Exploring The Amalfi Coast: Finally Amalfi

I have been trying to get to the Amalfi Coast for years. Literal years. I can’t remember when it first popped up on my radar, but I do know that for at least the last four years I have tried and failed to get a trip planned there. Timing didn’t work out, friends that were going to join ended up not being able to, various things here and there. So to say it was a dream come true to finally see it with my own eyes was an understatement.

After spending our first day relaxing and catching up by the pool, the second day we set out to see downtown Amalfi. We had to bargain with a couple of cab drivers and finally settled on a €50 each way fare.

Then we descended (People are not kidding about the stairs on the Amalfi Coast. By the end we both loved and hated those things!).

Waiting at our favorite meeting spot, the Santa Rosa Hotel.

And then we arrived.

And it was busy!

Lesson #5,297 that we learned was that contrary to popular belief that the summer months would be the busiest in terms of tourist, turns out September and October are where it’s at.

The colors of Amalfi just make your eyes and heart happy.

The water is seriously SO blue, or is it aquamarine? Whatever, it’s exactly the crazy amazing color you see in pictures.

I had one goal while on the coast. Ok, let’s be honest, I had a number of goals, but one of the big ones was to stuff myself silly with seafood.

So we went on the hunt.

I was kind of surprised at how small Amalfi actually was, and that there weren’t just a ton of restaurants at every turn. Don’t get me wrong, there were many great options, it was just different than the picture I had in my mind.

For lunch we stopped at a quick little cafe and without even looking past the first thing I saw on the menu, I ordered the antipasti de mare. Paired with a Peroni, it was exactly what I was looking for.

After lunch we putzed around looking through the various ceramics shops and ogling over the thousands of pastas that were proudly displayed at every other storefront.

At one point we came across a fountain with a group gathered around it. Turns out it was the “De Cape E Ciucci” a famous fountain originally used as a watering hole for work donkeys. Over the years it has been built up with a collection of figurines, originally starting with a nativity scene.

If you look in the water, a number of them are submerged and have been covered with algae and sediment.

I wish so bad this picture hadn’t turned out blurry. She was so close to walking by herself and I love her sweet smile!

One funny thing about Amalfi, it apparently brings out sides of you you might not have known you had. Will happened to notice some roll your own cigarettes in a tabacchi shop and shortly thereafter, he and Jill decided they needed some.

It took a bit of practice, but eventually they were “old pros.”

I later determined by the time we left the coast they would have developed a habit haha!

We spent the rest of the afternoon meandering through the town, stopping for drinks here and there, before finally finding THE restaurant for dinner.

To be continued…