalfi.  Due to the railway/bus strike, we decided to drive the coastal road ourselves.  We had heard that it was a crazy ride and were a little nervous about doing it ourselves. Turned out to be not bad at all.  Sure there were sharp turns on the edges of cliffs and very narrow stretches at times, but the drive was doable, especially since Joe’s driven on many winding roads like this on our trips to Switzerland and the Canary Islands.  The drive was very scenic….similar to the Pacific Coast Hwy in California, or what the drive would look like if you could drive the Napali Coast in Hawaii.

We stopped in Positano and found parking at what we thought was a place just outside the downtown.  Staircase upon staircase later we realized we had parked high above the town.  Positano is a picturesque town built into the side of the cliffs with lots of boutiques.  The aqua water below looked beautiful, but the only beach access was jam-packed with umbrellas and lounge chairs that you had to rent to go to the beach there. Neither of us wanted to pay for parking and a spot on the beach right on top of another family so we hiked back up the 379 stairs to our car instead.  Further down the road, Amalfi was the same, so we decided to head back to relax in Sorrento.  Picked the worst possible way to get to Sorrento as the road we took wound up through the mountains and into traffic north of Sorrento.  The only saving grace…AFN Eagle radio (U.S. military station). I feel like maybe we missed something in this region that everyone raves about, but it’s just too crowded, resorty, and expensive for our taste.

Back in Sorrento, we grabbed a mediocre lunch at one of Rick’s recommended pizzerias, walked around town and sampled limoncello in several shops, and took an afternoon siesta on the rooftop terrace of our hotel.  Somehow in our trip planning, we never had a chance to book a hotel for Florence so we had to spend some time at the odd Banana Split bar looking for a place to stay and getting our Internet fix.

Ended the night with dinner at another of Rick’s favorites, Restaurante Laterna Due.  Decided to try the roast chicken and pennelle con zucchini in an attempt to put something other than red sauce and mozzarella into our bodies.  The pasta, which was served in a creamy yellow sauce, was good.  Even better was the entertainment other diners provided.  No Americans tonight, but several other tables kept feeding a live band money to play tunes on the accordion, guitar, bass and maracas.  It was great having our own jukebox…free of charge!  Ended the night with gelato at Davide’s.  I know I said last night’s gelato was the best yet, but Davide’s ties for number one so far.  The tiramisu and whipped choc. mousse gelato was delicious!  Joe also enjoyed the limoncello and fragola (strawberry).  Finally tried a granite limone (slushy lemonade) before heading back to the hotel, too!  Talk about having a sugar high right before bed!